Why I Loathe Alcoholics Anonymous

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:11)

For years, I was stepped in this terrible cult called Alcoholics Anonymous.

My mother was a recovering alcoholic, according to her statements, testimony, blah. She worked "the steps" every day of her life, so she claimed. She got sober in 1978, having had a spiritual revelation after drinking a morning mimosa. Something in her spirit told her "You don't have to do this anymore."

And that was the last time she drank alcohol. For the record, I feel compelled to point out that she received a spiritual revelation from God, not help or support from working Twelve Steps. However, the evil genius of Alcoholics Anonymous is to teach people that "It works if you work it" and the Big Book offers this guarantee that people who follow the Twelve Steps rarely fail.

The truth is, my Mom got sober without AA, but she still believed that she had to work the Twelve Steps every day of her life just to get through the day.

On another note, my mother quit smoking when she prayed, when she asked the LORD for help and stopped relying on her own efforts to quit. "I have no faith in me, and I have very little faith in you."

But God can use our little faith to do great things, and my mother was set free from smoking.

Sadly, she was still addicted to AA, and she worked that awful program, until it worked her to death.

Why do I loathe AA? It's not just that that legalistic, self-loathing cult damaged my mother, it's not just that that awful cult turned my mother into an abusive therapy who put her own "recovery" ahead of the needs of her children, her family, and anyone else--even Christ Himself!

I loathe AA because it teaches people to identify with a lie.

At every meeting, every member of the club in the "rewms" will say: "Hi, my name is ... , and I am an alcoholic."

Now, tell me ... how can we really expect anyone to break free of a damaging perversion if we teach people to identify with it? If you are "born" an alcoholic, then you should just drink and drink until you pass out or die.

BUT ... people are NOT born alcoholic. Just as there is no evidence that people are born gay, there is no gene for alcoholic. Granted, patterns of alcoholism do ensue in families, but it has to do with the abuse and trauma which children suffer from their parents, and there is this uncanny tendency for children to replicate the bad behaviors of their parents based on the imprinting and the wrong believing that comes with identifying with one's parents--no matter how bad they may be,

To sum up: no, people are not born "alcoholic." What's more, many people get over alcoholism without taking those ridiculous Twelve Steps.

The AA cult teaches lies to its members. It purports to not be a religious program, and yet members are instructed to turn their will and their life over to a "Higher Power" as they understand Him. Going beyond that, however, this Higher Power is still subject to the Twelve Steps--which have no pattern or value in the Old or New Testaments. In effect, the higher power for everyone in AA is not the Lord God as revealed in the Scriptures.

It's the creepy God of Bill W.'s insidious creation. (For those who don't know, Bill Wilson--or Bill W.--founded Alcoholics Anonymous.) Bill W. is treated with almost divine reverence in the meeting rewms of AA. It's really sickening. Let's state this fact plaintly once more: this "Higher Power" is an invention of Bill W.

It is total idolatry. Christians, Muslims, Jews, anyone who belongs to any faith community should reject AA out of hand. 

But for those who believe in Jesus, who recognize the Bible as God's Word, AA is all the more fully incompatible.

This terrible cult teaches people to identify with a sin, with an addiction, a moral failing.

What does the Bible say about our new identity in Christ?

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We receive a new standing before our Loving Father. God is no more some distant deity, but our Loving Father!

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

and

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:17)

Yes, AA's Big Book makes one reference that "He is our Father. We are His children," but then goes back to leveling adherents with religious demands. The truth is, the AA program does not reveal anything about the Higher Power, aside from what is in the book. This notion of "God as I understand Him" is absolutely ludicrous. If I could understand God, He would not be God anymore, now, would He?

But I digress.

The biggest fraud about the AA cult is that it teaches people to identify with their sins, with their failures, with their faults.

At the top of this post, I quote Romans 6:11, in which Paul clearly declares to the Christian believers in Roman: "Reckon yourself dead indeed to sin, and alive to God through Jesus Christ."

When you are born again, you are no longer a sinner. You are a saint. You are a child of God. Yes, there is training, there is the process of sanctification, which the Holy Spirit works on and in us as we see more of Jesus in the Word (cf 2 Corinthians 3:18)

You don't need to take steps to be one with your Heavenly Father.

