Alastair Crowley chafed at the long and oppressive list of ‘Thou shalt nots’ in the bible, as well as the hypocrisy he saw in the church in which he followed his father who was a traveling preacher. So he dreamed up a new religion whose only law was “Do what thou wilt.” He named it Thelema and spent the rest of his life trying to justify it through a grand unified theory of science, magic, occult and drug use. He founded two churches in which to practice this religion: OTO (Order of Oriental Templars) and A∴A∴ (Argentium Astrum – Silver Star).
The primary purpose of the religion was of course to convince women to sleep with him or engage in various depraved activities and to not complain about it afterwards. Unfortunately he never achieved much success and died poor and alone, and highly reviled.
Bill Wilson also dabbled in the occult (and séances and LSD), and although he didn’t know Crowley personally, he was familiar with his work, primarily through their mutual friend Aldous Huxley. Wilson’s friend Dr Bob, co-founder of AA, was a member of a new charismatic organization called the Oxford Group, in which people found God and spiritual fulfillment by sharing their sins publicly and then making restitution and then recruiting new members. The group was founded by Frank Buchman, who later became infamous as a Nazi sympathizer: “I thank heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism.” Buchman was also believed to have sexually exploited the young men in his groups. Whether the Oxford Group can be described as “Christian” is open to debate, although AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) members insist it is, and therefore that AA is based on Christianity even if most Christian-specific language was later stripped out, and even if Buchman himself was not a respectable individual if not a total hypocrite. After all, no one is perfect.
Wilson realized that Crowley’s dream of repealing the laws of sin was probably futile, despite (or because of) his own experience with the occult. In a flash of genius, Bill W envisioned another option: sin could be committed freely and then paid for later by uniting excessive drinking with the Oxford Group ‘programme’. In a frenzy of inspiration, he created the 12 Steps and the organization that practiced it: Alcoholics Anonymous. He gave Thelema to the drinker of alcohol:
- Thelema: Do what thou wilt is the whole of law
- AA: The alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot (Big Book p. 62)
The alcoholic commits sins freely while under the influence of an irresistible craving for alcohol, and then makes amends for them by late-middle age. The process of achieving ‘sobriety’ takes many years and is fraught with a cycle of bingeing and abstinence known as ‘relapsing’ during most of one’s adulthood. The group held immediate appeal for many people for many reasons. It was an acceptable form of occultism and satanism with an veneer of legitimacy, and its meetings were even welcome in Church basements. The group quickly infiltrated the alcohol industry, medicine, and government to transform a pagan religion into a new disease which they called ‘alcoholism’.
Wilson spent the last 30 years of his life “13th Stepping” the newcomers, and though his behavior at meetings had to be monitored due to complaints, he certainly came closer than Crowley to fulfilling the dream.
Satan Gets Mainstreamed
Of course, most AA members deny that AA is satanic (although some do not). Certainly, it is pagan in its requirement that the new member choose a Higher Power that can be anything, such as a coffee pot, or the group itself, as compared to the First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. The job of the HP is to remove the character defects like greed, jealousy and pride that create the resentments that power the cravings that lead to the drinking that ends in sin (or attempt thereof). Some claim that AA is “spiritual not religious” because you can choose your own HP. But that just makes it pagan. One must believe in their chosen HP: “Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us or we perish.” (Big Book p. 16) Some members claim that AA is Christian due to the recital of the “Lord’s Prayer” at the end of each meeting. However, I have been to hundreds of meetings and never once heard a Christian prayer. Of course, one can choose Jesus Christ as their Higher Power. But that is extremely rare, even if most member say, “I’m not Christian but most members in my group are.” The claim of Christianity is typically used by younger members as an avoidance strategy: “I wanted to stop drinking, but AA felt too Christian and moralistic. It triggered the same feelings that drove me to drink in the first place!” And then they’ll go out for a few drinks.
Most members willing to name the god of their understanding choose various Eastern religions and philosophies that purport to eliminate earthly cravings. Buddhism and Taoism are popular, along with various deities of Greek and Nordic mythology. Of all the research on alcoholism, none indicates what percent of members have chosen Satan himself as their HP, although many members are quick to assert that such a choice is perfectly fine as long as it helps you stop drinking. However, the claim that AA is evil because it’s satanic is met with a furious spewage of insults and abuse characterized by atrocious spelling and grammar as demonstrated in the comments below.
Of course, our country is founded on Freedom of Religion, and people are free to believe whatever they want. Thank God! The purpose of this article is not to claim that one religion is superior to another, even if many of the comments here blame Christianity for various atrocities and genocide, not to mention drinking itself. The purpose here is simply to show that alcoholism is a religion with Satanic roots, and its church is AA.
