From the CBC:
A Winnipeg man who has struggled with alcoholism for decades says he has filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission over the lack of a treatment program that’s free of religious or spiritual elements.
Rob Johnstone said he has battled alcoholism for 40 years and can’t find a treatment program that doesn’t rely on religion or spirituality as part of the recovery process.
“I should not be forced to participate in someone else’s religious beliefs. I shouldn’t have to add to mine,” said Johnstone, who added he has been an alcoholic for 40 years.
“I have my own beliefs and I’m happy with them.”
Rather than yet another frivolously idiotic complaint to a human rights commission, perhaps Johnstone should exercise his human right to continue being an alcoholic – a consequence, one presumes, of his happiness inducing beliefs.
you simply couldn’t make this stuff up….
Was he forced to join AA? I remember several years ago when some parents objected to their sons being exposed to Christianity when they joined Boy Scouts and took it to court to stop the Boy Scouts expressing Christian beliefs. Boy Scouts was founded by a Christian as a Christian organization – why join something you don’t agree with and then complain to get it changed?
So this guy wants help, but on his terms. And who will he blame when the help he finally does get, that he is willing to accept, does not work?
I have a bad feeling about where this will all likely end up. A court order to those who provide alcoholic recovery programs to do so “free of religion”. If we refuse, than we shall be in contempt of court. This will put us in a position of having to choose one of two options. Remove our religous beliefs from the services we provide (thereby abandoning God (which is completely unacceptable), or stop providing the services, at the risk of no-one else taking over those services, or having the government do it (thereby abandoning those who are in need, which is also unacceptable). But there is a third option. Ignore the court order. And when we get hauled into court, be very stubborn about the issue. This is the help we are willing to offer and we are not willing to remove God. If the court has a problem with that, than the court needs to understand that we have our Constitutional Rights to Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Expression, which means we may proclaim our Faith and must NEVER be told to shut up.
Unless and untill we become militant about defending our Faith we will continue to be persecuted and pushed out of society.
AMPisAnglican (Comment 3) – this is precisely the situation that holds at the moment in Britain, regarding Catholic adoption agencies – they are forced by the neo-Stalinist law, over here, to choose either placing babies with gays, or going out of business, and ending the excellent work they have long done … Evil, isn’t it?