Views and Commentary on the Twelve Steps

An excerpt from an article over at TheBereanCall.org by Dave Hunt entitled, God as You Conceive Him/Her/It to Be:

​In fact, the 12 Steps of A.A. came by direct inspiration from the demonic world and they open the door to the occult by introducing members to a false god. Step 2 says, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Step 3 continues, "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to God as we [Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Mormon, shaman, agnostic, et al.] understood Him." In Christianity Today , Tim Stafford says, "The 12 Steps are Christian."  Yet they contain no mention of Jesus Christ, much less of the gospel. In fact, they are anti-Christian. An official A.A. publication says, "You can, if you wish, make A.A. itself your 'Higher Power.'"  Stafford admits that A.A. founder Bill Wilson "never pledged his loyalty to Christ, never was baptized, never joined a Christian church...."  Instead, the Christian church has joined A.A!

​Pastor John MacArthur, in his book Our Sufficiency in Christ, on page 67 states the following in regard to human/secular therapies:

​Human therapies are embraced most eagerly by the spiritually week - those who are shallow or ignorant of biblical truth and who are unwilling to accept the path of suffering that leads to spiritual maturity and deeper communion with God. The unfortunate effect is that these people remain immature, held back by a self-imposed dependence on some pseudo-Christian method or psychoquackery that actually stifles real growth.

Pastor John MacArthur, in his book The Truth War, on page 159 addresses the 12 steps as follows:

​Others would formally affirm Christ's sovereignty and spiritual headship over the church, but they resist His rule in practice. To cite just one instance of how this is done, many churches have set various forms of human psychology, self help therapy, and the idea of 'recovery' in place of the Bible's teaching about sin and sanctification."..."So wherever the work of God's Word is being replaced with twelve step programs and other substitutes, Christ's headship over the church is being denied in practice.

T.A. McMahon who is the editor of the Berean Call writes the following regarding Bill Wilson, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and the man who wrote the 12 steps:

​A.A.'s official biography indicates Bill Wilson received the details of the twelve steps through spirit dictation. Does anyone see a simple, idolatrous problem here?

Regarding so called "Christ Centered" 12 step programs and support groups such as Celebrate Recovery, Hunger for Healing, and others, T.A. McMahon writes:

But what about evangelicals just using the methodology the familiar spirit gave to Bill Wilson? Simple again: God condemns the source, and the approach is contrary to the way He wants to transform our lives. Furthermore, why turn to such a spiritually toxic system? Where are the evangelical pastor's heads in this?

In their book 12 Steps to Destruction, authors Martin and Deidre Bobgan state the following on page 116:

Twelve -Step programs are in essence New Age religions and archetypical precursors of a one-world religion. They do not hold a common doctrine of God and His creation. Instead, each group holds a common goal, centered in saving self.

​C.S. Lewis on Bill Wilson's communing with spirits, "This is necromancy. Have nothing to do with it."