In this way, AA transformed the religion of ‘drink, sin, amend’ into a disease called ‘alcoholism’. Of course, compulsive and excessive drinking and drug use existed before AA, and the cause of this behavior was often mysterious to the casual observer, especially since the drinker would not openly admit the real reason, even if they didn’t claim not to have one. AA gave credence to the Craving Lie:
I wanted to stop drinking but couldn’t no matter how hard I tried.
This is the cult’s central teaching. They claim their substance abuse was a battle against their own willpower, neglecting to mention the mischief while drunk (often with the claim of ‘blackout’). The same lie is used by drug addicts to justify an endless parade of reprehensible behavior under cover of a ‘disease’. In reality, the drug use is only to provide cover for the sin and mischief, and the user can stop any time (withdrawal from all substances, under medical supervision, is universally reported as ‘comfortable’). They drink because they want to, even though they claim otherwise. When a AA member says they ‘get it’, this means not that they have been cured of alcoholism (they are likely to relapse many times), but that they learned how to explain away their sins by calling it a ‘disease’. Often this is followed by the claim: “AA worked for me and it’s the only thing that ever worked. I was going to die before I discovered AA.” Anyone who says this simple but powerful lie likely has a few sponsees who they’ve inducted into the religion, and more than a few stories of sponsee abuse and exploitation, like their hero Bill Wilson. And we are relieved that at least there is a treatment for such unfortunates, having fallen for the Craving Lie ourselves: Why does it matter if AA is religious, as long as it helps them stop drinking?
Step One: “We admitted we were powerless to alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.” Alcohol is simply a god/demon idolized by the alcoholic during their drinking career. The 12 Step program essentially is a process of exorcism: replacing one god/demon for another less destructive. Despite the craving lie, most alcoholics claim they didn’t realize how destructive their drinking was, or that their lives had gotten ‘out of control’. Thus it was not so much a matter of willpower as of realization and honesty, as most members are quick to admit. Cravings are rarely mentioned at AA meetings. Go to your local meeting and see for yourself!
Addiction Fiction
Each AA member has his own pet theory of the neurological basis of addiction, generally positing a rube-goldberg contraption consisting of: dopamine, seratonin, mesolimbic neocortex, amygdala, and ‘hypocampus’. They claim that drug use ‘rewires neural pathways’ to mess up the ‘reward center’ in the brain, which they back up with various Wikipedia articles whose footnotes reference each other, and anyone who challenges this ‘proven scientific fact’ is displaying ‘ignorance’. Government researchers produce completely bogus fiction about addiction which they pass off as ‘science’; the rehab industry promotes sham ‘evidence based’ treatments; and public policy experts repeat the same old canards about ‘the unimaginable suffering of the addict and their loved ones’ while complaining that the lack of good science about addiction justifies maintenance of the status quo: addiction is a disease not a crime although we should continue to punish people for drug use and refer people who got in trouble while drinking/drugging to AA because it’s free and the only treatment available in most places anyway. And they refuse even to consider the possibility that treatment actually creates addicts.
AA propaganda is continually imposed on us from Hollywood as well. For example, in a recent episode of the sci-fi series Extant, grandfather Quinn ‘relapses’ with a shot of whiskey and then immediately makes a double-or-nothing bet on the bar game skills of his robot grandson. Of course, the wager didn’t turn out well. If he had taken a moment to ask his HP to remove his ‘greed’, he might have been able to resist the unbearable craving to drink, and walked out while he was ahead. Portrayals like this inextricably connect drinking with sin, while deferring the penalty.
But the simple and obvious truth is that we are sinners who enjoy sinning, and the religion of alcoholism can provide a convenient cover for those so inclined. As long as you are willing to tell the Craving Lie and make amends at some future date (typically 40’s / 50’s).
Unfortunately the same principles are used as brainwashing techniques against vulnerable newcomers, often sent by the courts or in search of companionship, who must first confess powerlessness to alcohol (i.e. admit they have a deadly disease) and then to cure it, must confess their sins and insecurities with “rigorous honesty”. The newcomer is instructed not to date in the first year and is subjected to sexual and financial exploitation. The lucky ones will eventually escape the group with unexplained bitterness and paranoia. The less fortunate will be among the thousands each year who succumb to their learned powerlessness in a time of crisis, and thereby contribute to the statistic that testifies to the deadly power of the satanic religion that is considered by most to be a medical disease despite its striking resemblance to old-fashioned demon possession.
