{"id":1158,"date":"2009-09-16T18:08:46","date_gmt":"2009-09-16T22:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=1158"},"modified":"2026-09-14T10:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T17:00:33","slug":"meditating-upon-aa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/meditating-upon-aa\/","title":{"rendered":"Meditating Upon AA"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Lanagan <\/strong><\/p>\n

AA’s 11th Step states: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him<\/em>, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.<\/p>\n

“Don’t make a big deal about AA’s ‘prayer and meditation,'” writes pro-AA author Dick B. … “It is nothing more than praying and studying or ‘pondering’ what you are reading.”[1]<\/p>\n

This is simply not so. As discussed in ‘Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality,'[2] advocates of contemplative spirituality are using AA and other 12 Step groups as a launching pad for their meditative practices. Nor is AA’s contemplative potential a new thing. As a treatment website notes, “AA and 12 Step Fellowship have known for years that spirituality or some form of contemplative meditation<\/em> is an important part of treatment.”[3] (italics mine)<\/p>\n

AA’s definition of meditation has no limits and no boundaries. For most, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Word of God. AA cofounder Bill Wilson felt meditative knowledge from anywhere in the world could be valid.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that AA apologist Dick B. has written numerous books and articles portraying AA and the 12 Steps as Biblical in origin.[4] This is a concern because Christians who join AA based on these erroneous claims may become involved in the very meditative practices <\/em>this author minimizes.<\/p>\n

In Standing Fast in the Last Days<\/em>,<\/a> Warren Smith describes his entrance into the occult. He recounts how a psychic, a woman who uncannily knew many details about him, told Smith the spirits on the other side needed his permission to work in his life. Watching this DVD recently, it reminded me how similar this is to AA’s 11th Step. Click here to continue…<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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