Mini Series 6 - Myth: The Twelve Steps are all about God

Busting Addiction and Its Myths

In this podcast... we confront and smash the following myth:
Myth: The Twelve Steps are all about God.

1. Although the word "God" actually shows up in the Twelve Steps themselves four times and twice more by referring to "him", AA principles nonetheless allow for a very broad conception of the "God" idea.
2. At the very beginnings of AA, the co-founder, Bill Wilson, resisted the very idea of any god. His friend smashed Bill's resistance when he asked: "Why don't you choose your own conception of God"? This was an idea that invited anyone to join the fellowship.
3. There are countless references to a ‘Higher Power’ throughout AA writings. It states in the Second Step, for example, that a "power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity".
4. The AA program allows anyone to define a power greater than ourselves any way we wish; it does not make an exclusive claim to the truth, nor does it claim that AA is the only way to stay sober.

The God idea is often a barrier to people joining AA, even when they would benefit from doing so. The truth is that alcoholics and addicts have an intense fear of giving up control, even when they have no control over the disease themselves.