In fact, even in the Old Testament, taking steps to God's altar was expressly forbidden:

"Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon." (Exodus 20:26)

If we try in our own efforts to get right with God, we merely expose our nakedness, our sin, our shame:

"But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

But in Christ, we have the fullness of His work. He declared "It is Finished" (John 19:30)

But you are no longer a sinner, and you are called to no longer identify with sin or any sins in your life.

Alcoholics Anonymous urges people to keep identifying with their sins, to keep rehashing their failures, to keep going to the joyless AA meeting, to keep repeating the empty mantras, to fall in line with the mob mentality, the mob identity.

My mother worked the program all right ... until she ended up taking her own life in 2012. This is the first time I have made this revelation public, but it needs to be said. Anyone who learns that he has to keep looking at his own sins and failures, that he must keep "taking his inventory" to stay one step ahead of an alcohol relapse, is looking at an empty life full of shame, hurt, and loss.

The number of people who have committed suicide while going to the AA "rewms" is pretty staggering, as well. But is anyone really surprised? A relentless program of self-loathing and self-abnegation is not going to produce happiness, joy, or freedom. 

Did I forget to mention that AA members often tout that their program is a "selfish" program, as if that is something to be proud of ...?

At any rate, I hope I have explained fully why I loathe Alcoholics Anonymous. The blood of Jesus cleanses everyone of us from all sins (1 John 1:9), and Jesus rests as the propitiation (full payment) for our sins and the sins of the entire world. If He has paid for all the sins of all the world, then there is no reason for people to rehash their sins or rest in their failures. It's time to stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on Christ Jesus! Forget the false god of Alcoholics Anonymous and believe in Christ and Him Crucified:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8)

If you find that you are still struggling with certain behaviors or bad habits, you just need to receive more favor, a greater revelation of Christ Jesus, and who you are in Christ:

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

and

"1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 

5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" (Colossians 3:1-5)

and

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord," (2 Peter 1:2)

We don't need AA. Let us have grace, which we receive through Christ Jesus!

You Have Not Lost Your Legs, and He Can Give You New Ones

"We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones."

That's what AA claims. And like many of its claims, it is a lie.

In fact, it is a lie from the pit of hell.

No, people are not "born alcoholics," no more than are people born gay, or born in the wrong body.

This is the fundamental fraud of this whole cult of fraud.

What does the Bible say about healing, health, and even our legs and the ability to run?

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

You can't run if you don't have legs! Yes, those who wait (literally, hope) in the Lord shall have their strength renewed, and they will run! Not only will they run, in fact, but they won't get tired, and they won't collapse from fatigue, either!

But wait! What if your legs don't work, or you cannot run?

Jesus can heal you!

"5And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath." (John 5:5-9)

It's OK to Get Angry, and God Doesn't Get Angry with You if You Get Angry

 Another great post from Laura Tompkins' blog:

The entire idea that your perfectly normal feeling of anger is somehow a poison you are choosing to drink just by allowing the feeling… is a 12 step cult platitude designed to stop you from living in your immense power.  Reject the very idea that “anger is a luxury you alcoholic/addict cannot afford.”  Or the ever-popular “resentment is death.”  Anyone who attempts this platitude is trying to shut you up. Anyone who insists your feelings are not facts is abusing you.  Anyone who spews such nonsense is gaslighting you. The meme above sums is up perfectly.

What are some other abusive platitudes of the 12 step cult religion?  There are hundreds from which to choose.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend with people deserving of your company.

Now, here's my commentary.

The AA cult is well-known for this terrible platitude: "We must be free from anger," and "Anger is the dubious luxury of normal men."

There are two lies in that second trite phrase "Anger is the dubious luxury ..." First, it is not dubious, in that anger is needed for us to decide to make changes in the face of unjust outcomes, choices, and outcomes. Jesus never ever said "Don't be angry." Second, it's normal to get angry, and people who struggle with alcohol addiction are not a different species of a subclass of mankind. That false identity needs to be rejected at all costs.

Today, I just want to focus on the truth that "It's OK to Get Angry."

He did say in the Sermon on the Mount:

"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:22)

It's all about being angry "without a cause," or "heedlessly" in the original Greek.

