Anonymously Speaking

Anonymous means “not named or identified.” and being anonymous is a way to do something you want to do without disclosing who you are.  It's secretive; illusive, and it means that no one will be able to identify who you are,  When anonymity is used, the name of someone is deliberately withheld so as NOT to identify who or what is the person, motive or force behind a deed, action or even a gift,.  The true identity of the anonymous person can remain shrouded in secrecy, revealed only, if revealed at all, to those closest to the anonymous one, to those who will keep the identity secret and unnamed.

This anonymity is commonly done in regards to giving gifts, authoring written material, even things as benign as signing customer comment forms. Often, the point of being anonymous is to effect something with a good and positive action, such as in the giving of a gift, (so the recipient of such a gift does not feel indebted to the gift giver.) In such cases, it is seen often as an at of humility, so as not to draw any attention or glory to the gift giver, but remaining anonymous is not always used for good and humble reasons.  Anonymity, used for good or bad, shrouds the anonymous in the dark recesses of secrecy.   

One group that likes to remain anonymous is the well-known Alcoholics Anonymous, an alcoholism rehabilitation program, also known as "AA."  In this group the individuals looking for help in overcoming their addiction to alcohol feel more able to talk about their problems if they feel like they do not have to disclose everything about who they are.  Members step into this group on  an anonymous or first name basis so that they do not have to their name or reputation publicly tainted by other peoples knowledge of their personal alcohol addictions.  Things mentioned in the A.A. group will be kept confidential between the members of A.A.

Remaining anonymous, not having to disclose who you are publicly, is a large part of how the A.A. organization thrives and gets new members.   Members are actually those who have gone through the twelve step program they offer and then help others do the same.  When the program is complete, the member will go public, stating that hard truth that they are and always will be an "alcoholic," and as such they are dependent and always will be dependent on the group to help them deal with their alcoholism.. in fact they believe their life depends upon it. 


AA places great emphasis on the idea that alcoholism is a disease and that people who suffer from alcoholism can only recover by practicing complete abstinence from the consumption of alcohol.  Instead of conquering the problem, AA members who successfully quit drinking will always be a member of this group, and they will always be a “recovering alcoholic.”   Never cured of "the disease," always anonymous, they have to rely on the group for strength as they come to believe that AA will always be there for them in their time of need.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was started by two guys in the 1930's.   Their names were "Bill" and "Bob," and AAers, even up to this day, refer to them this way.  Their (un-anonymous) names were William Griffith Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith.  The two of them got together in 1935, to help each other quit their own self-destructive drinking habit.  In 1939, when they believed they found success, they published the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, a book still used by AA members today.

Originally it was believed that AA was a Christian organization, but dispite the religious overtones and despite the forward in the Big Book, 2nd edition, (What is often perceived to be the "AA Bible") the A.A> groups often state that A.A. is not a religious organization.  However, to many people, and for many years,  it certainly looked like one.  Bill W and Bob S.  knew Bible teachings and they even took much of the teachings they implemented in their program from a Christian organization of the time called the Oxford Group.  But what is the Oxford Group?

Oxford Group, founded by  man named Buchanan, was a group that upheld Christian morals and values.  The group had a definitive fourpoint doctrine of absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love, all attributes of the Christian God..  In fact, the Oxford Group later  became known as the "Moral ReArmament" religious movement,  a group dedicated to "arming" people, as it were, with morality to combat the ills of humanity at large.  The group remained named the Oxford Group until 2001 when the name was changed to "Initiatives of Change."  But again, A.A. does not hold to Christian doctrine, nor do they consider themselves a religious organization, despite the connections.

While Christian doctrine is a non issue for AA members, they do believe that people can have a higher power of a religious sort. There is no reference to any particular god by name but they do encourage people involved with the group to call on their "higher power" (meaning any God or power they would like to,) if they feel they need the help of more than simply the other members of the group to help them remain sober.


