In the Beginning, Man Created God

Nya nya! My God's better than your God!

I can't say I ever heard such a taunt on the playground or in the church parking lot before Sunday school. We can talk of a higher power, but I don't believe there is a highest power. One of the beauties of AA, I think, is that no one tells others what to believe in. Just believe in something! That isn't the way it was in church when I attended. There we were ordered to believe in the Bible and believe in their Lord, or we are sure to go to hell.

We talked about that this morning in my AA Big Book study group. I like what Chris said: "I believe God doesn't want us all to think the same and act the same. He has different roles for each of us. At the Ford plant, not everyone is painting the cars. Everyone has his own job to do so that the cars come out right."

Lori shared how she came to accept the God of her understanding. "My sponsor told me to make a list of all the characteristics of God. I was raised a Southern Baptist, so my list had mean, vindictive things on it. Then she had me write what I wanted God to be. My lists were different. The second had things on it like forgiving. She said that's the God you should pray to."

Step Three says, "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him." Bill's Story in the Big Book reads, "Why don't you choose your own concept of God? ... It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning." (emphasis as it appears)

I wish I could have taken tests in school that were like taking tests of our faith. In the latter, there are no wrong answers. Give yourself an A.