“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” by Brian D. Kercheval

Because we want the best for anyone, no matter whom they are or where they may be spiritually, we hate the suffering incurred by drug and alcohol abuse.

Here is indeed a dilemma for me! Because of my personal previous commitment towards CR and knowing that participants have at least a comfortable place to try to stay sober, why then do I teach it can be inhibiting and debasing spiritual growth? Because I have experienced, witnessed and studied these matters knowing that: Jesus is the same today and no matter what an issue may be; Jesus heals in full as a free gift exactly as stated in the Bible without the implementation of any form of man-made works/steps/principles.

Below is a short overview regarding healing as stated by God’s word. I suggest looking up and reading the stated Bible verses, they are very revealing.

-Faith in God or works of men?-

Mat 13:15
For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.’

Above, the teaching and promise stated in [Mat13:15] and numerous places elsewhere in the Bible [Act3:19] [Isa19:22] [Jer33:6] [Jhn12:40] [Act28:27] [2Ch7:14] are pinnacle towards healing. We all are given one, and only one requirement “return” in a word “repent” (turn away from our sin and towards Jesus), be compelled by faith in The Lord having all of our commitment and faith solely in Him, then the promise comes to fruition and Jesus heals in full. One must understand that these are two totally different, even opposite teachings. One is to repent where God’s grace and power accomplishes all of the work of forgiving, cleansing and healing which is:

=The path of repenting =
=Faith / (a gift from God) / Freedom=
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” Jhn 8:36

Note: There are no works that can achieve this freedom.

———————————

The other, a lying spirit of recovery telling everyone that they must:

Work “steps” – [12]; work “principles” – [8]; continually go to “meetings” – [Forever]; rely on a man “sponsor” – [Idolatry]; commit to special recovery “Groups” – [Faction]; public “confession” [Self-Abasement]; follow special non-Biblical “recovery teaching study” – [Lethal]; special recovery bible “purchases” – [Money]; personal “testimony about the program” – [Heresy]; etc… And continue to do it all over and over for the “rest of your life”.

All of this just to achieve what CR calls recovery, but the absolute fact, this program is:

=The path of steps =
=Works / (a debt from hell) / Bondage=
But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Mat 15:9

Note: The actual list of CR works and is far too large to list for this purpose.

Remember:
Jesus not only established the only way to God by His blood shed, he was brutally beaten for our healing and peace. The price for these gifts from God has been paid for in full and can never be achieved through works.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Isa 53:5

May God richly bless those who choose to come to Him by faith through Jesus!

Brian D Kercheval’s excellent blog is: Recovery Awareness

http://megas-houtos-agape.blogspot.com

Published in: on May 2, 2013 at 6:23 am  Comments (2)  
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Christian reader comments on the “A.A. fundamentalism” article

As noted in How A.A.’s fundamentalism chains people to the program, A.A. doctrine may as well be set in stone.

Despite denial by pro-A.A. Christians, Alcoholics Anonymous is hostile to Christ the Savior, and to His people. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing… (1 Corinthians 1:18)

A Christian commented after reading How A.A.’s fundamentalism keeps people chained to the program, “I agree, Jesus was mocked when ever I told my story of total deliverance. I attended AA for over three years, all are told to make up a higher power of their own understanding–that’s breaking the second commandment, that’s idolatry. God says no idolaters will enter the kingdom of god, they are entering hell with sobriety.”

Alcoholics Anonymous is the perfect trap. The unsaved are pointed away from Christ. Christians who attend end up with a diluted faith. There is, for all too many, a transference of faith. This is why you will hear Christians defending A.A. and rationalizing why it is okay to attend, despite Scriptural prohibitions. (2 Cor 6:14-17, Galatians 1:8-9) Here is the link to the A.A. fundamentalism article: http://mywordlikefire.com/2013/04/28/how-a-a-s-fundamentalism-chains-people-to-the-program/

Published in: on April 30, 2013 at 4:19 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Spurgeon on “backsliding”

“By little and by little, as a rule, backsliding leads on to overt apostasy and sin. No,
no, so mature a servant of the devil as Judas is not produced all at once; it takes time
to educate a man for the scorner’s seat. Take care, therefore, of backsliding, because
of what it leads to. If you begin to slip on the side of a mountain of ice, the first slip
may not hurt if you can stop and slide no further; but, alas! you cannot so regulate
sin; when your feet begin to slide, the rate of their descent increases, and the
difficulty of arresting this motion is incessantly becoming greater. It is dangerous to
backslide in any degree, for we know not to what it may lead.” — Charles Spurgeon

Published in: on April 30, 2013 at 1:49 am  Leave a Comment  
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Does A.A. contradict the Bible?

Does A.A. contradict the Bible?

