"Celebrate Recovery" comes to Donalsonville Part 4

Any time you have an organization, no matter how how-minded and noble it is (although clearly that isn't the case here,) it is only as effective and compassionate as the people running it. When you start off with a bunch of right-wing religious nuts wanting to transform the world into their own image.....that's going to be reflected in the program. That's going to seriously limit the level of any service you are able to receive.

Anyone who thinks that a hand-holding prayer session is going to cure deep-seated emotional hurts from a history of sexual abuse is delusional, at best. The same is true for flushing away chemical dependency/abuse by hollering out the name of Baby Jesus. It's fool-hardy. It's dangerous. It's selfish.

Laying out for people only two alternatives is cruel and self-serving. The CB literature promotes that either Jesus heals you, or you stay in a bitter and futile struggle with desperation that will likely end in death. So, by dismissing rational human choice, the mind, treatment facilities, deprivation, abstinence, and all other resources, you are telling people that if they don't believe in God they are hopeless and doomed. Like I said...Tent Revival. Snake-oil religion.

The CB program demand that you apply the "biblical principles of conviction, conversion, surrender, confession, restitution, prayer, quiet time, witnessing..." in order to be successful.

Of course, they also claim they can cure cancer, too.

Hmmm...I missed the memo that no Christians had died of cancer recently. Funny.

Let's take a look at some of this group's "Principles."

#1 "Realize I'm not God..." (But guaranteed, there will be someone over you who is claiming to be a direct link, and to tell you how you need to act in accordance with God!)

# 2 "Earnestly believe that God exists ....and that He has the power to help me recover." ( So, in other words, if you don't recover, and if your desires aren't removed, and if your addiction isn't removed; it's on you. You were weak. Our method did not fail.)

# 3 "Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control."
(Whatever happens is ordained by the supernatural. The only choice I have that matter sis to give in to that or not. Something outside of my body is ruling me; and the church and pastor dictate exactly what that is. Aw....it's like the army! Break you down, and build you back up the way they want you. A slave to the group think.)

# 4 "...confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust." (In the church. Who isn't a trained therapist nor in any way capable of dealing with heavy shit. Who has the needs of their own ego and the church's unified interest at heart; not your well being. Did you know the church counsels abused children to stay in the family, since The Family is "Christ's representation of authority on Earth, just as the church is."? Oh yeah.....your interests and needs don't mean squat.)

# 5 "Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects." (Whew! A loaded one! 'Voluntarily', excepting that we will withhold our love and acceptance from you until you do as we command. And the fact that we have outlined the utter, futile hopelessness of life lived not leading our way. 'God wants;' again, as dictated through the feeble, egotistical, flawed precepts of bitter and petty men. 'Remove my character defects;' as interpreted by same men. We will ignore hypocrisy, cruelty, materialism, controlling natures, gossip, and all other so-called defects that we wish to maintain. And, of course, keep the own defect doozies secret, since being flawed is a part of humanity and everyone suffers from balancing the good and the bad. Unclench!)

# 6 "..Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm....." (At first glance, nothing too wrong with these ideas. Except then you remember that this is the church that wants to hide its wrong-doing, and will ask survivors of childhood rape to forgive their assailants. A group which asks gay teens to apologize to their parents for being 'unruly.' And so on. Control through shame and fear and intimidation and get the results you want.)

# 7 summary; Pray, meditate, read Bible; continue to indoctrinate yourself at this point. They've already beaten into you what you have to do to yourself to be free of the vengeful, wrathful, spectre of God the unforgiving.

# 8 "Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others...." (The final phase; proselytizing. Pushing the spiel on others. Not being open to the world, or change, or knowledge. Keeping blinders on and promoting criticism and despair in those you find in all areas.)

more to follow....