An Alcoholics Anonymous group is facing internal scrutiny after being caught reciting the Lord’s Prayer at the start of their meetings.
Higher-ups in AA reportedly told the leaders of the group in Yeovil, Somerset, their meetings were becoming too Christian-focused and, as a result, the group was removed from the organization’s online directory of AA locations, according to the Daily Mail.
John Palmer, treasurer for the Somerset AA group condemned the organization’s decision as “shocking” and “ridiculous,” per a press release from the U.K.-based Christian Concern.
“AA was founded by Christians to save and transform lives,” said the 69-year-old Palmer, who attended his first meeting in the 1980s, when he was an “addicted wreck” who’d spent years struggling with alcoholism. “Over the years, I have seen Christianity being eroded and marginalized from the organization as a whole. It is sad to see, and I think AA is having less of an impact on people’s lives as a result.”
Like many AA groups in the U.S. and around the world, the Somerset group held its meetings in a church.
“Of course, you don’t have to be a Christian to be part of an AA group, but if you cannot say the Lord’s Prayer in a church without being treated like this, what are we coming to?” Palmer asked. “We were shocked when we found out about the action being taken against us, but we are determined to carry on.”
The Daily Mail reported concerns about the group in question were raised during a meeting between AA administrators in Somerset. Critics described the group as “lovely but not [run] along AA guidelines,” with some allegedly voicing their disapproval after someone supposedly claimed the “only way to recovery is through Jesus.”
“They have gone against the traditions,” one person purportedly said. “[There’s] nothing wrong with talking about Jesus, but this is not AA.”
It was determined by the administrators the group “must be kept separate” from AA.
Palmer, it should be noted, has vowed to keep the group active, now calling the gathering “The Real AA,” a nod to AA’s roots as a faith-based organization.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, condemned AA administrators for “separating and punishing” the Christians in the Somerset group.
“The message of the Gospel is of a Savior Jesus who came to bring hope to every one of us,” Williams said. “The power of the Gospel message is what inspired the setting up of AA following the radical transformation alcoholics experienced after encountering the hope and healing found in Jesus Christ.”
“Separating and punishing Christians so that they cannot attract new members for sharing the Gospel message of hope is disturbing and ludicrous,” she continued. “Is now saying the Lord’s Prayer in a church offensive and not appropriate? It is sad, but not surprising in our world of cancel culture, to hear from this group that the Gospel message is no longer appropriate for AA and must be kept ‘separate.’”
Christian Concern is calling on the leaders of AA to reinstate the group and “recognize the crucial role Christian faith plays in transforming lives.”
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
Many organizations that are now vehemently anti-christian, were founded on Biblical values. A prime example of this is Harvard University which was originally started by a pastor with the intent of creating a school to train and educate Christian ministers.
As Stand Up For The Truth radio host and author, David Fiorazo, explained, one of Harvard’s school mottos was formerly “‘Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae’ which is translated, ‘Truth for Christ and Church.'” That motto was later modified to remove “for Christ and Church.”
“How sad to acknowledge that the earliest established colleges in the U.S. were once saturated with Christian influence and instruction. Believers in Christ had a strong, positive, moral influence on culture, and the freedom to practice as well as to proclaim their faith,” he lamented. “The once Christian-based University gradually caved to the cult of liberalism and was hijacked by Unitarian Universalists in the 1800s. Cultural Marxism did the rest.”
Similarly, countries that were once founded on Judeo-Christian values have grown increasingly secularized and hostile to the Biblical worldview, and religious freedom has been dwindled down as a result.
The Bible warns Christians that in the time prior to the return of Christ our corrupt society would hate and resist Biblical truth. The name of Christ and the Gospel of Salvation has always been a rock of offense to the world (1 Peter 2:7-8), however, in the last days, we are told in Scripture this opposition would be on a much grander scale.
2 Timothy 3:1,12-15 KJV – “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come… all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