I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8)

A.A. theology is anti-biblical. A.A. declares it does not matter at all what one worships as “god.” This is “official” A.A. doctrine. Let’s take a look at some well-known, A.A. sanctioned literature. In fact, the cover of the A.A. pamphlet we will be quoting from, The Jack Alexander Article About Alcoholics Anonymous, informs us, “This is official A.A. General Service-conference approved literature.”

Originally printed in the Saturday Evening Post in 1941, Jack Alexander’s article served in many ways to launch Alcoholics Anonymous toward its cultural and spiritual dominance.

In this “A.A. General Conference-approved literature,” how is the “god” of 12 Step spirituality defined? According to the article, “Any concept of the Higher Power is acceptable. [The alcoholic] may choose to think of his Inner Self, the miracle of growth, a tree, man’s wonderment at the physical universe, the structure of the atom, or mere mathematical infinity. Whatever form is visualized, the neophyte is taught he must rely on it and, in his own way, to pray to the power for strength.” [1] (Bold mine)

The article notes that even a tree can be worshiped. Interestingly, the Bible refers to this: Who say to a tree, “You are my Father,” And to a stone, “You gave me birth.” For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. (Jeremiah 2:27)

The Lord further expresses His displeasure through Jeremiah: Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. (Jeremiah 3:9)

The Alexander article also refers to one’s “Inner Self” as Higher Power. Interestingly, the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (the A.A. “bible”), states, “Sometimes we had to search fearlessly but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis, it is only there that He may be found.” [2]

Yet God is not within all people. The Bible tells us we must be saved through Jesus Christ first. That is the only way one has the Spirit of God within.

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. (Romans 8:9)

Alcoholics Anonymous has spread the concept of a generic god, and convinced many there is no need for Christ–for the Higher Power is already accessible. Why is any of this important? If you are a Christian, and believe the Bible is the Word of God, it is clear the Lord hates the worship of false gods. We are not to join such a thing. We are to be separate in our worship.

All the media articles and pro-A.A. authors and praises from A.A. proselytes can’t change God’s command. What does He tell us:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Wherefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord… (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)

If you are a Christian attending A.A., and you say to yourself, “Well, I don’t worship false gods,” the Lord doesn’t want you worshiping alongside those who bow to false idols.

Never in the Bible will you find an example where the Lord allows His people to worship Him in a religion where He is just one option of many. Josiah threw the false gods out of the temple; our wise (?) pastors of today bring them in by allowing A.A. in our churches.

The Lord warned Solomon that his foreign wives would entice him into worship of foreign gods–and that is what happened. The Lord knows better than you what is required. As Solomon’s love for the Lord shifted, so is there a transference of faith in Alcoholics Anonymous. Many–okay, I’ll just say it–almost all the Christians in AA also have AA as an idol. How could it be otherwise? Part of the A.A. theology is faith in A.A. itself, is it not?

The Lord was angered by those who bowed both to Him and the false god, Milcom:

And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven, And those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom… (Zephaniah 1:5)

For Christians swimming in 12 Step spirituality, Alcoholics Anonymous functions as a modern Milcom. For all too many, the Lord AND Alcoholics Anonymous are both worshiped.

There are also many in A.A. who identify Christ as their higher power, but whose god in reality is solely A.A. itself. This I say not from the height of some scholarly hill, but as one who has experienced the deceptions of A.A . first hand.

Alcoholics Anonymous, although ruled as religious by the U.S. Supreme Court, and defined as such theologically, sociologically, and even by a dictionary definition, has always insisted it is a “spiritual program.”

Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18: 21)

A.A. people are in grave need of Christ. They are hurt, desperate, sinful people. In short, they are just as we were. Remember? And bondage to alcohol is a horror (I speak from experience). Unsaved A.A. people are doing the best they can with what they have been taught-which is that anything and everything can be worshiped as a “higher power.” Any concept of “god” is valid.

According to the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (the A.A. “bible”), “We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of the Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men. When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God.” [3] (Bold mine)

But the Lord specifically warns against the broad way. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is BROAD that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” (Matthew 7:13)
If the Lord warns against the broad way of spirituality, why do we think we know better? Why would we even want to participate in such a thing, or give it credibility by approving of it?

It is no coincidence that the A.A. Big Book again makes a direct reference to this spiritual Broad Highway: “If our testimony helps sweep away prejudice, enables you to think honestly, encourages you to search diligently within yourself, then, if you wish, you can join us on the Broad Highway. With this attitude you cannot fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to you.” [4] (Bold mine)

Yes, we are all used to A.A. Yes, we hear the testimonies. But here is what we need to remember, and where we need to start from: 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11.

Christ has been delivering alcoholics, and homosexuals, and thieves, and liars, long before the 12 Steps existed. He is waiting, I believe, for Christians in Bible believing churches to really believe what the Bible says.

