Progress is When the Harm of Christianity is Reduced


For years, religion, especially Christianity, has inserted itself into substance addiction. This has been mostly about alcohol. The organization called "Alcoholic Anonymous" has spread a particular notion of what alcoholism is about and how to cure it. Imbedded in the theory, but not stated in its stated principles, is that drunkenness is a sin. If you are drunk too often or drink too much you have a spiritual problem. In AA the alcoholic is to beat up on himself as someone too weak to defeat the problem by himself. The solution is to bring in an invisible force, the "higher power."

The "higher power" is not supposed to be stated as God or Jesus specifically, but in a culture where the higher power is always God then that's what it is for nearly all people. I know people who have attended AA meetings across the country and they find God stated specifically in some groups. But, whether the Christian God or some other god, the concept is help from some invisible being who knows what's good for you better than you do.

Attendance at AA is often sentenced by judges. Yet, until recently there has been no data measuring the benefits of AA versus some other treatment method or no treatment at all. President W. Bush, for example, had a drinking problem and just quit without AA. 

During the last decade or so, research has been done on AA graduates and others who did not attend AA meetings. It turns out AA is no more successful than doing what W. Bush did. He handled it by himself.

In the news these days are deaths from pain killing drug overdoses. Treatment of those who take too many pain drugs now leaves behind the "higher power" and AA meetings. One of the treatments has been to administer another drug, methadone. Methadone does not harm the person and takes away the desire of other harmful drugs. Eventually the people find they can function without methadone. It was given by trained people in offices so it required a strong commitment and some discipline.

A new and easier to acquire drug is now becoming popular, buprenorphine. This has a different legal status than methadone and is easier to acquire and take. 

As it becomes more popular treatment of substance abuse leaves further behind the old "higher power."

Comments

  1. little helperDecember 17, 2022 at 10:38 AM

    Jon; So now you are accusing ALL of Christianity. More conflation. So typical of you, and illogical.

    ReplyDelete

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