FAITH ALONE IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF SOBRIETY FOR ADDICTS

President Bush's proposal to funnel federal funds to faith-based
organizations for treating addiction is not only an example of the road to
hell being paved with good intentions, but a lesson not learned from history.

If religious groups were capable of treating addictions, there would have
been no need for such groups as Alcoholics Anonymous. The co-founder of AA
started his quest for sobriety in a faith-based group. Bill Wilson was
introduced to the Oxford Group by his longtime friend and drinking buddy,
Ebby Thatcher, who was essentially proselytizing.

The Oxford Group leader was an Episcopal priest, Sam Shoemaker, who
espoused a program rooted in Christianity, namely: confession, atonement,
prayer and meditation (spiritual growth) and witness. These were later
adopted by AA as: admission of powerlessness, restitution to those harmed,
prayer and meditation and helping others with the same problem.

The Oxford Group prayers were directed to the Christian God, which
essentially denied membership to anyone who believed in another religion or
who had no belief at all. Wilson, who was an agnostic, had trouble with
this concept but saw a possible solution to his problem using the ideas of
the organization. The Oxford Group believed Jesus saves. Wilson believed
that "something saves" and that a belief in a "power greater than
ourselves" was essential to replace the selfishness and self-centeredness
that he came to believe was the "root of our problem."

The concept of a "Higher Power," as espoused by Wilson, was adopted by the
first members of AA in order to offer sobriety to a greater number, not
just "Christian believers." This concept was later applauded by Harry
Emerson Fosdick, a noted evangelist of the day. Later Wilson encouraged AA
members who had religious beliefs to practice them along and in conjunction
with the AA program. His searching out and telling his story to Dr. Bob
Smith was a result of the "witnessing concept" - what today's AA calls
"carrying the message" - and Wilson's newfound belief that "nothing helps
us maintain our sobriety so much as working with another alcoholic."

Wilson believed his sobriety was a daily reprieve based on his spiritual
condition, deepened by prayer and help to others. But his prayers were to
"God as I understand Him," which is not necessarily the same as the Oxford
Group or any other religion; the Baptist denomination's belief in "soul
competency" comes to mind.

It would be naive to believe that faith-based groups today would not make
the same mistakes relative to addiction that the short-lived Oxford Group
made. Wilson's insight, on the other hand, enabled millions of former
drunks to eventually become spiritual enough to "tolerate" and return to
their own religion or, in many cases, to eventually find one for the first
time.

There is no doubt that the 12 steps of the AA recovery program, adopted
today by drug addicts, compulsive gamblers, overeaters and many others, are
Christian in their roots. But attention to or premature discussions of
orthodoxy, as practiced in the days of the Oxford Group and others still
today, are unneeded, even detrimental, stumbling blocks to the individual
"willingness and open-mindedness" that are necessary for the person just
starting recovery.

My own journey traveled this route: Baptist by birth (my father was a
Baptist minister), alcoholic due to my own sins and character defects,
recovering by the grace of a loving God whom I had come to doubt even
existed, Christian by acceptance of (after lengthy sobriety) Christ as my
"Higher Power," and Baptist anew because that's the denomination in which I
now choose to pursue my spiritual growth.

This journey would never have commenced had I been told that a belief in
God or some denominational understanding of God was needed as a first step
to recovery.

Faith-based organizations are today helping addicts of all stripes, sending
them to programs where "God as they will come to understand Him" works with
millions of people who once had no understanding whatsoever. The validity
of this "as I understand Him" concept, for me, comes from this fact: Bill
Wilson died sober, while Ebby Thatcher was unable to achieve any long-term
continuous sobriety.