Is AA a cult?

It totally is.

Most of my family are alcoholics, my mum, dad(functional alcoh), 2 uncles(1 died drinking other functional), 2 grandfathers, 1 grandmother.
And from what i can tell AA is a complete joke.
Although one granddad did go to AA religiously and did stop drinking, but from what he told me it was something he decided himself.

[link to www.orange-papers.org]

Would you care to carefully read your post again?

Equivocate much?

Thats cool. When people use prayer and "Talk" to Jesus/Buddah/Allah/The Sun/ A rock/ Or whatever works for them, i think it is cool. It is the people who think "What worked for me" must work for others, and then they try to force it on you, that i have problems with.

Peace.

I believe in God and I have zero religious affiliation.

In all of my dealings with these psychopaths, a specific religion was never necessary and I was never asked what religion I was.

Well, figure it out.

"Hi, my name is Johnny and I'm an alcoholic. Been sober 30 years, all thanks to AA. Keep coming back..."

First of all if you've stayed sober 30 years you are no longer an alcoholic. Alcohol is addictive and a person addicted to it is an alcoholic or as I would prefer to say, a drunk. Once the addiction part is broken (takes a few days, or a couple of weeks at most), then the person is no longer an alcoholic. But AA insists they are and teaches that once an alcoholic always an alcoholic. They need the program to stay sober. Without it they will most likely fail.
The program is praised, and it is promoted as being the only solution to a persons drinking problems.
then there is the whole issue of court ordered AA which they usually order for DWIs or any crime committed while someone was drinking. If they don't go to meetings they are hauled back into court, maybe even arrested.

Funny, I tried a few AA meetings like 30 years ago and it seemed like nonsense. I went there and heard stories about how people got drunk and went to wild parties. It actually tempted me to want to drink. I would have much enjoyed going to Trinitys meetings with the Vodka coffee (Is that some sort of poor mans speedball?) LMAO.
I quit drinking on my own several times. Every single time was without AA. I've gone back to drinking and only had 1 -3 drinks at a sitting, or a few beers every few months. AA tells you an alcoholic cannot do that and the first drink sends them on the path to drunkeness again. BULL MANURE! I proved that.

So as far as a cult, I would vote Yes. But to give it some credit it is a positive one. I'd say the only exception is for people like me who might be tempted if they have to hear people ramble about their drinking once or twice every week. If I don't hear about it I don't think about it.
If I want a beer on a hot day I'll have one and it's not going to set me back on a daily drinking habit like I had when I was 20.

I agree with you about the people who try and force things on you. Jesus never forced himself on anyone. Worshiping Allah however includes just that. Either you submit or get your head chopped off. In fact the Koran demands that you kill those that don't submit to allah. The other thing is that only Jesus Christ can redeem and restore you with the gift of eternal life and love. He is the only one who sacrificed himself for the world. All "religions" are based on works alone. Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Peace!

It's called pantheism. It is a religion.

has glen beck ever lead a meeting?

Not even close. Are you assuming to know my belief systems?

Not at all. I was just saying how AA is a religion because it is pantheistic. I wasn't saying anything about you personally.
Peace.

My experience is that there are many of the mainstream religions present in the membership.

It is also true that one's "higher power" could be nothing more than the empty bottle of the last beer they drank which was inspirational to them. No one would ever know.

No argument here. Oh, by the way I don't know if you realize that I wasn't the one that said "equivicate much"? Just for the record

Whatever they are they have a massive failure rate of something like 80%. I have seen it up close and personal. What kind of affirmation is it to admit you are powerless?

The whole time I was in AA, I never once saw one person get sober by use of the program. They always got sober first and then attended AA. Funny how AA indoctrinates people into thinking that it got them sober.

Usually to people that don't want to admit either they or a close one has a drinking problem it is a cult. The tens of thousands released from their prison by God's grace tend to think AA a miracle.

Well, yes it is, yes it does and yes it is again. Problem is the addiction-prone personality itself which almost never changes its type but can often substitute one addiction for another. Enter religion to fill the gap. From what I've seen of the religious tones of AA, it's harmless enough, which is more than we can say for alcoholism.

edit: the power of suggestion. I wrote AAA by mistake, having seen another put it in here. Like yawning, isn't it? One person in a group does it and it's contagious to the rest.

Last Edited by Awen Losg on 05/14/2010 12:11 AM

Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character

Wow, can God do that - I always thought it was up to the person to be responsible for their own actions and make a choice to stop the negitive behaviour -- so then if you do get better it was God not you -- does'nt sound right to me.


`` :mkj895w: ``I prefer to walk my own way:mloi9:

:49:

Hey Ahim-sa -- I finally know who this Glen Beck is that I see round glp all the time. I got digital tv the other day and now I can watch The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Cobert Report. These show are the only way I can understand wtf is going on with your politics over there.
Love to you

``` :bjdh7:

Judges can force you to attend meetings where you are compelled by a dead guy's doctrine to believe you are a helpless piece of shit that must submit to a magical unseen force which is the only thing that can possibly save you from yourself.

Orwell loves that you can bet.

No affiliation with a religion. You don't have to believe in anything...OR you can choose a "higher power" and your "higher power" can be a tree, dog, doorknob...whatever the hell you like.

AA did not attach itself with to ANYTHING. The recovery centers and such attached themselves to AA. AA is not affiliated with any of that shit. It seems the 12 step programs do have the best recovery rate. Most doctors, clergy, counselors (people who have worked closely with Alcoholics and their families)would agree that AA is the best for achieving sobriety.

Are you a pissed off drunk that needs help and AA is your last ditch resort?

So...did AA KEEP them sober? And what was it that got them sober?

NA has kept
me clean for almost 23 years.


Sirius question DrPostman - what excatly did NA do ? Is;nt it You who have keep clean all these years ??

I'd say so, plus their followers tend to be really annoying.

This I understand, thankyou for your answer.

``` :okvu5:

Been there, done that. And they wonder why they have a 90% failure rate. I was ordered to NA for pot which is a total joke, I would never normally associate with junkies.

:fsare:

I think you being sober has a lot more to do with you than the program.

No disrespect meant, but I spent 7 years in the ateen/anon groups. I was forced to go from the age of 10 to 17. It finally ended when I told my ex step dad to go fuck himself and left at 17.

I know there is no hierarchy per se, but there are definately "cliques" and certain "well respected" members that yield great influence over certain flocks and their sponsorees. My ex stepfather was one of these members.

I spent way too much time in clubs, churches, etc and it was pretty much the same everywhere.

IMHO it was a huge goddamned waste of my my life, especially since I have never had a drinking problem.

I just got to hear stories and excuses for him being a controlling tyrant to me and pretty much everyone else he surrounded himself with. It gets pretty tiring listening to people try to justify what basically boils down to bad behavior and lack of self discipline. I don't believe for a minute AAers are sick, I think they were the pioneers in blazing the trail for all the other made up "disorders" we see today.

The blatant hypocrisy, gossip, debauchery, and general douchebaggery at times was fucking unbelievable.

There was quite a few marriages destroyed by this "fellowship".

I've seen this shit firsthand. Maybe it is different in the program you are in.

Regardless of how I feel about AA, I congratulate you for 23 years of sobriety.