Darren Aronofsky: Satan’s Propagandist
As a child, Darren Aronofsky was deeply troubled by the story of Noah, in which God destroyed the wicked in a great flood. What if God considered him to be among the wicked? Would he be destroyed too? He addresses his lifelong despair in his movie Noah (2014), a parody of the bible story. In Aronofsky’s version, God destroys the world as punishment for man destroying the world. Noah, who is described as ‘righteous’ in the bible, is represented as angry and capricious in the movie: he chastises his son for plucking a flower then kills a man for killing an animal for meat and calls it ‘justice’. In the bible story he is instructed directly by God to build an ark. In the movie, he has vague dreams and frightening visions and questions God’s purpose for him, visiting his grandfather Methusaleh played by Anthony Hopkins who suggests that he should surmise God’s will ‘as best you can understand it’. He later threatens to kill his grandchildren because he incorrectly infers that God’s will for him is to ensure the extinction of mankind after the flood. The message of the movie is that it’s not safe to trust your will to God. (Even though the Christian God expects you to use your own willpower — only in AA must you entrust it to a higher power. But if you find yourself at AA, evidently God is not a safe bet – perhaps that was Grampa Quinn’s mistake.)
It never occurred to the young Darren that he simply didn’t have to be wicked. Though it didn’t help that he was no doubt troubled by Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden for the innocent sin of eating the forbidden fruit. After all, God created them with strong desire. What right had he to punish them for experiencing it, especially as it was manipulated by Satan, another of God’s creations? He should have created a will that could overcome temptation. But as a result of this ‘design flaw’, man was punished: expelled from paradise and condemned to a lifetime of work and suffering. Aronofsky explores the injustice of this ‘mistake’ in his movie Requiem for a Dream (2000), which contains the iconic scene in which a drug addict tearfully unplugs the TV while his mother is watching it, for the purpose of selling it for drugs, apologizing for his behavior and his unbearable cravings but unable to resist. His will is useless against his desires, just like with Adam and Eve. This scene, which was completely absurd before it was created, and never actually happened ever in the history of drug abuse, is now acted out on a daily basis by drug users around the world, to the astonishment of their parents who insist that if it’s not real addiction then their child deserves an Oscar for their performance. (Of course, every parent thinks their child is very talented, especially if they have no TV with which to view the competition.)
Aronofsky seems to follow a Gnostic philosophy, in which God is actually an evil demiurge (aka “The Creator”) who created the material world, which is evil and painful and full of temptations and restrictions and rules and punishments. And then there is a higher god of the universe, whose only law is “Do what thou wilt,” sometimes represented by Satan for that reason. Perhaps his movies are an offering to that higher god, in the hopes of being rescued from his brutal subsistence of dating models and toiling on movie sets in exotic locales.
Indulging in sin consciously or otherwise is one thing. But convincing others to indulge in it too? Or to teach sin isn’t sin? That’s just evil. Though I try not to worry too much about man’s wickedness, even if I haven’t seen any rainbows lately. Unless you count the movie’s circular rainbows. But for some reason they provide little consolation.
Nevertheless I enjoyed the movie.
Read more:
- And the Lesson Today is HOW TO DIE!
- How did Simon Astaire kill Peaches Geldof?
- Simon Astaire: Rise of the Anti-Christ
- Oh My Gods – A boy’s dream come true
- Undiagnosed Alcoholic? – A typical AA drunkalog
- Lie Like the Wind – How to know if AA is right for you
- How to Drink Like a Normal Man – Just keep it simple
- Powerlessness as Religion – Only the good die young
- You Are So Brainwashed It’s Funny – Who will pay for their sins?
- The Problem of the Jews: a Lesson in Brainwashing Propaganda – How AA bamboozled a country
- The Drinking Club – Watch what they do, not what they say
- Cory Monteith: The Cult of Powerlessness Claims Another Victim
- I Call Blackout – I did what??
- Rat Addicts and the Science Of Addiction – The best of 60′s Science Fiction
- A Conversation with Dr. Drew Pinsky – 13% and proud
- School for Scoundrels – What you actually learn in the rooms
- AA is a Pagan Cult – Putting the ‘pagan’ in propaganda
- The Little Psychopath Could: How the Addiction Myth creates new Drug Addicts
I don’t know if it’s a cult or not. I don’t care. The person who wrote this article is so angry. Is Satan your best friend? It’s all you seem to focus on. I believe Satan has you by the balls. Better figure that one out?
We’re not a cult, but anyone who reveals our cherished doctrine is obviously ‘angry and bitter’.
(Thanks for another display of your brainwashing tactics.)
On a lighter note, this article is LOL silly to anyone that’s half way famine with the program. AA isn’t even close to being organized enough to support half your claims…
On a not so lighter note, I found this while searching for a meeting. I wonder how many people this article has killed…. Wouldn’t want that on my conscience…..
I’m a US Vet and by far a cult member that’s a joke to pain a broad brush. Now the DVA there is some evil …
Opinions Everywhere:
Setting all the opinions aside, stepping back and looking at the issue from a practical standpoint. There is solid evidence of the before and after picture that millions of people have experienced.
The Before:
A total drag on society, sitting on a bar stool, driving drunk, endangering others, making very little to no contribution, terrible parents, terrible sons and daughters, physical problems, mental problems, emotional problems, financial problems, of no use to anyone.
