Some people have strong opinions about this .... what do you think?
2007-03-28 10:43:11 · 19 answers · asked by Deirdre H 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
its a good thing
2007-03-28 10:47:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Alcoholics Anonymous is defiantly NOT a cult. Probably not a cure either, but it has saved countless lives and helped thousands live day by day without alcohol. Yes, a higher power is part of the program, God gives support and even if you have some strong opinions about that, it has proven over years to work better than any other program.
2007-03-28 21:21:00 · answer #2 · answered by kattsmeow 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It isn't a cure, thats for certain. If it was people would not need to stay in it for so many years. It is little more than an indoctrination center for Christains in the guise of a support group for something that doesn't even exist (there is NO SUCH THING as an addciton). They tell you right in the meeetings that if you don't take up the religious aspects of the group it won't do you any good to be there. And Yes I have attended meetings...(I spent 11 months there under a court order several years ago and was blatently told by the people there that because I wasn't a Christian AA would not be of any benefit and that I should convert in order to gain any benefits from my attendence at all, which is why the court recended the order) so I know of wence I speak. Personally I think that they, and any similar groups need to be shut down.
2007-03-29 03:45:44 · answer #3 · answered by gotherunereadings 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
My husband has kept sober through AA for 20 years now, any questions?
Shawn D: Yes, they work thier program "one day at a time" . Some go to at least one meeting every day. My husband goes to several in a week. The support they get from each other is one of the things that keeps them sober, and that requires regular contact with other members.
Blue Octagons: The higher power thing does give some the willies, but really AA is not into pushing a specific concept of "God". My husband's higher power for awhile, was a glass egg. Some do get weirded out by the whole thing though, and try Rational Recovery instead.
Darkvitki: That may have been the opinion of some of the people in the group you were attending. That is not true for most AA groups, and is not AA's official position on it, that you must be Christian for it to work for you. When my husband was new to recovery he carried around a small glass egg, and that was his higher power. Eventually, he outgrew that, and passed it on to someone else to use as a higher power for awhile. He is not Christian, and has his way of dealing with the occasional one that wants to lead one of the groups he goes to in that direction. It could have been that a bunch of people in the group you attended had a bias in that direction, and were out to proseletyze to the entire group, and lead it in the direction they personally want it to go.
Athough AA's official policy is not to define a higher power in terms of a specific religion, there are so many AA groups out there that there is no way that the district offices can watch each one to make sure they are all sticking to it. There are also church sponsored recovery groups out there that aren't afiliated with AA, and the court may have sent you to one of those. That you were sentenced to attend this group, and not there voluntarily likely had some bearing on it as well, as people who are sentenced to go generally want "out".
2007-03-28 17:52:39 · answer #4 · answered by beatlefan 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I don't know much about AA, but I do know that all of the former alcoholics that I have met in my life went through it. Many of them said it was the only thing that could have gotten them through the ordeal of going off alcohol, and begin living their lives. So I presume it works.
Apparently keeping sober is a very long, time-consuming process (possibly life-long) and they need something to help keep them "dry" all that time.
2007-03-28 17:53:15 · answer #5 · answered by Shawn D 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I volunteers at an AA meeting and it didn't seem like a cult. People were conversing, drinking coffee, and just getting support from one another.
2007-03-28 17:52:35 · answer #6 · answered by Blanca 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It's not a cure, but it does work as a treatment for many.
I know of LOTS of addicts, however, who left the group because of the step which mandates belief in a higher power--some of them got clean anyway, and some didn't. AA doesn't work for everyone.
2007-03-28 17:53:23 · answer #7 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I think for some, it provides the help they need to handle their disease. It's neither a cult nor a cure. It's simply a support group that provides strength for someone who wants to improve their life.
2007-03-28 17:49:16 · answer #8 · answered by KS 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Its definitely a good thing... and much better than faith healing (though it works almost the same way).
AA had changed and shaped the lives of many that I knew.
2007-03-29 02:56:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Cure.
2007-03-28 17:50:08 · answer #10 · answered by daisyk 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Great support group for many people. But certainly not for everyone.
I Cr 13;8a
2007-03-28 18:27:44 · answer #11 · answered by ? 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