Recovering Catholics and the 12-Step Mass

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.  Tom and the Bobgans will discuss several news items regarding Twelve Step programs.

Tom:

We’re going to do a little tweaking with this segment of our program in which, normally, Dave and I discuss a news article that has some religious relevance.  This time, however, I picked some brief news reports reprinted in the “Psyche Notes” section of Martin and Deidre’s newsletter, Psychoheresy Awareness Letter.  Let me begin with this one.  “A federal judge overturned a manslaughter conviction saying conversations among Alcoholics Anonymous participants should not have been used as evidence because such exchanges are a form of confidential, religious communication.”  U. S. District Judge Charles Grant said, “Treating AA Meetings with less protection than any other form of religious communication which carries assurances of confidentiality is unconstitutional.”  In his ruling July 31, Grant said that based on AA being considered a religion, disclosures of wrongs to fellow members should be protected by “a privilege granted to other religions similarly situated.”  He also cited a State Court of Appeals finding that” adherence to the AA fellowship entails engagement in religious activity and religious proselytization.”  Now this is strange, Martin and Deidre, because I thought that AA, even in some of their books, some of their writings, they say they are not a religion although we know, according to Bill Wilson, it started with certainly a religious experience.

Martin:

Yes, and one background to this particular conclusion that this judge made is, there was a prior case in New York in which an atheist objected to the usual exchange if you go to AA, you have prison privileges and he objected to that and it was ruled in his favor and they ruled, definitely that AA was a religion.  And this particular item, by the way, has to do with a man who was convicted of two counts of manslaughter for stabbing to death two people in 1988 and this case had been going on for quite some time as these seem to do when somebody is convicted of manslaughter.  And so, the case was heard and it was based upon this prior case and other rulings, and concluded that the information that he had revealed in AA meetings to other members, regarding the stabbings, could not be use in court.

Deidre:

They want to make a difference between a religion and spirituality.  In other words, they don’t want to be considered a religious organization unless there is an advantage such as is cited in this article.

Tom:

Now the question I have, they claim it’s not a religion, the courts say it is a religion, we know it began with a spiritual experience, what kind of a religion is it?  Is this Christianity as many are saying, particularly those who have gone through AA?

Deidre:

It’s certainly not Christianity because what we have is in their early denial of it being a religion they say that we, by personal religious affiliation we included Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus and a sprinkling of Muslim and Buddhists and as well as, I will add the elsewhere, it says that they include atheists.  And so, they are, what I would say, a precursor of a one world religion where you have all kinds of beliefs.  It doesn’t matter who your God is, it doesn’t matter what your scriptures might be, what your doctrines might be, but what we are going to do is we are going to work on the commonality of experience.  Not the common faith of the Word of God, but a commonality of experience.  They work on the commonality of a spiritual experience, whatever God it is, and they work on a commonality of their sin which they call a disease.

Tom:

So, Martin, Deidre, it seems to me that those who make a case for this being religious, spiritual, and Christian have a view that’s certainly not consistent with biblical Christianity.

Deidre:

You know, there are a lot of equally wonderful teachings in Hinduism, in Buddhism, if you look through their scriptures you will find statements that are wonderful statements about being kind to other people, being thoughtful and all kinds of moral things.  And yet, you do not at this time yet, see Christians taking from these other writers from other religions and saying, oh, see, this is Christian, look at the similarity, this is Christian and yet they will attempt to combine this religion of Alcoholics Anonymous with Christianity.  I think it’s a way to open Christians up to the one world religion that is going to come upon the world at this—well, probably pretty soon.

Tom:

Yeah, and it’s really simple why. If it’s something that you can bring with your own ideas, your own opinions, your own view of sin or even rejection of sin, whatever it is, they are all accepting.  Let me give our listeners a quote from another note that you have in your newsletter.  This is from the Press Democrat and it was April of 2000, but it goes like this.  “A special candlelit Twelve Steps Easter Mass will be held at GoodShepherdChurch in Cloverdale.  Father Dave Powell, who has been in Twelve Step Programs for twenty-four years, and (By the way, as a former Roman Catholic, alcoholism, drunkenness among priests—I mean, I grew up with it, I had first hand experience with that so they have a problem).  And, the Rev. Jack Crawford, a 16-year old Twelve Step-per, will conduct the service.  The service is open to all Twelve Step-pers, their friends, and family regardless of church affiliation.”  So, the attempt to integrate this into whatever religious perspective that you have, it’s ongoing.

Deidre:

It’s ongoing and it must be grievous to the Lord just as during the time when the Israelites were turning to the religions of those people around them and bringing those things right into the temple, the idols into the temple.  And here we have this bringing in a counterfeit, I would say it is a counterfeit religion, right into Christianity and it’s a counterfeit in that there are a lot of similarities.  As you look through the steps there are a lot of similarities between statements made in the steps and the morality of a number of different religions.