Many years ago, when I was beginning that long, uphill journey toward sobriety, despite the fact that I was not sober enough to know what I was talking about, one day I blurted out this pronouncement during a group therapy session.
There is nothing in the Alcoholics Anonymous program that runs contrary to Christianity. In fact, if an atheist follows the twelve steps thoroughly and diligently, those steps will inevitably lead him to Christ.
Forty years later, looking back on how very little I knew about anything, I can only conclude my pronouncement was what Pentecostal Christians call a word of wisdom from the Holy Spirit, because I was far too sick and stupid to have come up with it myself, and because I now find the statement to be unequivocally true.
That brings us to the implied and obvious answer to the question asked in the title of this piece. Anyone struggling with an alcohol use disorder including professing Christians is well advised to make the AA program a basic component of his recovery. What prompts the question is the argument often put forward that AA is not for Christians because its literature does not acknowledge Jesus by name but instead speaks of a power greater than that possessed by the alcoholic to heal himself.
One simple explanation for the term higher power is the fact that alcoholism affects people of all beliefs including agnostics and atheists. The generic higher power acknowledges the universal suffering and need for healing and extends a welcoming hand to all in search of sobriety.
That being said, we turn our attention to the question of just what AA is and what it does. AA is a fellowship (sound familiar?) of men and women who share with one another the means of attaining sobriety, beginning with the realization that the task is more than they can accomplish followed by the firm belief that there is a greater power which can restore them to sanity. As we read the commentaries of recovering alcoholics recorded in the AA literature, it is not long before we discover the phrase higher power being replaced by the word God accompanied by the assurance that he will restore us if he is sought
At this point the professing Christian may well ask why his faith has not restored him. It is probably because he has been focused on avoiding his pain instead of entrusting it to God. Right there we have the genesis of his addiction; that is, the alcoholic has fallen into the trap of believing he is exempt from the trials of life and that the consumption of alcohol understandably puts an end to the pain.
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus gives a startling directive: “If you wish to be my disciples, take up the cross and follow me.” It is easy for us in this analgesic age to breeze right past this bit of instruction without grasping the impact it must have had on the disciples. First century Jews were all too aware of the horror of crucifixion, and their higher power was telling them to embrace it.
Today the twelve-step program of AA is telling the Christian alcoholic to stop running from the pain and sorrow.
Written by: Patrick Caffrey, LPC
pat@restorationcounselingatl.com, ext. 114
Patrick Caffrey, LPC, is a therapist at Restoration Counseling of Atlanta in Roswell, Georgia, where he counsels adults who struggle with alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse, as well as related family issues. These include adult children of alcoholics (ACOA) and persons who are codependent. Pat has also written and published three books addressing the subject of addiction. His books are available through www.amazon.com or may be purchased at the Roswell office.