{"id":250,"date":"2010-02-28T21:57:15","date_gmt":"2010-02-28T21:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/?p=250"},"modified":"2015-10-10T16:33:16","modified_gmt":"2015-10-10T16:33:16","slug":"secularization-of-the-12-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/the-truth-about\/secularization-of-the-12-steps","title":{"rendered":"Secularizing the 12 Steps versus Biblicizing the 12 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Steven Gledhill<\/strong> for FREEdom from MEdom Project<\/span><\/h5>\n

It is generally acknowledged that the twelve-step movement is probably the most accepted and practiced form of treatment\/support for addictive and compulsive patterns of behavior. The issue to be considered is that the twelve steps have become so secularized that it has neutralized its effectiveness. Programs and groups that claim to be twelve-step groups are committed to an idea of God as a secularized higher power under the banner of spirituality, but are not committed to the person of God. Therefore, if this so-called second step “power greater than myself” is merely based on an idea of God, then the idea is in one\u2019s head, one\u2019s imagination, and there is no more power than that which one can muster on his own. If one\u2019s higher power is in the person of God, then the same God that created the universe and life, and perhaps can even raise the dead, is at work in one\u2019s recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

FREEdom from MEdom is centered on a Transformative Model for recovery relying exclusively on the only Higher Power in the universe in the person of God, Jesus Christ. This Transformative Recovery Model is a Biblical model for recovery that is used here acknowledging the effectiveness and wisdom of cognitive-behavioral approaches to confronting the scientific realities of what it is to be human with all of its physiological and psychological complexities. Written some two thousand years prior to best of what is offered by the clinical world of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), the Bible is clearly the standard bearer for any CBT model for recovery. No doubt that Motivational Interviewing (W. Miller & S. Rollnick) and other CBT books are excellent viable resources, but the Bible is the\u00a0reliable\u00a0written Word of God with the transformative power to be the most effective resource for CBT recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Transformative Recovery Model returns to the Biblical roots of each of the twelve steps with its focus on the first three steps. Rather than some generic \u201ccreation\u201d of a higher power, or of a generic \u201cGod\u201d as one\u2019s higher power according to one\u2019s understanding, Transformative Recovery identifies God as the<\/em> only higher power greater than the power of those in need of recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secular 12-step treatment organizations and support groups may speak highly of spirituality but how is spirituality actually defined within the context of their therapeutic dynamic and application? The tendency is to define spirituality as human spirituality. Perhaps it is the spirit of the God within each human being that becomes the recovering person\u2019s higher power as it<\/em> is in some way activated. Is it the same God, or is it<\/em> a different “God” for each recovering person? How is this \u201cGod\u201d, or god, activated? Who<\/em> activates this higher power? How does one know when it<\/em> has been activated? When and why was it<\/em> deactivated to begin with?<\/span><\/p>\n

Transformative Recovery\u00a0at its core identifies God as the person of God in the Bible. Transformative Recovery\u00a0identifies God in the person of the resurrected Christ. It adheres to the belief that Jesus Christ, as God, laid down his position and function as God, became a human being with a flawed human nature, was tempted by human desire to think and behave out of self-centered intentions for 33 years, ministered to the Jewish people for three years, was accused of blasphemy having claimed to be the Son of God, suffered a brutal death crucified on a cross, and arose from the dead on the third day just as he said he would. Transformative Recovery\u00a0also stipulates that the Spirit of God is in relationship with anyone who desires such a relationship, to empower recovering people to a new life of peace and stability.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the secularized spirituality occurring in much of today\u2019s addiction treatment is a contradiction in terms, spirituality rooted in a relationship with God is authentically spiritual. It is much less difficult, and much more sensible, to have faith in the person of the living<\/em> God (Jesus Christ) with all power and authority than it is to consider faith in what merely is an idea of what God might<\/em> be, according to one\u2019s subjective understanding, or creation, of his \u201cGod\u201d. It is not until one truly comes to believe in God as the authentic higher power that it is even worth it to admit that one\u2019s methods to overcoming addiction and overall dissatisfaction are not working. It is not until the recovering person comes to believe in all that is the person of God that he can commit to recovery in the will and care of God. Otherwise, how do the twelve steps make much sense?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Steven Gledhill for FREEdom from MEdom Project It is generally acknowledged that the twelve-step movement is probably the most accepted and practiced form of treatment\/support for addictive and compulsive patterns of behavior. The issue to be considered is that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[98,194,195,193,192],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-truth-about","tag-12-steps","tag-aa","tag-alcoholics-anonymous","tag-secular","tag-secularize"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21816,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/21816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freedomfrommedom.com\/wp3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}