3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Steps 2 and 3 are a con—a classic "bait and switch." Specifically, step 3 poses obvious problems for atheist and agnostic newcomers who have chosen, for example, a doorknob as their "Power greater than [themselves]." How does one turn one's life over to a doorknob? Obviously, one can't. One is left with the choice of God, or, more likely, God's interpreters—in this case, AA. This is clearly dangerous. The submission of the individual to the collectivity is a hallmark—indeed a defining criterion—of religious cults and authoritarian political groups. Submission of the individual to the collectivity, to the "collective wisdom" if you will, is a recipe for producing masses of other directed true believers.
Unsurprisingly, this step was lifted directly from the Oxford Group Movement dogma mentioned in the discussion of step 2. Indeed, the central tenet of the Oxford Groups was that God would reveal "Himself" to anyone who would "listen," and that "He" had a minutely detailed plan for every human life. The sheer chutzpah of this belief is positively breathtaking. It's the most grandiose excuse imaginable for the evasion of individual thought, responsibility, and decision making.
A particularly harmful aspect of this step is that it demands dependence on a God whose existence has never been demonstrated. If someone truly believed that God was keeping him or her from drinking and—perhaps because of the death of a loved one or some other traumatic event—was shocked into the realization that God very probably doesn't exist, s/he could well begin to drink abusively again (especially if he or she bought AA's "one drink, one drunk" dogma). Of course, those who have chosen AA as their "Higher Power" don't face this particular hazard, as they've turned their "will" and "lives" over to AA, not God.
Step 3 Satire
You may make a stupid decision to give all of your problems to Santa Claus / Tooth Fairy, your higher power, as you understand Him, which could be a bridge, bed pan or a motorcycle. If you are not satisfied with the results from your higher power you can change it any time you want, maybe the toilet will do for you what you could not do for yourself. You should intuitively know that this is truly a blind faith and that you might do better just talking to a pile of rocks. So, just give up all that foolishness of individual thought, responsibility, and decision making. Become a brain dead cultist as now you are a functionally stupid idiot. “Some seem to be more brainwashed then others.” Welcome to the fellowship (cult).
ANONYMOUS
