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This seems to me to be a perversion of our Judeo-Christian heritage and very well puts AA in the category of a cult
I'm a student of religious movements and well versed in everything recorded about the teachings of Jesus from the sermon on the mount to his last appearance with the apostles. As an FYI the people in AA that are working the program are doing what Jesus told us to do it's just that we are doing it using different language then the church. In fact I find a sincerity in AA that is greater then the typical church community.
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"they will soon find themselves embroiled in a program of conversion designed to get the newcomer to believe in Bill Wilson’s and Frank Buchman’s way of life". I am still finding it hard to believe that this is going on in a free society.
I would bet that most people in AA don't know who Frank Buchman was and would only be interested in the principles that AA borrowed from the Oxford movement.....which were borrowed from the Bible anyway.
AA owes a debt of gratitude to Bill W and many others. It is fairly common knowledge that Bill was unfaithful in his sobriety and died from acute nicotine addiction. Upon the reading of Bills will GSO discovered that Bill bequeathed 10% of the Big Book royalties to his mistress, apparently with the knowledge and approval of his long time wife Lois.
Bill was no saint and I don't know of anyone who thinks he was. AA principles are universal and can be found across the theological spectrum. Bill and a number of other contributors were able to organize those principles in such a way as to establish a system for overcoming incurable addictions via spiritual transformation. The 12 steps, 12 traditions and 12 concepts of world service are nothing short of spectacular.
What is disturbing is that people who, for whatever reason decide not to get help in AA ,are not content to just leave but launch out on a campaign complete with web sites and a following to slander AA in the most vicious way proving the very contention that AA makes, that being that alcoholics are generally selfish immature people.
Colter