03-03-2010, 11:21 AM
Hi John,
Good luck with your recovery- David's advice to get to a G.A. meeting- or as many as possible-is probably the best advice you could possibly recieve.
However, in my opinion (and this is just my opinion), his suggesting church as your first port of call is not a useful suggestion. May I reiterate that G.A. is NOT a religious organisation. This is laid out very clearly in our fellowship's guidelines:
Is G.A. a religious society?
No, GA is composed of people from many religious faiths, along with agnostics and atheists.
Since membership in GA requires no particular religious beliefs as a condition of membership, it cannot be described as a religious society. The GA recovery programme is based on acceptance of certain spiritual values, but the individual; member is free to interpret these principles as he chooses.
Also, alluding to a place where one can 'sing, (dance even at some) and meet people' just sounds cult-ish and creepy, and has nothing to do with recovery from a compulsive condition. If David's reply was doctrine free, he would not need to ask you to read all his reply and keep an open mind- the mere inclusion of this statement reveals how damaging linking religion and GA is, and how many members we have lost before they have even had a chance to begin recovery cannot be underestimated. His disclaimer that 'I may go to church doesn't mean you have to' is entirely redundant when going to church has been his first suggestion- Sunday morning or otherwise.
I write this not from an anti-religious standpoint, but because time and time again I have seen people baulk from GA because of the language used in our literature, and religious advice such as this. GA is a fellowship which draws its strength from its members and their experiences, not from religion. If you need some inspiration on a Sunday morning, I suggest the forum on this very site, populated by people who actually have experience of the condition of compusive gambling.
Good luck with your recovery- I hope you find a meeting which works for you.
Good luck with your recovery- David's advice to get to a G.A. meeting- or as many as possible-is probably the best advice you could possibly recieve.
However, in my opinion (and this is just my opinion), his suggesting church as your first port of call is not a useful suggestion. May I reiterate that G.A. is NOT a religious organisation. This is laid out very clearly in our fellowship's guidelines:
Is G.A. a religious society?
No, GA is composed of people from many religious faiths, along with agnostics and atheists.
Since membership in GA requires no particular religious beliefs as a condition of membership, it cannot be described as a religious society. The GA recovery programme is based on acceptance of certain spiritual values, but the individual; member is free to interpret these principles as he chooses.
Also, alluding to a place where one can 'sing, (dance even at some) and meet people' just sounds cult-ish and creepy, and has nothing to do with recovery from a compulsive condition. If David's reply was doctrine free, he would not need to ask you to read all his reply and keep an open mind- the mere inclusion of this statement reveals how damaging linking religion and GA is, and how many members we have lost before they have even had a chance to begin recovery cannot be underestimated. His disclaimer that 'I may go to church doesn't mean you have to' is entirely redundant when going to church has been his first suggestion- Sunday morning or otherwise.
I write this not from an anti-religious standpoint, but because time and time again I have seen people baulk from GA because of the language used in our literature, and religious advice such as this. GA is a fellowship which draws its strength from its members and their experiences, not from religion. If you need some inspiration on a Sunday morning, I suggest the forum on this very site, populated by people who actually have experience of the condition of compusive gambling.
Good luck with your recovery- I hope you find a meeting which works for you.