The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

 For some time as an adult I have struggled with a dependency on alcohol and have been attending twelve step recovery groups, in particular Alcoholic Anonymous. The primary book of AA fellowship is the Big Book, as it is called, written by the cofounder of AA, Bill Wilson. It has become a large part of my life. Like Holy Scriptures it offers the possibility of finding a life on a new footing, based on a spiritual life. One of the more interesting chapter in the book describes how a hopeless alcoholic received therapy from the eminent Dr. Carl Jung in Switzerland before the development of AA. He asked Dr Jung in desperation if there was any hope of him recovering from his alcoholism. Dr Jung remarked that there was little hope for such serious alcoholics as himself except for the possibility of a total spiritual reorientation of his being,  which he says has occurred in some alcoholics. He had been trying to encourage this in his patient. 

As a Roman Catholic one wishes that the church could offer such a spiritual transformation for the alcoholic but it seldom really does. I know that for me when confronted with alcoholism in my own life I also relied on psychotherapy and time spent at a monastery before finding a more permanent home in AA.  The big book of AA outlines its spiritual program based on its twelve steps. These twelve steps are the foundation of the program. I did the twelve steps with a sponsor over the space of some months. Going to meetings, doing the step work and developing a meditation and prayer life are all essential for the recovering alcoholic. Some of the steps such as doing an exhaustive moral inventory of one’s life and presenting it to someone were very profound and furthered my own understanding of my self. As well, the fellowship and the possibility of service to one’s fellows provides an opportunity for intense spiritual growth . Many so called hopeless alcoholic lives have been restored because of the AA fellowship.  The big book of AA and the various slogans of AA have become embedded in our culture. The chapters of the AA  big book are also wonderfully written and are of literary worth. 

That being said one issue that is quite difficult to understand is the role of God in the group. In particular the relationship between what AA members refer to as the difference between religion vs spirituality. One of the key ideas of AA is that one’s recovery from alcoholism depends on finding God or what they refer to as a simple higher power. This higher power is based on a god of one’s own understanding. Given that fact, does that make the program a religious program? The AA member thinks not. It talks of god, ones higher power, that’s true, but there is no dogma or creeds and usually AA prefers to call its approach a spiritual one. One of the key sources of controversy in the group is the use of the Lord’s Prayer in the meetings. More secular members feel it is inconsistant with the non religious basis of the group. The group does talk about God but it isn’t based on any sort of revelation. There is no mention of Jesus or any other religious figure and it is open to people of any or no faith. In fact the sole thing one needs is the desire to quit drinking, not a belief in God. Personally I feel that doing without the Lord’s Prayer would be best, as many are turned off by anything that smacks of church and religion. The god of ones own understanding can be based on reason and one’s own experience not necessarily religion and the Bible. natural theology not revealed theology as the theologian would say.

 Personally I rely on both aspects and the early pioneers of AA were most often conventional church goers who had a more positive estimation of,” religion” . But being an alcoholic can alienate one from organized religion. For me there’s a lot of overlap and both church and AA fellowship have been key in my recovery.