Tim Bruening <tsbrueni@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote in
news:47A821F5.94384EA4@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us:

>
>
> Jamffer wrote:
>
>> "Tim Bruening" <tsbrueni@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote in message
>> news:47A6EE9A.6A863357@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us...
>> > According to the 12 steps advocated by Alcoholics Anonymous,
>> > alcoholics are supposed to turn to God/A higher power for help in
>> > overcoming alcoholism. Alcoholics are to believe that a higher
>> > power can restore them to sanity, turn their wills and lives over
>> > to God, admit to God the exact nature of their wrongs, ask God to
>> > remove their shortcomings, and seek through prayer and meditation
>> > to improve their conscious contact with God.
>> >
>> > If an alcoholic happens to be an atheist, how would he apply the 12
>> > Steps?
>> >
>> > If an alcoholic atheist is COURT ORDERED to attend AA meetings,
>> > would this constitute an infringement on their First Amendment
>> > right to freedom of religion?
>>
>> You need to do what all Christians do.
>>
>> You need to (pretend) that a God exists.
>>
>> It doesn't matter whether God is or isn't, just (try to believe) that
>> there is a God, no matter how ridiculous it seems.
>>
>> If you are cured of alcoholism and God wasn't real then who cares if
>> God is imaginary?
>
> If you don't truly BELIEVE in God, how can you use faith in Him to
> cure your alcoholism?

I am reminded of the story of Niels Bohr, who kept a good-luck charm, a
horseshoe, nailed over the door of his summer house. When one of his
guests teased him saying, "Niels, you're one of the foremost physicists
and rationalists of the century. Do you really believe in good luck
charms?" Bohr replied, "Of course, not. But I understand that it works
whether you believe it or not."

The point of turning oneself over to a "higher power" in aa is to realize
that ordinary rational thought, will power, and human planning are
impotent in the face of the compulsion to drink. In aa, an alcoholic
turns to some force outside himself: the God, a god, the innate good of
nature, the collective protection of those who love him. Whatever. If
*self*-reliance worked, the drinking alcoholic wouldn't still be
drinking.