A.A. teaches it is the only way–that without twelve step meetings there is no successful sobriety. In reality, there are so many of us who have nothing to do with A.A. but do not drink.

Once you understand that, and remember just who your God is, you are on your way to freedom.

Perhaps He will send you to a place like Teen Challenge; or, perhaps He will deliver you instantaneously. But He will help you. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Endnotes:

1. http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-12_theJackAlexArticle.pdf

2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (Big Book), pg. 55

3. Ibid., pg. 46-7

4. Ibid., pg. 55

This article also published as Alcoholics Anonymous Returns Us To Jeremiah’s Time

Published in: on April 29, 2013 at 11:30 pm  Leave a Comment  
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How A.A.’s fundamentalism chains people to the program

For nearly five years My Word Like Fire has unearthed the unholy origin and history of Alcoholics Anonymous, and warned that A.A. is an anti-biblical religion. All this you can find on this blog.

In several articles we have noted that A.A. is a new age religion (where anything and everything can be defined as “god”), but is nevertheless rigidly fundamentalist in key areas.

Irving Peter Gellman observes, “A member who suggests that A.A. is not as effective as maintained, and who implies that some improvement might be made, will be censured when broaching these ideas. The A.A. program is deemed infallible, whereas other methods are considered less than perfect.” [1]

Here is where the A.A. fundamentalism comes from. The following is a passage from How It Works, which is read at the beginning of each and every A.A. meeting. Consider what is being said here:

“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.” [2]

So, if you fail, it is because you “cannot” or “will not” work the program, and it is “usually” those who are “constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.”

Is this so? No! Many desperate and sincere people simply cannot respond to A.A. Yet, this is what alcoholics are taught. Then, too, there is this fundamentalist tenet in How It Works, also read at each and every meeting:

“We thought we could find a softer, easier way. But we could not.” [3]

This is a fundamentalist trap. The alcoholic is convinced only A.A. works–even though A.A. works for very few. The alcoholics is taught contempt for alternatives, with “church” being the number one object of scorn.

Many survivors of A.A., meaning people who have broken free of the A.A. religion and are warning others, can be found on the web. Check it out. Most of these are not Christians, but they are brave people, because A.A. pretty much has its way in the courts, and in education, and in media.

The Plains Indians used to kill buffalo by having an Indian pretend to be a buffalo. Dressed in buffalo skin, the Indian decoy would lead the herd to a cliff as the tribe caused the herd to stampede by making terrifying noises from behind. At the last moment, the disguised Indian would fling himself aside, and the buffalo would continue over the cliff.

This is what A.A. is doing to this country. It is killing us by pretending to be powerful and effective. A.A. is a theological decoy, and a treatment decoy. People are pointed away from Christ the Savior, all the while trapped in an ineffective treatment system that declares it is the alcoholic’s only hope.

Endnotes:
1. Irving Peter Gellman, The Sober Alcoholic, pg. 121
2. How It Works, Chapter 5, AA “Big Book,” pg. 58
3. Ibid, pg. 58

Published in: on April 28, 2013 at 9:57 pm  Comments (2)  
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A.A. co-founder took LSD, looking to help the many alcoholics A.A. was failing

Bill Wilson knew A.A. was relatively ineffective. Yes, there are the success stories, which are shared over and over again–but failure in A.A. is always blamed upon the person. In other words, when A.A. works, you have worked it correctly, but when it doesn’t work–then it’s always your fault.

The system can never be questioned.

Because of this, many have died because they have believed (as A.A. teaches) that only A.A. can help them–and so they have perished because the twelve step system always pointed them away from secular, medical, or Christian alternatives. So, for millions, it is drink, drink, back to AA, then back sooner or later to alcohol–and, finally, to death.

To his credit, A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson came to realize A.A.’s limitations. He experimented with LSD to see if it could be used to help those who just weren’t getting sober through A.A.

Taking LSD himself, Bill likened it to his own powerful spiritual experience in Towns Hospital. As we have covered elsewhere, Wilson’s experience in Towns was demonic in nature, an experience not uncommon to those whom the enemy gives anti-biblical systems to spread. Thus, both Mohammed and the founder of Mormonism had a supernatural “revelation” experience such as this. Sadly, pro-A.A. author Dick B. has worked very hard to portray Wilson’s demonic experience in Towns Hospitial as a revelation from the biblical God.

But Wilson’s hopes for what LSD might accomplish reveals much. According to PASS IT ON, the official A.A. biography of Bill Wilson, “Bill was enthusiastic about the experience; he felt it helped him eliminate many barriers erected by the self, or ego, that stand in the way of one’s direct experience of the cosmos and of God.” (pg. 371)

What A.A. co-founder Bill Wilson’s use of LSD reveals about A.A., and about himself: http://mywordlikefire.com/2012/11/04/what-a-a-co-founder-bill-wilsons-use-of-lsd-reveals-about-a-a-and-about-himself/

Published in: on April 27, 2013 at 8:10 pm  Comments (2)  
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R.C. Sproul on the “higher power”

As noted by Phyllis Tickle and others, our nation has turned to the A.A. “higher power” concept rather than Christ the Savior. The “higher power” theology renders Christ, at best, as one god among many.

