FYI, there are getting to be more addiction support groups that DON'T require you to believe or mouth belief to a higher power or god figure.
Barry Hazle, an atheist in California, was paroled after a 1 yr prison term for meth possession in 2007, and was ordered to spend the next 90 days in a residential drug treatment program. The only approved program in his county was a 12-step program modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous, which required participants to submit to a “higher power” through prayer. He had requested a secular program, and refused to participate in a religious one. As a result, he was sent back to prison for 100 days.
In October, 2014, he settled with the state and its contractor, WestCare California, for $1.95M for wrongful incarceration in violation of his religious liberty. This was not a judge or jury award, it was a settlement to get it out of court, so that should be the final word on it and the actual payment (before lawyer's fees).
Since then, AA and some other groups have become more aware and sensitive to atheists and agnostics (as not doing so could be quite expensive, in addition to unconstitutional and exclusionary). However, there are some groups already in existence which already eliminated the "higher power" stuff. Should you or someone you know need secular assistance, you can try Secular Organizations for Sobriety, http://www.sossobriety.org/home.html as well as potentially helpful articles, blogs, and opinion pieces at AA Agnostica, http://aaagnostica.org/2012/08/12/an-atheists-guide-to-12-step-recovery/. Of course, you are much more likely to find secular groups in an urban area in the Northeast or West Coast and not the sticks of the deep South (the latter possibly partially explaining the attractiveness of alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, and sex to begin with). More info and groups at http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/letting-go-god-12-step-programs-losing-religion-95357. Very recent debunking of AA and discussion of treatments proven more effective: http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/
Lord Dougins, I apologize for temporarily waylaying your topic; I thought it was helpful info should someone need it. I think a more accurate phrase for your question would be "boring sex" rather than "Christian way." I am by no means a Christian, but if you go back through the history of reactionary Christian anti-feminist marriage advice, then beautician Marable Morgan published "The Total Woman" in 1973, encouraging wives to add spice to their marriages by greeting their husbands at the front door in nothing but Saran wrap and high heels. She also advocated keeping your cosmetic box at the foot of the bed for touch-ups before your man awoke so that he never, EVER saw you un-made-up (even while giving birth, although she pushed to exclude husbands from the delivery room) (I couldn't make this up if I tried). Morgan wrote "It's only when a woman surrenders her life to her husband, reveres and worships him and is willing to serve him, that she becomes really beautiful to him," among other gems. Some conservative Christians can get pretty out there in attempting to keep marriage alive and monogamous for ~60 years. Paltrow's strip-tease was classic Marabel Morgan stuff.
I found it shocking how insensitive Phoebe was to Adam's "illness" and her arrogance (possibly not best word) in not just asking what was safe and what wasn't--she seemed to have several characteristics in common with Histrionic Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (one can have traits or a personality type without actually having a disorder. I'm not saying the character was mentally ill, more like exceptionally self-absorbed and attention-seeking for someone NOT mentally ill. Definitely a bad match with his issues).
reply
share