What is done:
Following a set of simple instructions as best as one can, that your are free to follow or not:
Looking at personal defects, cleaning up the wreckage of the past, learning to meditate, finding mental and emotional stability, and then help others as best you can, pursue virtue instead of non-virtue, moving out of state of ignorance of your own nature and begin to have some understanding what leads to happiness and what leads to suffering, finding your own truth and evidence from experience.
The After:
Light returns to the eyes, mental, physical and emotional healing occurs, happiness is experienced, peace of mind is experienced, relationships are restored, becoming a giver instead of a taker, society is greatly benefited, able to walk through difficult life experiences and grow stronger from them. A life that has meaning and is well lived.
That doesn’t seem to be a bad trade off to me. If your 400lbs its probably a good idea to start going to the gym and eating right. If you are suffering from fear and resentments that drinking seems to solve but it is no longer working, then probably not a bad idea to begin a workout program for that.. lol. If you can find some other way then AA, good, great, good for you. If you can’t, it might be worth a shot, or keep living how your living.. Peace and well being for all, including you addictionmyth.
Thank you for reciting Big Book fantasy. The truth however is that people drink because they want to. Not because they have a disease. AA is just a sin mortgaging plan that encourages people to dwell in their powerlessness and mischief for decades. Just go to your local AA meeting and see for yourself.
Over fifty years ago the American Medical Association declared that alcoholism is a disease. Now the American Society of Addiction Medicine is also stating that alcoholism is a chronic disease of the brain. Hopefully the American Society of Addiction Medicine declaring that alcoholism is a disease will help minimize the number of individuals that discriminate against people who suffer from the disease of addiction. It is not uncommon for people to feel that those who suffer from alcohol abuse and drug addiction are weak in character as opposed to actually suffering from a chronic brain disease.
Right and 50 years ago the APA discovered that homosexuality wasn’t a disease after all. The same will be shown for alcoholism. All the science geeks on your payroll can’t suppress the simple truth. (And ASAM is just the medical arm of AA.)
Addiction isn’t a character weakness or defect. Nor is it a disease. It’s a satanic religious cult!
You are now trying to distance yourself from AA, though that strategy is bound to fail. Obviously you are concealing great mischief. I can’t wait to find out what it is!
The AMA “declaring” something is a “disease” isn’t how it works.
As an example of how it is determined whether something is a disease, right now, the issue of whether fibromyalgia is or is not a specific disease is being researched in the U.S. This involves many doctors and research labs looking for potential underlying causes for the symptoms, investigating whether those symptoms and the proposed underlying causes can be explained by other factors, or whether they go together all the time, and whether those symptoms/underlying causes reliably respond to various forms of treatment. For a long time, a lot of medical professionals thought fibromyalgia was not a disease, but perhaps either a “pain syndrome” (a sort of misfiring of nerves that caused pain in the absence of of loss of function in any other area) or a patient’s “belief” that they had a problem in which it’s the belief that is the only problem, or a problem of other known diseases not being discovered and getting labeled fibromyalgia. Recent scientific research suggests that fibromyalgia is actually caused by a malfunction of the blood vessels. This is how scientific medicine works out whether something is a disease – they don’t just “declare” a disease exists by fiat.
(The APA, in the process of deciding what is or is not included in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual does essentially declare what is/isn’t a mental or psychological disorder, but that is a separate organization, and their methods for deciding whether something belongs in the DSM is under substantial criticism)
BTW, The AMA panned the Big Book when it first came out.
Haha this is hilarious! I just celebrated 6 years clean and sober. God brought me to AA. AA brought me to God. Now I get to give back what was so freely given to me. A happy, joyous and free life! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Awesome …
This article is unsettling @best. Bill W 13 stepping? Evidence please. I believe people are born alcoholics & the 12 steps are derived from The Bible. Not everyone relapses, its not a prequisite to recovery. This article is jaded and evil spirited. If you look hard enough you can find bad anywhere because you are looking therefore attracting it.
Wow you’re a real Billshit worshipper. There is tons of evidence for his escapades. Just ask any old timer. His stories are legendary.
The 12 steps are not derived from the Bible. Even if the old timers insist it. They are from the Oxford Group which was a pagan cult. Yes of course you can find bad anywhere. Fortunately your god has granted you the serenity to do nothing about it.
Addictionmyth, you are a sick POS. Let me guess, you belong to Westboro Baptist Church ?
Let me guess. You belong to AA. (“Anyone who dares to challenge our doctrine is insane!”)
Wow. Who hurt you?
A A is basic behavior modification therapy. It is not nor does it claim to be the cure to all that ails you. It is one way to get sober and live happily. If you were exploited for sex…blame the individual not the organization he hides within. Money? Ha! Gimme a break. You have to be smart and trust yourself enough to spot the cons because every organization has individuals who are there for the wrong reason. Take responsibility. Stay away from the creeps grab onto the healthy members and “allow” yourself to recover…that is AA. I have never been hurt by this program or it’s members.
