This is not the first time you have promised to move on..........
He can't help it. He's powerless.
Niel Peart of Rush wrote "if you choose not to choose, you still have made a choice", in the song "Freewill". I think there's an exception. If a person believes they cannot choose, they cannot make a choice. Perhaps that's not quite right. They still make choices, they just don't' believe they are the ones making the choices, conveniently absolving themselves of the consequences and guilt that goes with it. A person who believes himself to be powerless will give into whatever he believes he is destined to do, or whatever he believes his higher power wills to happen. Have another drink. Snort another line. Post again on the forum. Weakness is attributed to a lack of faith or the higher power's decision not to intervene, Strength is attributed to the higher power. Nothing is attributed to the self, and the self as a result is not held responsible. Living such a life is living as a slave to an imaginary tyrant, deprived of free will.
Personally I'd rather die than accept that as a belief system. Thankfully one doesn't have to. There are many recovery programs out there that don't teach a doctrine of powerlessness. Don't get me wrong or take this to mean I'm attacking religion. I'm not. Almost all religions teach that god gave man free will. Only AA denies this. There is no desire so strong that it can overpower the will to resist, and if you give in, it's still your choice. Christianity calls this temptation and sin (both choices, given to us by free will). AA calls it a disease and relapse (determinism) over which one is powerless. Only the former treats a person like a human being. I'm no fan of Christianity, but at least it doesn't convince people that they are slaves to their desires.
One Christian doctor's view of AA:
http://jbmyers.net/?page_id=11As mentioned previously, the Twelve Steps theory of loss of control, powerlessness, and the required action of a Higher Power is a religious-based treatment approach that has its religious roots in the ecumenical Oxford Group and the theological determinism of John Calvin. These deterministic features are present in the treatment methods of AA, Twelve Steps, and the disease model. In fairness, the disease model does not have its roots in religion but in the biological nature of disease, which is also deterministic in that we cannot choose to get sick.
Right, but a "sick" person cannot choose to get well either. Addicts can, and thus it's not really "getting well", rather "making healthier choices". Addiction is not a disease. It's a behavioral habit that can be broken.
Because these two views of behavior share a common philosophy, they join together in their approach to addiction treatment. The misapplication of determinism to addiction behavior runs counter to the more practical and successful cognitive techniques described in Beck (1993), Schaler (2000), Peele (2004), and others. This determinism encourages people to define themselves in negative and self-defeating ways, such as “I am an alcoholic” or “I am an addict,” as if this is a part of one’s personhood. Note how this kind of confessional dominates in current AA and disease model approaches to addiction. It is not a mistake, or counter to Scripture, to suggest that individuals have choice, willpower, and control over their lives, even when it comes to addiction.
interestingly enough, browsing further on this guys' webpage -- it appears like many on Fornits he opposes both forced treatment and incarceration for drug use. He's rather eloquent in his arguments as well.