AA also does not use or reference the bible.  Instead, in a mimicking fashion, they use something called the Big Book, a sort of instruction manual for those interested in learning, applying, and practicing Bill and Bob's principles of AA’s 12-Step Program of recovery from consumption issues.  It is this book that gives the recovering alcoholic insight, strength and guidance regarding the condition of their being and the answers to overcoming their addiction.  And while they make the claim openly that they are not a Christian group and do not name any particular god, the do mention God.... whith a capital "G."  The Big Book (3rd edition) quotes the words of Bill Wilson, saying, "At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not an end in itself. Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God..."(pg. 77.) Leaving a person to really wonder what AA really is and isn't.

So we who are ou the outside find it interesting that AA asserts it is not religious, but at the same time, and in a contradictory fashion, it talks about religious things like God and  "spiritual growth" and even calls itself a “spiritual fellowship”Is it or not, and who is behind all the anonynimity?  It is interesting to consider, and it is the very thing that got atheist, Robert Warner's attention when in 1994 he was caught driving drunk and “forced” to attend AA meetings by the judge who presided his case. 

Warner went to AA, he checked it out, but then he subsequently sued the state for forcing him to attend these religious classes, saying that a government office in America could not impose religion upon him, (pointing out the separation of Church and state as reasoning for the lawsuit.) Warner’s claim after his experience in the group, was that the AA organization was definitely religious, and this dispite it’s declaration in the forward of the Big Book saying “Alcoholics Anonymous is not a religious organization.” He wanted nothing to do with religion.  Warner won the case in court, but was awarded only $1.00 in the suit.

Still peeved about it all, in 2001 Warner wrote a paper titled, How AA Steals Your Soul. In it he said, “It is still being claimed by AA and my government that AA is not religious” and he contends that they in fact really are.  HE attempted in this paper to point out that the group was filled with talk about “spiritual awakening,” “spiritual experiences,” “God,” having a “higher power” and “prayer," He writes about how AA even calls itself a “spiritual fellowship.”  He believed the group's "non religious" claim was totally dishonest, and deceptive, and he was still mad he was forced by the dictate of the judge, to go.

Don't be too hard on the atheistic Mr. Warner, $1.00 is less than he paid for parking that day in court.  Besides he is not alone in seeing an aspect of "deceptive" religion in AA. Take note too that this "religious" issue is not the only problem people have had with the program.  Many people find the teachings and actions of AA disturbing.

Citing AA writings that read,  “It's Alcoholics Anonymous -- or else!” (The AA Big Book, 3rd Edition, pg. 378) and “Unless each AA member follows to the best of his ability our suggested Twelve Steps to recovery, he almost certainly signs his own death warrant.” (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, William G. Wilson, pg. 174,) many people see that the group practices mind-controlling, cult-like, scare tactics to keep people from leaving.  Who would leave, believing that to leave "is like signing your own death warrant?"

Recognizing one's need for the group is important in AA.  "It's AA or booze," they say.  Some people are deeply concerned that their friends and loved ones in AA cannot function normally without the group.  Many feel alienated from these friends as well as they read how the Big Book tells readers how it is... how it has to be...  if you are ever going defeat this problem in your life, to become a ecovering Alcoholic.  It says, "I decided I must place this program above everything else, even my family, because if I did not maintain my sobriety I would lose my family anyway." (The Big Book, 3rd Edition, pg. 293,) and “Since I gave my will over to A.A., whatever A.A. has wanted of me I've tried to do to the best of my ability.” (The Big Book, 3rd Edition, pg. 340.)

Who is behind AA is anybody's guess, after all, they're anonymous!

So apparently, those Big book readers are supposed to learn this stuff and then do it.  And not ony that... consider this: A person never graduates from the AA program, and is never “cured” of the disease.

AA teaches, “We are not cured of alcoholism. What we have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our daily activities.” (The Big Book, 3rd & 4th Editions, pg. 85,) and “A.A. is not a plan for recovery that can be finished and done with. It is a way of life, and the challenge contained in its principles is great enough to keep any human being striving for as long as he lives. We do not, cannot, out-grow this plan.” (A.A. Big Book, 3rd Edition, pg. 311.)