Wow. You say “Take responsibility” and then you demand confession of powerlessness. I am scared for the the people who walk into your meetings. Who try to avoid the cons and the creeps and scariest of all, people like you. How many of your ‘sponsees’ are still alive?
It’s “powerlessness over alcohol” Try to get it right. It’s the only “admission” in the entire program.
Claims of satan or cult wither since there is nothing or nobody specific to worship, no charismatic leader, no followers, and no money exchanges except $2 per meeting for the rent and coffee. No outside contributions are allowed. It’s poor on purpose so claims of cult or rip off have no basis.
Sounds like some individual in AA hurt your feelings.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is behavior modification.
AA is a cult.
Right on! I’m also a friend of bills and stumbled upon this BS. Wow aa has done for me what I couldn’t do for myself
Wow. Sorry you had such a lousy experience. Sadly, we do indeed have our share of nuts in AA. I can’t say that I’ve ever had a bad experience, been exploited for Sex or had demands made upon me for cash. I just crawled in the door and they helped me to stand. Since then they have only asked that I do the same for anyone who asks it of me. AA is basic behavior modification therapy. Habits aren’t broken, they are replaced with new habits. Dr Phil 101. We create new pathways in our brains by doing something new…Over and over. After 30 years of “needing” a drink or a drug….today I take a walk, read a book or catch a movie. It’s simple but for this drunk it was impossible until I worked the 12 steps of AA. Which I did without shame. Either somebody really messed up got with you or you have never actually been a member of AA.
The aa program wants you to put your faith in God, and not in the material world. Many members are mentally disturbed and if you get caught up with them you can have problems. Overall it’s a good program, with God as the main focus. Take the message from aa and leave the mess, and it can help you get sober and find god. AA is not perfect, but I can say that it helps people that want help. You can find whatever you want at an aa meeting, so your intention for going directly effects what you get.
You and The Orange Papers should team up.
You obviously have WAY too much time on your hands.
Haters hate. That’s what they do. If this is your life’s work, your life must really suck.
Poor bastard…………………
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t make that person a “hater”.
Thanks for putting this out there. I was in AA for over 10 years without a drink and “doing the work.” After actually reading AA comes of age, Dr. Bob and the good Old Timers and Pass it On, (all ‘approved’ literature) my eyes started to open. First thing I noticed is that those who talk about these books at meetings have obviously not read them.
My past three years have been the least angry of my life, I guess it helps not to hang around bitter angry people. I have also stopped thinking I have the answers to questions that have no answers.
I love the quote in the jacket of Pass it On referring to Bill Wilson from his secretary(non-AA).
“isn’t it too bad he never did anything with his life”
I guess “normies” think one should have a job etc. etc. to have a meaningful life- how silly.
Satan Loves you
I’m constantly amazed at the vitriol published by some people with so much time on their hands, that they make tearing down a fellowship that has, and continues to help so many people. I assure you, we shall endure despite people like YOU, Sir, who, instead of finding your OWN solutions, feel the need to sh*t on ours. For some of us, me included, this SOLUTION is the Only one that worked, and for me, and those in freely give back to, neither you, now any other hater will ever be able to stifle us.
Well then enjoy your lying sociopath exploitation Billship worshipping drinking club now while you can. Cuz it won’t be around much longer. 🙂
Ur crazy
Check the reply “you are crazy” I believe the definition includes being awake at 4:18 am looking at this stuff!!!
you are pathetic.
I could not even get through your blog. You call AA crazy then you start talking about Satan. Only Christians belive that there is some dark lord making people do evil things called Satan. You are just as much of a fool as the AA’s that you speak of. You sheeple and your set in stone belief structure amuse me.
They hypocrisy in your comment amuses me. You admit that AAs are Satanists and then you call me a fool for pointing it out. Your blind faith in the Big Book of Lies and I’m the one with the ‘belief set in stone’. And I’m a ‘sheeple’ for speaking out against your satanic cult. You say you don’t believe in Satanism but you are obviously just a satanist in denial.
Everything you say about people having too much time and vitriol could apply equally well to your tearing down the person who took the time and effort to make and maintain this web site.
You should really read (or re-read) the essay on “The Problem of the Jews” it is actually quite on point regarding the concept that it is somehow not right for someone who notices a problem to actually call attention to that problem unless that person already has “an answer” on hand. Sometimes the person who first notices a problem doesn’t have the expertise to come up with an answer. But other times, the problem the person has identified is a made up solution to a made up problem – in which case there is *No* solution that needs to be proposed.
YOU have no idea what you’re talking about – I have witnessed thousands of lives and families restored as a direct result of people who are totally broken taking the 12 steps of AA!
