AA Dogma

I’m having a hard time with the dogma of AA. They go out of their way to point out, ‘as we understood him’, but everywhere you look is he, him, and God. When I was in Rehab they had a Baptist Minister come in once a week to talk to us and he said the only way any of us could stay sober is through, ‘Our Savior Jesus Christ’. I’ve been sober a little over 90 days and I go to AA meetings because there is little else in this small town. I go for the sobriety and fellowship. I also go to Smart Recovery meetings online. I have no desire to drink I just can’t get with the AA program.

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You’re overthinking this. The book even says “spirit of the universe” or “collective consciousness.” There’s an entire chapter called we agnostics. Millions of people, many of whom adamantly denied the existence of a higher power, have gotten sober through the steps.

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I am too struggling to grasp the concept of god. A few suggestions given to me were:
Do I believe there’s a higher power greater than myself?
My higher power could be male,female, black,white, rainbow, thick, skinny -basically anything I want to see it as.
Look at the little blessings all around my life- they aren’t coincidences.
My higher power could be the group of aa, angels, god,music or anything.
The last one I heard was my higher power could be called anything I want like Sky Daddy.

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Good news for you here... You're not alone. I struggled with some of the principles of AA too. I stuck it out for about six weeks to say I gave it a generous thorough once over. In my opinion, I never found what I was looking for there. I just wanted to be happy. To find a way to stay humble in the little things of life. I didn't want to be defined by my sobriety date or sobriety at all. A lot of people never drink and never want a single shred of recognition about it. So I felt like I wanted to be more than my sobriety. It just wasn't what I was looking for. As of two weeks ago, I've been sober nine years after drinking through my late teens, all of my 20s and half of my 30s. So, there is still hope. If you're dedicated towards being a better version of you (which is always the sober version of you) and you're truly trying to find happy, you'll succeed. What I've found is that doing sobriety on a self course will often employ parallel strategies used in AA. AA just has a more regimented approach to tether people to those strategies without a lot of distraction. I can appreciate that but if you're intent is to be a better person and live a better life you can't help but scratch some of the basic fundamentals found there in the program. My mom, also a recovering alcoholic with 30 years told me often in my sobriety that if I didn't go to AA I'd not last in sobriety. These days, when we talk about life - she tells me she's been amazed at how I've learned to thrive and employ the same guidelines that AA offers. I'm not just sober, I'm sober and thriving. That baffled her. But when you're really apt to be better, you will get better at all costs. But the getting better part doesn't end once we start feeling better physically. That's actually where the hard work begins. Find ways to improve yourself daily and you'll be surprised how much of an investment you can make out of yourself!

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I've manged to stay sober for almost 8 years and counting. I did it without AA. I only went to about 30 meetings and it was not for me.

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This is a very interesting article - I read comments at the bottom - the one that stood out, aa is more a brotherhood than an organization… or something like that… it’s more about comradery

I also struggled with the “God” thing, my higher power I use is the people in the rooms and the good people in my life. Don’t overthink it!

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Unfortunately traditional AA is clinging with all its might to the 1950s instead of looking forward to the 2050s... which is fine for those that it is fine for. However we live in a different World than the one the people who founded the program did. My opinion is that they never intended for it to become rigid and dogmatic. The only requirement for membership is the desire not to drink! There are agnostic meetings online and if you need one in person and there isn't one in your area you should start one! I just did that in my area and it has been extremely rewarding and helpful to my sobriety. You DON'T need God to be sober. Spirituality is a huge help in life though. Man will always search for meaning and it can change and grow through your life just like we do. :call_me_hand:t3: TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE!

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A big turning point for me was when I stopped looking and focusing on the things I didn’t agree with in AA. It’s a group of people that used substances to escape getting together to change their lives. I thought my way into a miserable existence. Time to let somebody else do the thinking.

Thank you all for the input. In my meditation this morning I accepted my higher power. I call it, ‘The Big Electron’. Doesn’t judge or punish, doesn’t reward, just is.

I wasn’t cool w any of that either. And I disliked the politics in some meetings. However, I won’t let semantics or politics ruin my program. My understanding of a higher power is simply love. So I try to be loving w no expectations. When I can do that, I’m a happy guy😊

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I don’t struggle with god. But AA isn’t for me either. But if it works for some that’s great!! Not just me. My problem all starts with the first step.