Deadrat wrote:

> 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.

I believe that by believing in God, people can give themselves psychological
boosts in their fight to resist alcohol.