Have another dude- see you in the rooms one day… pretty sure you’ll be there.
Thank you for that I’m a recoveing alcoholic and its good I reformed my life and family thank you AA saved my life
AA is not any religion at all it’s a support for people who drink to much and want to stop and for those who have stopped (btw ever go to a young peoples mtg? You actually don’t have to be middle aged to get sober) AAs “big book is the program and it only tells how others stopped drinking
Pg 16 big book
You should post the whole page
We commenced to make many fast friends and a fel- lowship has grown up among us of which it is a won- derful thing to feel a part. The joy of living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty. I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the lives of their families and communities. Business and professional men have regained their standing. There is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us. In one western city and its environs there are one thousand of us and our families. We meet frequently so that newcomers may find the fellowship they seek. At these informal gatherings one may often see from 50 to 200 persons. We are growing in num- bers and power.*
An alcoholic in his cups is an unlovely creature. Our struggles with them are variously strenuous, comic, and tragic. One poor chap committed suicide in my home. He could not, or would not, see our way of life.
There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all. I suppose some would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. But just underneath there is deadly earnestness. Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.
Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia. We have it with us right here and now. Each day my friend’s simple talk in our kitchen multiplies itself in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men.
Peace on earth and good will to men sounds very suspicious probably satanic.
Three circuit courts in the U.S. have made rulings that A.A. is a religion.
The argument made was that aa and na maybe be religious in nature not that they are religions.
Using the coercion test, a number of courts have recently found that forcing prisoners or probationers to attend aa or na meetings under the threat that some benefit or right will be withheld for failing to attend is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Conclusion of the circuit court:
A growing body of law shows that prisoners and probationers may not be forced to attend A.A., N.A., or any other religiously based organization. Prisoners and probationers who feel they are being forced attend a religiously centered organization should request a secular alternative. If that request is denied, or if there is no secular alternative, prisoners should gather information about the program to show that it is religious in nature. Prisoners should then request that authorities not condition any benefit or threaten any punishment based on their refusal to attend the religious organization.
AA/ NA is not a religion. That is absurd 12 step programs have helped millions of people find recovery including myself for over 23 years. Please don’t believe this pack of outright lies. I’m also a clinical therapist who has worked with clients addicted to heroin and other substances for over 23 years.
AA is blatantly satanic and your days of brainwashing children into powerlessness and suicide are coming to an end. 🙂
Heard of paragraphing?
Pg 62 of big book
Read and decide for yourself
Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Some times they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so. Above everything, we alco holics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us! God makes that possible. And there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid. Many of us had moral and philosophical con victions galore, but we could not live up to them even though we would have liked to. Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or try ing on our own power. We had to have God’s help.
This is the how and why of it. First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn’t work. Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom.
Sounds good to me. But then I will celebrate 9 years of sobriety on Oct 14, 2014. I have never relapsed and this program had changed my life. I am happy and content.
I am so happy for you congratulations… You are an inspiration for others
My book a cunning linguist has an appendix subtitled how to 12 step aleister Crowley. Thelemites believe in a true will in much the same delusional way that AA believe in the will of god as they understand him. I am in long term sobriety, both philosophies are a crock.
I can see the results of AA . what results have been realized through your efforts? just wondering. Soarky
I can see the results of AA too:
‘healthy relationships’ = brainwash people into powerlessness and exploit them for sex
‘a better job’ = demand confession of sins and insecurities with ‘rigorous honesty’ and blackmail the victim for cash
‘responsibility’ = convince lonely people that they are powerless to their own cravings and wait for them to die from an overdose
These are the results of AA. My efforts will realize the destruction of your beloved cult.
I swear just another example of how batshit crazy some christians are.
This article is so ridiculous that I already feel bad for dignifying it with any response at all. You, sir, are insane.
you’re right, AA can’t help you. Try NA, you’re clearly smoking crack
Exploit people for sex?? Blackmail them for cash?? What a joke. You have no power to destruct AA, you aren’t that important. Tens of thousands of people from all over the world attend AA Founders Day in Akron each year — and you think you have the power to destroy that? I would think there are bigger issues impacting humanity you could focus your negative energy on rather than attack a program and fellowship that has helped – and continues to help – thousands of people.
A person who loves the idea of seeming smarter than the rest.
This guy got kicked out of the sand box when he was a kid. His mommy must have not let him play dungeons and dragons.
AA is indeed a cult. It is dangerous. All of you pro AA folks commenting are proof of this. I will not get into the details of my horrific experience in the AA cult, but I am lucky that I still have most of my sanity and my life. It left me scared, angry and paranoid. Above all I am angry! I was court appointed into AA and was brainwashed by members into believing I was an alcoholic. I hope you all get the real help you need someday. God bless you!
I bet u still abuse drugs and/or alcohol.
personal accountability is for adults.
