janbear
06-07-2006, 04:35 PM
A POWER GREATER THAN OURSELVES
“One’s religion is whatever we are most interested in.” J.M. BARRIE
More than the other steps, Step Two requires a leap into faith. Any negative responses that may arise are often due to our personal experiences with religion &/or therapy.
This step is not a religious exercise. In the program, we’re not focused on any particular deity, but we’re not afraid of the words “God” or “Buddha” or “Mohammed” or “Allah” or any of the other deities to which human beings ascribe powers greater than themselves. We don’t feel that any belief conflicts with the meaning of this step.
However, we also realize that atheists & agnostics may at first view Step Two as an impossible hurdle.
What it all comes down to is a power, a force larger than ourselves. We all recognize the power of electricity & use it routinely on a daily basis. We’re all aware of the power inherent in subatomic particles to create or destroy matter. And we readily acknowledge the power of social movements where numbers of individuals come together to affect change on a scale that one person acting alone might not be able to. Therefore, it stands to reason that a group of recovering persons who have successfully completed this step might have a powerful effect on our lives because they have succeeded in doing what has not yet been possible for us to do by ourselves alone.
TODAY’S STEP: Even if I don’t know what it is, I accept that there is a power greater than myself.
“One’s religion is whatever we are most interested in.” J.M. BARRIE
More than the other steps, Step Two requires a leap into faith. Any negative responses that may arise are often due to our personal experiences with religion &/or therapy.
This step is not a religious exercise. In the program, we’re not focused on any particular deity, but we’re not afraid of the words “God” or “Buddha” or “Mohammed” or “Allah” or any of the other deities to which human beings ascribe powers greater than themselves. We don’t feel that any belief conflicts with the meaning of this step.
However, we also realize that atheists & agnostics may at first view Step Two as an impossible hurdle.
What it all comes down to is a power, a force larger than ourselves. We all recognize the power of electricity & use it routinely on a daily basis. We’re all aware of the power inherent in subatomic particles to create or destroy matter. And we readily acknowledge the power of social movements where numbers of individuals come together to affect change on a scale that one person acting alone might not be able to. Therefore, it stands to reason that a group of recovering persons who have successfully completed this step might have a powerful effect on our lives because they have succeeded in doing what has not yet been possible for us to do by ourselves alone.
TODAY’S STEP: Even if I don’t know what it is, I accept that there is a power greater than myself.