why is the atheist thread closed?

[bettygirl]

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[kuya]

why is the atheist thread closed?

My original post was made before realizing how contentious this subject could be. My wording inflamed debate even though it was not my intent. It became a continual battle ground.

I was not told WHY it was closed after so long, so we may only conjecture. At the end it was getting nasty and going nowhere.

The experience of AA is very variable depending on the group you happen to find. Some love theirs, some have horrible experiences.

As an atheist I want no truck with higher powers, each to their own.

I would love an atheist thread but, for now, have other more pressing things to do.

It may interest you to know that, in spite of the fact we ripped shit out of each other on that thread, I am hoping to buddy up with a member to quit smoking. If she can stand it! :H:H

Disagreements are only words, beliefs are only thoughts but alcohol and cigarettes are killers. I have priorities.

[bettygirl]

why is the atheist thread closed?

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[kuya]

why is the atheist thread closed?

With all due respect this is YOUR experience with this PARTICULAR group. This is not what others have found.

I have found MWO a great place to maintain my sobriety, but at no point would I have surrendered myself to this group. They are human beings just like me, some have extended sober time and can share the path to that place. I hope to stay and extend the same help to others. Surrender is neither necessary nor desirable IMO.

Attendance at AA is still mandated by many courts, counsellors etc .

There are, now, many other types of recovery groups but society is largely unaware of them.

[bettygirl]

why is the atheist thread closed?

i tried rational recovery and smart recovery on-line, but there aren't any groups available near me. and i have found over many a failed atttempt to quit (here included, i used to come here as "peacenik" for years), that i need the support of other's who know what i am going through and how i feel, now. it is basically a support group. many of the folks at aa have chosen to come there on their own and are still trudging through and surviving by the skin of their teeth, or with a full life of fellowship and support from other's like them. if some of them use a higher power, so be it. i don't.

and of course that is MY experience, i can't speak for anyone BUT me!

if fact we have an all women's group that meets and that is really cool, and very focused on us helping each other.

surrendering yourself doesn;t mean surrendering you, it means surrendering the fact that your alcohol use is out of control, and you need help getting sober. you don't have to surrender your will or thoughts or power. it's not a cullt that keeps you there against your will. you can come and go as you please and NOBODY there expects anything from you. it's very egalitarian and a slice of life that most people will never experience. there in a room full of alcoholics, some from the streets, some from the mansion on the hill, people are getting sober and staying sober.

so you can knock it and dismiss it, but it sure does work for the people who want it to work. all it is is a teaching tool about how to live without alcohol (or drugs), and you can take it or leave it.

[bettygirl]

why is the atheist thread closed?

so, are we not allowed to talk about atheism on this board, even though my post has to do with recovery and how i am working aa without "god"?
i thought it would be cool to discuss, as some folks get turned off of aa because of the whole god thing...i am saying there are alternatives...a higher power that we see fit...i don't know it interests me!

back in the closet, i go!
:H

[sinzel]

why is the atheist thread closed?

Sorry things got so contentious. There should be an atheist thread. There are other types of threads here, so why not an atheist thread? Not everybody in recovery is a Christian.

[sinzel]

why is the atheist thread closed?

Well, here is my entry. My mother attempted to raise me
Catholic, although my dad was Lutheran. It was a requirement of the Catholic church for the mother to be married in the church.

Well, I never really believed anything of what I was taught. It made no sense to me.

I do believe in something. I believe that an energy links each and every one of us together. You can call it a "collective memory" or whatever. We are all linked together by energy.

I don't think there is any being who hates people for being gay, or a certain race, etc. I think we are all equal, no matter our sexual orientation, race, etc.

[paulywogg]

why is the atheist thread closed?

sinzel,totally agree,i was babtised lutheran,went to jehovas witness meetings while growing up,married a mormon,took my kids to baptist churches,just trying to find my way,i DO believe in a "higher power" i just dont wear a label,anymore.im native american,i think its more of a spiritual thing,nature or what not?

[kuya]

why is the atheist thread closed?

I do know there is energy joining us all, that is physics. I also feel it, like when someone walks into a room you can feel their mood.

I was once seated waiting for a train and a woman sat beside me. There was nothing remarkable about her or what she did but my instinct said to get up and move away FAST!
Two minutes later she jumped onto the rails laid her head down and was decapitated in front of me.

What I was feeling were disturbed electrical waves from her body, this is not mystical just not yet measureable.

As I have said I have seen no evidence of a divine creator and have no need of one.

I really love the statement 'good because I choose to be', it is how I live my life.

[CanToo]

why is the atheist thread closed?

KY. I like that statement too.

And when I choose not to be, I have no one to blame but myself.

[Living12]

why is the atheist thread closed?

Why do religions including atheism need to pull up a pull pit and preach ..I. Find you all a bit self absorb silly...just be happy with what you think ..if you were ..you wouldn't need to seek endorsement . By the way any nihilists around:H

[kuya]

why is the atheist thread closed?

Eeerrrrmmmm if there were and you were you wouldn't post ! :H
(or be quitting alcohol BTW)

[bettygirl]

why is the atheist thread closed?

excellent cantoo! the surrendering to a higher power was my biggest stumbling block in aa, and that is what i was talking about when i first started this thread.
after talking to my dad (an experienced anonymous group goer who is also atheist) about that he said, that the group can be the higher power...a real tangible thing!! get out of town! that made it a lot easier for me to surrender my power over controlling my alcoholism...i get strength from my aa groups, even when most of the people in those groups are obviously surrendering to GOD and JESUS, i can think of whatever i need to to understand what they are saying.
i used ti feel very dogmatic about atheism, but have since begun to feel that whatever gets you through your life, it's allright (to quote a certain someone).

[bettygirl]

why is the atheist thread closed?

and kuya, the group isn't HIGHER or all knowing or even anything resembling having power over me, it is the power i draw from them to help keep me sober everyday. like you were talking about with the energy that people give off, a room full of recovering people has a really strong energy (good and bad) and i draw from that energy to maintain my sobriety. so in the end, i think you know exactly what i am referring to when i say that.