If you were brainwashed into believing you were an alcoholic and and are not, in truth, one then AA will not work for you. Better to have left the program and to seek other means of sobriety. It does, however, work for people who are alcoholic and cannot stop drinking on their own.
The longer you stay away and keep control of your own life the better you will feel.
Best of luck!
You are some else, some is wrong with you. I have been in AA for almost 6 years, clean and sober the whole time. Relapse has not been a part of my recovery and there just isn’t any where in the Big Book that say’s relapse is a part of recovery. AA is open to anyone that needs or wants help, you just have to do the work. No Matter who you are, where your from or whatever you religious background. It is there to help the “alcoholic”. You are lying!!!!!!!! AA has taught me to take full responsibility for my actions and behaviors from the past and the present. And also not to point fingers or blame others for my mistakes. I do not have anything against you though. you just gave me assurance that there will alway be negativity fighting positivity.
spiritual world with spiritual beings having human experiences with a spiritual program. Re-read page 62 in A.A. Big Book…….
Page 62 pretty much proves my point. Demon possession: “We were selfish, self-centered, self-pitying, delusional, and we believed we were God.”
Exorcism in late-middle age: “Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness or it will kill us. We must seek God’s help.”
You my fine featherd friend are bats hit crazy!!
After reading this, I was astonished. Both at the fact that I can tell you really took the time to research the history of the entire program and then you turn around and call it a cult….. sweetheart, I respect your opinion for all have the right to their own. One of the beautiful things about having a brain. But what I’m not understanding is that when you say AA has killed, how is that possible? I mean really, the program
is there simply to help those who feel they are weak and need it. Whether they accept the help and heal or try and off themselves is not on the program. No it may not be for everyone, but its only here to help those who truely seek it. Why blame the program for the actions of the unfortunate? Now the program does not hand the victem the gun or rope or knife etc. And there are unfortunate endings in every program/help line. So are they at fault too for individuals that take their lives? It almost sounds like you are trying to take pain and point a fingure so that you don’t have to face facts that sometimes unfortunate events happen. Nobody can truely understand why or how, but they do happen. And its of nobodies fault outside the mind of the victem
This is absolute bullshit ! AA is a wonderful program that is there for the soul purpose of helping us live a wonderful life of sobriety! I have been part of this amazing program for years. Nobody forced anything on me and I know first hand that when I’m working the program my life is amazing!!! When I’ve turned my back on it my life becomes unraveled. If your not an alcoholic you cannot understand and are not expected to. Were all just human and like everything there are bD apples that have a real unhealthy view of a God driven wonderful program.
You are so brainwashed it’s funny.
How many people do you know personally that are alcoholic and now have sobriety?
More than you.
Hey Addiction Myth/LUCIFER,
it’s ok…we are still saving a seat for you in AA.
Thank God ! They even let ME in!
@ a girl, you tell em, programs workin for me o.d.a.a.t! Chris alcoholic
And we will give you a hug when you arrive. Sparky
I have watched people who were about to die from liver disease come to meetings as a last resort and change change their attitudes. As a result many do recover. I have buried enough friends to know that the compulsion to continue using until the end is real. I came to a meeting once for all the wrong reasons and because I have met some of the most real, down to earth people I have never left. I have no problem with anyone having an apposing view of what I hold this dearly because I’ve learned tolerance. My friends in AA aren’t evil they are a gift to somebody like me that believed in nothing. If you have the compulsion I speak of and have found ANY way out congradulations… far too many never got that chance.
You forgot “I tried to stop drinking but couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. And I almost died from liver disease.”
Doesn’t matter if it’s true, you just have to say it. Well you already know that. Also don’t forget “I buried lots of friends.” Oh never mind I see you already got that too. You’re doing great! 🙂
I got it u own a large liquor company? Or maybe you are Satan!
This person is behind an anonymous name and obviously has something to gain by attempting to thwart the attempts of well meaning people, who are trying to quit, by making them seem flawed in some way. This AddictionMyth power should step out behind his curtain and reveal himself. He is nothing but an internet charlatan and should be ignored by all those who stumble upon this drivel. He is a fool and nothing else and any person can see through this web of lies and misinformation. I haven’t the time, but all of it is easily discounted by eve the most basic amount of research. This person has no credentials and a fake name. This is enough proof for anyone that this is misinformation and should not be taken seriously. Those that have been successful in quitting should be proud that they have done it by whatever means. Ignore this anonymous dolt and continue with your lives.
You still can not deny that it has helped millions live a free productive life. These same people were drunks losers etc. Some so bad that they were on the brink of death. Just like everything else you are entitled to your opinion. Which are like assholes everyone has em…
AA is great for liars and psychopaths who claim they were ‘on the brink of death’. Otherwise, best to steer clear.
