Lighthouse Trails Research Journal
18
Christian Magazines—continued from previous page
and sought after today. AA would have us
pick whatever one we favor. Not only that,
but we are to “turn our will and our lives
over to the care of God “as we understand
Him.” When Satan deceived Eve in the
Garden of Eden (Genesis:3:1-5), he was
helping her to “better understand” the
God she believed in by questioning what
she believed God had said (verse 1), “Yea,
hath God said . . . ?” He followed that by
denying what God indeed had said (verse
4). That’s the demonic origin of Step 3.
Proverbs:14:12, 16:25, and 3:5 ring out a
sure warning against the allegedly Christian
Step 3, “There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the
ways of death.” “Trust in the Lord with all
thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding.” “For there is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy:2:5).
I’ve spoken to dozens of men who have
gone through the AA program. Nearly all
have confirmed what I’ve written and much
more than I have the space for. One com-
mon complaint among those who came to
Christ outside of AA yet continued to at-
tend AA meetings was the resistance, even
hostility, toward sharing Christ among the
group. You see, you can pick any God you
desire—but you can’t claim that your God
is any better than the “Gods” of the other
members. That’s the problem (for AA) with
the biblical Jesus who declared, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me” (John:14:6).
However, it’s only the first part of the verse
that bothers AA. The issue of eternal life is
out of their “spiritual” concern. They only
focus on keeping a drunk sober and produc-
tive this side of Heaven.
Those who have clung to AA for years
admitted they do so, never missing meetings,
regardless of family events or situations, in fear
of “falling off the wagon” of sobriety. That’s
bondage to a system of man and worse.
Volume 7—No. 5
CONCLUSION
hristianity Today has tragically rein-
forced for its readership a program
that rejects the God of the Bible and His
instructions for the lives of those who have
put their faith in Him. They also have
rejected God’s instructions by attempting
to supplement them with the so-called wis-
dom of the world. When Jesus, who is the
Word, is supplemented, He is supplanted.
And when He is supplanted, He becomes
“another Jesus.”
CT isn’t the only entity that has been
turning to the world for its ways and means.
The 12-Steps programs have, like leaven,
worked their way throughout the church
in various forms. My personal experience
with 12 Steps involved Celebrate Recovery
(CR) at Saddleback Church. 13 I enrolled in
the Celebrate Recovery Training Program
in order to get an “up close and personal”
understanding of what’s being taught. I do
that whenever I can to make sure I’m not
misunderstanding the things I’m critiquing
biblically. The Saddleback event brought
together thousands of people who seemed
to me to be sincere in wanting to help those
dealing with various sin issues.
We were all told that CR was based upon
the Beatitudes. Wrong. It’s based upon the
12 Steps of AA, and the AA methods displace
many scriptural elements that might conflict.
For example, the men in my group claimed
that AA meetings hold sway over Bible stud-
ies. The group meetings open with silence,
the reading of the Serenity Prayer (a vague-
at-best rote prayer to “God” as you perceive
him), and the acknowledgement that one is
undergoing the ongoing recovery of one or
more “addictions.” This has nothing whatso-
ever to do with the Beatitudes nor with any
other part of biblical Christianity.
What’s clear to me regarding Christianity
Today is that it reflects the prophecy in 2
Timothy 4:3:
C
For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears.
CT obviously prefers the world’s ways over
God’s way, which is proven in every one of
its issues as this one example illustrates.
T.A. McMahon is the executive director
of The Berean Call. You may visit www.
thebereancall.org for extensive research and
resources to help you understand the times
in which we live.
* For more information about AA, read John
Lanagan’s booklet, The “Spiritual” Truth
About Alcoholics Anonymous.
ENDNOTES
1. Stephen Strang, “Why We Celebrate 500
Issues of Charisma ” ( Charisma , https://www.
charismamag.com/life/holidays/40597-why-
we-celebrate-500-issues-of-charisma.
2. Kent Dunington, “Small Groups Ano-
mymous” ( Christianity Today , April 22, 2019,
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/
may/small-groups-anonymous.html).
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6.Tim Stafford, “The Hidden Gospel of the
12 Steps” ( Christianity Today, July 22, 1991,
https://silkworth.net/pages/religion_cler-
gy/01-097.php).
7. Ibid.
8. “Alcohol Abuse and Dependence,” in
Harvard Medical School Mental Health Review ,
Number Two Revised, p. 10. (taken from
Occult Invasion by Dave Hunt)
9. Herbert Fingarette, “We Should Reject the
Disease Concept of Alcoholism,” in The Harvard
Medical School Mental Health Letter, February
1990, p. 4 (taken from Occult Invasion ).
10. Dave Hunt, Occult Invasion (Bend, OR:
The Berean Call, Kindle edition, 2010), Kindle
location 6205).
11. Pass It On: The story of Bill Wilson
and how the A.A. message reached the world
(Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.,
1984), pp. 275-279, 198.
12. Ibid., Kindle edition, Kindle location 5915.
13. See “A Way That Seemeth Right,” TBC,
October 1, 2005, https://www.thebereancall.
org/content/way-which-seemeth-right.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019