And as for anonyminty....

AA members are told that sometimes, for various reasons someone may "break anonymity," and they are told that doing so is a matter of individual choice and conscience; however, as the AA document titled,”The Importance of Anonymity" states, “It is clear, that such individuals do not have the approval of the overwhelming majority of members.”

(This is no doubt "peer pressure" to conform to the secrecy aspect of AA.) 

And note:  In AA "keeping anonymity" means that only AA members have a right to know that what takes place at meetings... and a whole lot of people in your group would disapprove of you talking about your experiences at AA meeting with outsiders, (people like even your immediate family who are not in your group.)  People in AA do not talk with others about what happens in their meeting.  Meeting are for members only. 

Besides the devaluing of outsiders, besides the peer pressure to conform to secrecy and besides never being fully cured, and always having to be apart of the group in order to survive, there is something else people note about the effects of AA on a person.  It is what AA calls “Wisdom in Shorthand.”

Wisdom in shorthand is the little quips and slogans used in the AA "training" process, like: "Are you in AA or around AA?” ‘AA is not something you join, it’s a way of life.” “Don't drink, don't think and go to meetings." “You have a thinking problem, not a drinking problem.” “Work the steps or die!" Or even, “Take the cotton out of your ears and stick it in your mouth,” meaning stop talking and not listening to what you are being told.

But who is telling you these things?  Why?

We are dealing with a serious problem here... alcoholism. For many it may be a life or death situation too, therefore it would almost be easy to argue that this is exactly the kind of boot-camp-like regimented treatment an addict needs so that they come to grips with the importance of coming clean, overcoming the problem, yet it does not and must not go unnoticed that the language is coercive and controlling. A person may get sober for fear of death  but when they no longer depend upon their addiction it's likely that they will be fully convinced in their mind that they could never survive without the AA program, their AA sponsor or the AA meetings with the group.   As such the "shorthand" is really nothing more than mind control.

This mind control factor of AA makes it very difficult to talk to an AA member about the problems with the Big Book or to tell them that the group they are so attached to is misleading them. Furthermore, all the  interaction that takes place within the group is designed to prevent or squelch any and all skepticism or self-reliance. As you may now begin to see, even thinking for one's self is not a good idea in AA... it's group think and help is not wanted if it comes from outsiders, because according to the work and words of Bill and Bob, outsiders just do not understand.
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While AA appears as a group of people who have overcome a problem, it really is much more involved than that. Its members are dubbed addiction experts, offering their (not religious, not Christian)  "spiritual" help..  These people also are those involved in law-making and implementing social programs at the state and federal level, they also influence other vulnerable people to participate in the group, as we saw with Mr. Warner.

Shrouded in secrecy, saying contradictory things, and using questionable tactics the organization has infiltrated every aspect of human society around the world.  They might be "spiritual," as they claim, but as such, one can only wonder what spirit it is of.

One thing for certain, if it is spiritual it is not the spirit of Jesus.

Jesus is not anonymous.  He has a name tha is to be named, and he does not keep people in bondage like this AA spirit does... he sets them Free!  JEsus  makes himself known,  He reveals who he is and who we are.  Jesus also does not just keep people who are alcoholics in recovery... Jesus heals and restores...he puts them back on their own two feet AND  he sheds light into the darkness, makes them new creations to walk not in the darkness, but in the light.  JEsus is the light... he shines light, healing light on the matter of sin in our lives, no matter how great that sin is and he gives us hope as he heals us and enables us to walk again. 

Jesus saves. 

The apostles who healed people and taught them about Jesus preached in the Name of Jesus. They were not anonymous.  HE did npt remain un-named.  the apostles openly confessed his name before men, and he will in turn confess theirs before the father in heaven. He will do that for those who  confesss with our mouth and believe in our hearts, that God raised him from the dead.  Names areimportant, and there is only one name given among men by which they might be saved; and it is the name that is above every name, the name that is to be  named... and that name is Jesus.