I am not a liar, I was in intensive care after a suicide attemp and the locked up in a Phych ward. I almost did die. AA was the only thing that brought me to belive that God could and would if he were sought! Thank God for AA.
I’m sorry but you were not an alcoholic at age 15. You were an impressionable girl and a victim of the cult of powerlessness that told you that you were going to die. You wanted so much to belong that you made it true.
Every time you call yourself an alcoholic or say that you are powerless to alcohol you are lying. AA has killed thousands in exactly the same way that it almost killed you. Please don’t give the coolaid to other impressionable children.
I don’t need AA meetings, Im just a drunk ! They force you to ‘side stream’ smoke several cartons of cigs. per meeting . I think some go gust to save on the outrageous price of the poision.
There’s no such thing as alcoholism. You’re either a drunk or you’re sober. These so called alcoholics just trade one so called addiction for another.
You are so totally full of it. A.A. has saved millions of lives. Your ignorant to what you write sir.
AA kills thousands every year. And it has exploited millions.
Just post your drunkalog and see for yourself.
How had AA killed thousands? People in AA were drinking themselves to death before they came to AA. If they cannot work this simple program and recover from a hopeless state of mind and body, they will die, but AA is not the fault. How does it exploited millions and in what way?
My drunkalog is that I had tried to kill myself from the age of 15 until about 40 years old. Alcoholism drove me to insanity. Once I started working the AA program, I have not had to drink for 17 years. No relapse. I tried lots of times to stop on my own, but could not. With God in control of my life and AA I have total peace and my life is good. It works if you work it.
OK great well at least you agree that drug addiction is a religion and not a disease. We’re making progress. Just don’t forget to pray to your higher power every day and I hope he doesn’t ever take a lunch break. Because you know the cravings can strike again at any time, even after years of sobriety. Expect it when you least expect it!
You Are So Brainwashed it’s Funny
As a 30 year member of AA I agree with what you said. AA has immeasurably changed my life for the better and has done so for many others. I did not realize that AA generated so much hostility by some Christians.
Totally agree!
sad.
This is an eye opening article, you did a great job! I went to NA for awhile and it just didn’t feel right, there was something off and I couldn’t put my finger on it..I believe in God and once i got clean I got back into church and started to get my life straightend out. I asked Jesus back into my life and things really started to change and I stopped going to NA completely because I didn’t need it, it seemed to be bringing me down. I tried working the steps and following there way for awhile but I just didn’t buy into any of it..and now I know why..addiction isn’t a disease, it’s a sin and once I allowed God into my life I didn’t need the 12 steps or anything this world has to offer. Thank you for this article, more people need to read it!! 🙂
Thank you! Addiction is a very clever lie: if you don’t believe it then that just proves you are in denial. Or just ignorant. Or just plain crazy. It’s not hard to get caught in that trap.
Spiritually is the key. Relying on God is what AA does. Keeping the spiritual connection is why you stayed sober. AA does not take credit for keeping anyone sober. NA is a different program and has little God in it, but AA is tired and true.
Have you seen Lucy? Not a good movie, but not terrible either. Watch for the following 12 Step programming:
Drugs give you superhuman powers.
They are instantly addictive.
They compel a desire for massively increasing doses.
They immediately instigate robotic and amoral behavior.
They will ultimately kill you.
Human reason is useless.
Humans are robots/computers controlled by brain chemistry.
“You need to take care of your liver and kidneys. Some lifestyle changes are required. Here’s a prescription.”
Mom: “And don’t party so much.” Lucy: “OK mom I’ll try.”
If satanic how come god is mentioned 298 times in the big book
It’s not about God, it;s about taking something you believe in so much. This may be nature,a tree,a car or whatever. Making it yours and believing in something greater than ourselves that would have the power to help you overcome the addiction of whatever your poison is. At first I thought it was about God but no it;s not at all. Just for a minute with an open mind think like this. You have a group of people with similar problems like loosing there family,there homes,there kids,there own health. Sought of near death, and speaking to another person with the same problem. If you can’t see it as a non-religious thing. Try to get help on a Friday or Saturday night with no-one around with no family ,no friends,no job and your life is crumbling. Instead you get yourself another alcoholic that knows all about this shit to help you through and love you to when you can love yourself again. Then maybe just maybe after getting sober you just might be able to help another alcoholic. Dude it’s a simple program for very complicated people. In AA we have this one saying I love. Keep it simple stupid. Have a great day and good luck with your sobriety.
I already decided I didn’t want to see it because it promotes the long-discredited claim that humans use only 10% of our brains. I like science fiction, but not stupid pseudoscience fiction.
Morgan Freeman does a disservice when he repeats the claim. People trust him.
I totally agree about Morgan Freedman. He hosts a show that does so much good science, – but then sometimes does “is such-and-such really God” episodes that are irritating – but this movie makes him seem such an untrustworthy host for exploring science.