“It’s almost an institution in our culture, our nation, to describe God as a ‘higher power,’” begins R.C. Sproul. Here is the link to the video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnx6HpjEfA8&feature=youtu.be

I am the Lord; that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8)

*My thanks to my friend Lyn for sending me this clip of R.C. Sproul. Here is the link to Lyn’s blog: http://iamhis-lyn.blogspot.com/

Published in: on April 23, 2013 at 3:09 am  Comments (2)  
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Christians Mystically Encountering God by Marsha West

Assemblies of God has invited contemplative Ruth Haley Barton to speak at the upcoming General Council Conference this August in Orlando, Florida. Is this significant? Yes. [1]

It is not just the Assemblies of God denomination that is being infiltrated by advocates of this trance religion (my term for it). The following article by Marsha West reveals what it is that is attacking the church in the guise of Christian meditation, a.k.a., contemplative prayer.

In Christians Mystically Encountering God, Marsha West writes, “For a couple of decades there has been a big push by numerous evangelical leaders to incorporate pagan practices into the visible Church.

“These unbiblical practices have their origins in Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, likewise the New Age movement. Roman Catholic Trappist Monks fully embraced Eastern religion’s pagan practices. Through the writings of Thomas Merton, Basil Pennington, William Menninger and Thomas Keating these practices have been introduced into mainline Protestant churches as well as independent, nondenominational, charismatic and Pentecostal churches.

Those who wish to develop a more meaningful prayer life are urged by popular evangelicals such as Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Rick Warren, John Ortberg, Ruth Haley Barton and Tony Campolo, just to name a few, to undertake a mystical prayer practice called The Silence.

How does one achieve The Silence? By practicing eastern-style mantra meditation aka Transcendental Meditation (TM).

What is the goal of TM? To gain ‘ultimate knowledge of God by a direct experience that bypasses the mind.’

What must one do to attain this sort of mind-altering experience?” Click for rest of Marsha West’s article: http://conservativecrusader.com/articles/christians-mystically-encountering-god

Endnotes:
1. http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=11431

Published in: on April 16, 2013 at 3:45 pm  Comments (3)  
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Remembering

I cried with all my heart; answer me, O Lord!
I will observe your statutes.
I cried to You; save me
And I shall keep your testimonies. (Psalm 119:145-146)

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34)

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)

Published in: on April 10, 2013 at 5:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs

In many ways, Tarzan of the Apes was the first fictional “superhero” to win the loyalty and affection of Americans. [1] Edgar Rice Burroughs, the writer who created Tarzan, was incredibly adept at marketing his character–resulting in numerous Tarzan movies, Tarzan newspaper comic strips, even Tarzan toothpaste.

According to John Taliaferro, author of Tarzan Forever, a biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs, “By 1939, there was hardly a male in America, or the world for that matter, who had not read a Tarzan story, seen a Tarzan movie, or imagined himself as lord of the jungle. Over the years, Burroughs had received thousands of letters from fans expressing their delight, nitpicking narrative flaws, or soliciting his blessing before running away to Africa. In his consummate diligence, he saved and answered every fan letter he ever received. ‘When you play Tarzan in the trees, be careful that you don’t fall out,’ he gently advised.” (pg.312)

Taliaferro notes that Burroughs “was particularly taken with Jackie Strong, the seven-year old boy who had survived three days and nights alone in the Oregon wilderness by practicing woodcraft he had picked up from Tarzan stories.” (pg. 312)

Reading about Jackie Strong, I remembered that the first (and only) deer I shot was also due to the “woodcraft” of the Tarzan books. While my friends thrashed around the forest, I took the wind into account (Tarzan always made sure his prey did not pick up his scent), and remained still and silent. Sure enough, I came back to camp with the deer slung over my shoulder.

My friend, who had not had success in three years of hunting, asked how I did it.

“Tarzan,” I said. “I read Tarzan.”

Edgar Rice Burroughs was not a great writer. But he was good enough, and original enough, to captivate millions of people with his improbable stories.

John Taliaferro’s biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs is very thorough, and does not omit the negative aspects of Burroughs’ writing or his life. We hear about his wife’s alcoholism, his frequently distasteful portrayal of black Africans, and much else.

Tarzan Forever is an interesting biography for those who have experienced the Tarzan movies or books–and that, of course, is most of us.

Endnotes:
1. This designation of Tarzan as first “superhero” is from biographer John Taliaferro.

Published in: on April 6, 2013 at 3:03 pm  Leave a Comment  
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