And can we bring new purpose and devotion to the religion of our choice?
Good question!
I’ve written a lot throughout the blog about my experience with religion. Short version, I was born and sort of raised as a half-assed, half-hearted Lutheran. I was forced to go through with confirmation against my will, and after that I left the church, and pretty much God, for good. Through many years of suffering not being able to stop drinking within the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, I came to accept a higher power and even to return to church.
I want to say I returned in an abbreviated form, but that’s not accurate, since I got married in the church, had my children baptized there, attended there and even taught Sunday school to the little ones.
Around my mid-30s, I thought about leaving the Lutheran church, since I was not fully participating. I could never get behind sacraments, for example, or creeds, things like that. I started to look into the Quaker religion, since I think it most closely resembles my thoughts about these things. But I fell in love and met my wife (in that order) and she was president of a Lutheran congregation, and so I stayed.
Now thirteen years have gone by, and as I come upon this question in my considerations of the Twelve and Twelve, I’m again thinking about the Quakers.
So, in answer to the question posed, I would have to say that yes, definitely, I was able to bring new purpose and new devotion to the religion of my choice. The fact that I can even choose, or have any capacity to hope or believe, is due to the program.
Now, I know that it is character defects that keep me from exploring the Quakers more fully. I’ve attended a Quaker meeting three times, I’ve read a book or two. And that’s it. I do believe it is ego holding me back. Twisted, stupid, ridiculous and useless ego.