Does Evil Exist in Drug and Alcohol Addiction? Part 2

…continued from Does Evil Exist in Drug and Alcohol Addiction? Part 1

What is the Face of Your Recovery?

This could also be asked, “What is the faith of your recovery?” Whether a substance abuser is Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic, atheist or any other religion, what is the means of your recovery and how much faith do you put in it to overcome your addiction?

This blog is written from a Catholic/Christian perspective, as this is the ideology that drove the founders to start A.A. and the 12-steps. Co-founder Bill W. noted in an interview that “We got [The 12-step], as I said, as a result of our study of the Good Book [i.e., the Bible].” [The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (Item # P-53), 14]

I appreciate all the comments people wrote on Facebook for Part 1 of this blog I am grateful for the personal testimonials shared in the comments section on the existence of evil in addiction, and those testimonials were very moving. I would also like to clarify some issues from the last blog and drill down on some other components.

Some people writing in the comments attributed addiction to weakness and not to evil per se. People start using for a variety of reasons: escape, alleviating pain, genetic and psychological predispositions, and to just feel good. These are clinical and scientific reasons, whereas “evil” is a supernatural influence and not scientifically provable. However, those who believe evil exists in addiction, may believe it tempts people to abuse substances as a means of their own destruction. The founders of A.A. believe there is a spiritual battle that occurs in addiction, otherwise there would be no need to call upon a higher power to overcome it.

Proof of Theory

It’s a matter of faith, or theory, that the forces of good and evil are battling in addiction. So, how do we prove a supernatural theory? If we look at theories in the scientific world and how they are proven, Albert Einstein is a prime example. He was a mathematical and physics theorist. He personally didn’t prove any of his theories, and many of his theories were unaccepted in the scientific community, until astronomer Arthur Eddington proved his theory of gravity by photographing a shift in Mars when it orbited near the sun. This proved Einstein’s theory that gravity exists in space, and it established Einstein in the scientific community. (This story is depicted in the movie, Einstein and Eddington.

How then can a supernatural theory be proven, to prove that good and evil are at odds in addiction? Just like Einstein was only accepted through proof of theory, Jesus Christ’s teachings and faith were only accepted by proof of theory in the miracles He created. Casting demons out of the afflicted (and addicted), raising people from the dead, giving sight to the blind, and many others. These were the proofs that established His message that The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (MT 10:7-15) These are the words of life and hope to recovering addicts of faith.

Many recovering addicts attribute their recovery to the intervention of their Higher Power/God and miracles that have kept them away from drugs and alcohol.

The Swinging Pendulum

Teams of scientists have studied the shroud, and their research is available in documentary form. One of the findings is that the image of Jesus in the shroud is not a photograph, and could not be painted with any type of brush, pencil or pen. When they tested the image, they found that it’s a burn mark and has three-dimensional properties. In other words, when they scanned it with an instrument that measures the three-dimensionality of flat objects the discovered it is a 3D image.

They concluded that the burn mark was created by radiation of a bright light, and there is similar burn mark on the back of the cloth, that indicates it burned when Jesus passed through it at the time of the resurrection, bridging the physical world with the spiritual. (Many try to debunk the Shroud because of inconsistent carbon dating methods. A piece of cloth was added to it in the middle ages when it nearly burned, and scientists may have measured this older cloth. There is additional forensic evidence that places it in the 1st century in Jerusalem.

Tell Us the Faith of Your Recovery

Whether you’re a person of faith or not, tell us on Facebook the faith of your recovery, who is your higher power, and what helps you to avoid relapse?

If you have any questions about addiction and recovery, give us a call! Our trained professionals will answer your questions and help you find the treatment you need. (866) 578-7471