There are times that we should be angry. And there are bad memories that are ... bad memories. We do not need to fight or force our way away from them. There is nothing that we have to really do about them in many cases.

However, if we impose on people a law "Thou shalt not be angry," we are bringing people into bondage, and we are giving power to their flesh. Have you ever noticed how the more that you try not to be angry, the angrier you become?

Also, again, it is essential to get angry sometimes. When a child is being abused, when an innocent person is being bullied, when people in power do wrong things and do not respect their role or their oath of office, you and I should get angry. That outrage invites us to do something constructive and effective to stand up to that evil.

Consider what Paul writes to the Ephesians:

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:" (Ephesians 4:26)

It's so important for people to realize also that God will never got angry with you ever again after you beleive and receive His Son:

"For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." (Isaiah 54:9)

Did you see that? He will never get angry with you again! And I challenge you, in the accounts in the Old Testament featuring Abraha, amd Jacob, that for all their failures, not once did God ever get angry with them. There is no record of rebuke or God being wroth with them, either. God corrects us with dealings, and He guides us with His grace, but He never gets angry with us ever again. AMEN!

For me specifically, this "Don't Get Angry" aspect of the AA cult is particularly damaging. We get angry, we have upset thoughts from time to time, or we remember unpleasant events from the past. Does that mean that we have done something wrong? Does that really mean that we have to make adjustments to our time and and place, or do something right away or else?

There is untold, unprecedented harm in telling people that they should never get angry. When they are victims of wrongdoing, or when they suffer hurt which requires redress. they end up doubling down into a maelstrom of self-loathing and shame. No one should ever fall into such a mess. We should be free!

'Not at all. We have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). There is no reason for any of us to feel shame, to second guess our anger when someone says something offense or out of place, and we feel the need to correct the record, to confront that false statement.

It's OK to get angry. What you do with that anger is what determines whether you have sinned or not. This is such a great relief to revisit, and I pray that whoever chances on this blog post will rest in the promises of God's Word. It is essential for me to make this plain and clear, too: being angry, and even if you sin in your anger, does not cause God to go away from you. He does not leave you or forsake you, and your standing of righteousness before Daddy God in Christ Jesus does not change either!

Faith is not about feelings, and being faithful is not about not being angry. We don't have to wonder if God will come or go if we get upset. That bondage was so awful for me. I felt that I had to stop bad thoughts and bad feelings from pouring into my head in order for God to work through me and bless me.

Wow! How wrong I was. It's OK to be get angry, and God does not turn His back on us or go away from us if we are unjustifiably angry about something, about anything. No matter how unjustifiable our anger may be, we are justified in Christ! (Acts 13:38-39)

The Twelve Steps, Properly Revised, by Laura Tompkins

This is the accurate Twelve Steps that everyone needs to know once they escape from "The Rewms."

Special thanks to Laura Tompkins for this hilarious and oh, so accurate post.

Click on the original link here.

1. We decided We were “Not Powerless” over alcohol – that Our lives had become dominated by AA.

2. Came to understand that We were never as morally reprehensible as some AA members had led Us to believe.

3. Made a decision to turn and walk away from Alcoholics Anonymous forever.

4. Made a scorching and fearless indictment against AA as an organization.

5. Admitted to Ourselves and another Human Being that We had been ambushed into joining a religious cult.

6. Were entirely ready to relieve Ourselves of the self-defeating bullshit We were taught at AA.

7. Familiarized Ourselves with cult indoctrination tactics in order that We may never fall into a similar trap again.

8. Made a list of all AA-members who had harmed Us, and became willing to confront them all.

9. Called such people on their bullshit whenever possible, except when to do so would significantly injure them or others.

10. Continued to indict Alcoholics anonymous and when We were wronged promptly expressed our disapproval of it.

11. Sought scientific empirical evidence that could help Us to defeat addiction; focusing on Ourselves as the Power to carry that out.

12. Having been awakened from the AA nightmare as a result of these steps, We tried to carry this message to other victims of AA, so that everyone might know the truth about the Alcoholics Anonymous cult.

You are not alone.

Many of Us have been misled by the religion that claims not to be a religion. Some of Us suffered for years oblivious to the fact that AA offers no reliable or even sincere method to help alcohol troubled people to recover from addiction. When We felt hopeless. They used it against Us.

