ON RELIGION PART 2: THE INVISIBLE FRIEND

‘Philosophers stretch the meaning of words until they retain scarcely anything of their original sense. They give the name of "God" to some vague abstraction which they have created for themselves; having done so they can pose before all the world as deists, as believers of God, and they can even boast that they have recognized a higher, purer concept of God, notwithstanding that their God is not nothing more than an insubstantial shadow and no longer the mighty personality of religious doctrines.’

--Sigmund Freud (from The Future of an Illusion)

The 1980’s and 90’s saw an explosion in the self-help 12-Step ‘recovery’ movement. Everything from eating disorders, to love and sex ‘addiction,’ advocates claimed could be effectively addressed by regularly attending meetings devoted to the 12-Step philosophy. At the core of this philosophy lies a religious/spiritual[1] outlook that posits a belief in a ‘higher power’ to arrest – adherents do not believe in cure – there addictive problems.[2] This power can be defined in whatever way the group member chooses. Unsurprisingly most choose what I will call, following the example of Bill Maher, the ‘invisible friend’ model.
In Western Europe the twentieth century witnessed the steady decline in church attendance, a decline in belief in the core tenants of Christianity and growing secularisation. As the God of the desert began to lose his attraction a new god began to emerge, altogether much more in tune with the age, much more tolerant, ‘touchy feely’ and approachable. Indeed this God positively encourages one to one contact. Available 24/7, a psycho-therapeutic god, an invisible friend. 
Ever since the protestant Reformation this new god slowly began to emerge with the rejection of priestly intercession between believer and God. Now a more personal relationship became possible.
The eventual result being that there are now innumerable individuals who describe themselves as believers, sometimes even as Christians, who never attend any organised form of worship, aside from weddings, christenings and funerals, often choosing elements from different religious doctrines, in an eclectic pick and mix, a little Buddhist meditation, little bit of fasting and self-denial, the worship of a few sacred objects; and at the core a belief in an invisible friend with whom they communicate regularly.

Many argue that this is an improvement on the autocratic and inflexible doctrines of organised religion. This is possible. However one only has to witness the incredible selfish narcissistic solipsism at the heart of such a belief system to harbour serious doubts. Children might be massacred in a school in Gaza, Yazidis murdered or driven from their homes but God is indifferent to all this, your invisible friend is too busy looking after you and your family.   

[1] Advocates for the philosophy will insist that ‘the programme’ is spiritual rather than religious since it allows members to define God in any way they choose. Some may feel this is a distinction without a difference, particularly as the Lord’s Prayer is still used in some US and Irish meetings of AA, the founding fellowships of the philosophy. AA originated in the mid 1930’s in the American Bible Belt.
[2] The Serenity Prayer is an integral part of AA and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings.
‘ God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.’

The longer version provides the religious ethos of the 12-Step programme in a nutshell.

‘Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.’

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