Anonymity in Alcoholics Anonymous

Anonymity in Alcoholics Anonymous

There are 2 types of anonymity found in AA, the 

Anonymity of GOD and His Son Jesus, and the 

anonymity of the members.

ANONYMITY OF GOD…  

      Since it‘s beginning, the founders, and today’s leaders of the AA 12 step alcohol recovery program have promoted themselves and their program to the world as having Christian values and biblical based policies as the roots for their program. Some of the policies governing the meetings however are anything but from Gods Word, the Bible, The Truth! One policy has been to protect and shelter the identity of the individual members, leaders, and founders, as well as their god that they would refer to as the  “higher power” its members should worship in its meetings and beyond. I’ve intentionally not capitalized this god because they refuse to acknowledge the Sovereign God Almighty, who Christians Worship. The anonymity of God begins with the idea that there would be no mention in their meetings of, or reference to, The name of the Almighty Holy GOD, Creator of the Universe and all in it. God The Father of our Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, would not be mentioned in these secret rooms. God, the Living author of His Word, The Bible, The Truth for which all men should live by, should not be worshipped or prayed to, nor sought out for Wisdom in these meeting rooms occupied by men wishing to hide their own identities by remaining anonymous, yet professing Christian faith? Instead, the members of this group, (today this practice alone would qualify them as a cult), were encouraged to choose some undefined “higher power”, or any God of their understanding or preference to worship. This policy goes completely against Gods own commands in,…  Malachi 2:10,  “Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?” Or in Romans 3:30, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, James 2:19, Or Isaiah 43:11-12, says, 11 “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.” 12, “I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.” This appears to me to be a pretty clear message that any Christian should understand without question, and that anyone willingly in violation of it, could be considered nothing less than a cult, guilty of blasphemy and heresy. 
      This practice or policy is still being followed today in AA meetings around the world, and even found in many “Christian” churches that are misleading its members straight to hell! There is but one God that Saves! To share its roof with a group opposed to that fundamental Truth is pure Heresy! And that’s just the beginning of the heresy found in a church that’s allowing secular 12-step addiction recovery programs to be used to counsel and minister to its members. There are a number of other practices and policies used in 12-step programs that would define any group using them while professing to be a church, clearly a cult. Any group that denies the deity of Christ is a cult, and should never be confused with, or misunderstood to be part of a Christian Church. Step 1 in these programs tells one that they are powerless. True, that when used in a secular environment by unbelievers, but pure heresy when told to a born again believer, according to Jesus in Acts 1:8. Another policy that opposes fundamental Christian ideas and scripture in AA and other secular 12-step programs, is the brainwashing of their members into believing that they’re hopeless, with the constant use of the cliché, “once a drunk, always a drunk”! And finally, but not lastly, another opposing AA  policy that’s existed since its beginning has been claiming, and now has the world convinced, that alcoholism, (drunkenness), is a disease, rather than sin. It’s reported that one of the founders actually suggested that alcoholism was an allergy! It’s no wonder so many members wished to remain anonymous!        

ANONYMITY OF MEMBERS… 

       I've never really accepted its usefulness in the ministry of Christian addiction recovery. It would interfere with James 5:16, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." You can’t have fellowship and communication with others if you’re wearing a mask of anonymity and hiding your identity. I've always believed that as Christians, we need to accept and understand who we are in Christ, and how we fit into this world according to His will and purpose for us, before we can know and understand who we are ourselves. We must have fellowship with other believers, who experience the same shortcomings we do, before we can discover who we are in Christ. Before knowing Gods purpose for us, we must recognize the fact that we're all sinners and will always fall short of Gods glory, and are Saved only by His Grace through Faith.
     No matter what our sin or addiction might be, hiding behind a mask of anonymity is just another part of the denial that hinders our recovery. When we look in the mirror, we need to be able to smile and say "good morning", or we have a problem with self-esteem, confidence, and insecurity, all of which will hinder our ability to recover from addictions. When we carry this same insecurity into our “meetings”, and are unwilling to openly and truthfully share who we “really” are, and instead put on a mask and conceal our true identity, we may never recover! If we think we’re someone too special to be honest with ourselves and others, we’re just feeding our pride and ego. If we’re treating “someone else,” while hiding behind a false identity, we’ll never see recovery! 
      This practice of anonymity over many decades could very well be a significant reason for so much failure in these traditional secular 12-step programs. The continuous relapse that plagues so many members over and over again could be attributed to the fact that members aren’t facing themselves or the truth, because they’re hiding in anonymity. 
      You can’t ask a Christian to put on a mask and hide their true identity before coming to a meeting, then tell them they’re powerless, hopeless, and have an incurable disease, and expect them to overcome addictions. Remember, the first thing we have to do to be saved, is to admit to Jesus who we are, sinners, Saved by Grace! This is one reason, of  many, why traditional secular 12-step addiction recovery programs, being used for recovery in Christian Church’s won’t work. God has never had any intention for His people to remain anonymous! Any more so then He wishes to be anonymous.   
      As long as one refuses to reveal their true identity, and instead remains anonymous, they will not be able to shed their own guilt, but that of someone they're hiding. It's like looking in a mirror wearing a mask, but expecting to see yourself. God says we must confess our sin, not someone elses, and until we do, we’ll be forced to continue living with it. As long as we participate in recovery meetings cloaked in false identity, we’ll be “sharing” someone else’s problems, not our own. Facing the truth, and owning up to our very own, very personal, and very real shortcomings, whether drug and alcohol addictions, pornography, gambling, or simply smoking or over-eating, until we honestly face that ghost in the closet, we’ll never be able to overcome its power over us. Genuine  recovery can’t begin until complete denial is defeated, and denial will always exist until we can face “ourselves” in the mirror, with Jesus, instead of the “anonymous” person we’ve been pretending to be in meetings for years. Then, if we’re Christians, we can claim Jesus’ Words in John 8:31-36, that we’ve been “set free indeed”!  

WHO AM I ?.....    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt7OZyBj5Ik&feature=share