They told us We were powerless.
They did it to break Us down.
They did it to make Us unsure of Ourselves.
They did it to recruit new members for their religious cult.
We’re here to expose AA for what it really is. If You’ve tried AA over and over again, and You’re not getting the results you were promised, maybe it’s time You tried something else.
Think about it.

— Gunthar

Like I said — Brilliance.

However, many members (and ex-members), have an understandably difficult time deprogramming from all the scare tactics forced down their throats in AA.

Why?

You see, Bill Wilson was the kind of person who had to lie about who he was because he hated himself for very specific reasons, that we will never know — very specific reasons that he avoided facing his entire life. He avoided delving into his self-hate by becoming a guru, all the while acting as if he did not want to be a guru. He is the most brilliant guru of all time.

And since he hates himself so, rather than figure out why, he had to develop a program that would make its members hate themselves just as much, or hopefully more … to justify his hate-filled heart and to develop a posse of fawning disciples. Oh, and to 13th step (sexually harass) all the women.

Wilson had chronic depression and killed himself slowly with nicotine and then begged for whiskey on his death-bed — now that’s some SERIOUS SELF HATE.  Having compassion for him is fine as long as you refrain from following his path or from defending his cult religion.

Stay the fuck away from AA.

— Laura Tompkins

Laura Tompkins Dishes on AA: It's not "Self-Funded," but Corporately Funded

 This revelation should give you chills.

For decades, since "the program" started, Alcoholics Anonymous has promoted this notion that they are all self-funded.

What a crock.

Laura Tompkins tells all:

Here's her entire post on Facebook if you cannot see the link above:

A Vaccine of Truth:

What about AA's claim that: "There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions." ?

According to Alcoholics Anonymous' Annual Reports, if AA had to survive on the "contributions" from its membership, there would be no Alcoholics Anonymous. If only!

Alcoholics Anonymous' revenues come primarily from commercially run alcohol rehabilitation programs. The rehabilitation programs, here in the U.S. pay Alcoholics Anonymous for books, other printed materials and AA paraphernalia.

The real Alcoholics Anonymous is a not-for-profit money maker that reports to have $10,000,000 as a "prudent reserve."

Based on its own annual report the bulk of Alcoholics Anonymous' annual revenues come from the profitable relationship with commercial alcohol rehabilitation programs. Programs that FAIL participants and blame them for not “working the program.” The ultimate gaslighting.

Thus, claiming that it is self supporting through its own contributions is at least, disingenuous, if not outright fraudulent.

The End.

Keep coming back!

Indeed, let us keep coming back to the truth about this horrific, horrific cult. I despise Alcoholics Anonymous. This program does NOT work if you work it. In fact, the more that you work it, the more it will work you into an early grave.

Her point about the organization's raising huge amounts of money through the sales of books and other materials is all spot-on. Many government-funded and government-run health institutions run extensively on the whole AA program. I am well-aware of many hospitals and mental health clinics which push the AA program make sure that AA gets big money, big GOVERNMENT money.

This is wrong! We need to stop the cult of Bill W. any way that we can!

We Are Free From the Law

The Twelve Step cult is an easy "self-helpless" program.

Instead of reminding people of the truth, that we are creations of God, and He seeks to adopt us to restore our standing as children, we are taught that we have to work hard to maintain our status before Him.

We have to "work a program."

We have to confess our sins/short-comings/setbacks/whatever.

That does not explain or expound the Gospel.

What does the Bible say about our freedom in Christ?

"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14)

and

"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6)

and even:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)

We are not under law. We are freed from the law.

We are not set free by trying hard, or harder.

We are set free by His life:

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:31-36)

He sets us free!

Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life! (John 14:6)

There is no freedom from sin and shame in our lives through efforts.

All of it comes from the knowledge of God's grace and truth, met in Christ Jesus:

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

Now, there is not only the Ten Commandments, from which we are now dead through Christ.

There are our own little laws, rules, and regulations that we have imposed on ourselves, or which other people have imposed on us.

We must cast off the hollow dictates which other people have placed on us.

Check out what Paul shared with the Colossians:

"20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." (Colossians 2: 20-23)

We are dead from the little petty rules which men impose on others. The traditions of men nothing. The Truth of Jesus and all that He is, has, and does--that makes the difference!