Trouble with the word 'God'

God is a word that represents an idea. The idea represents the reality. What is the reality? Power.

What is power? The ability to do something or influence something. What power are we after? The power to stay sober and influence our lives for the better.

Does that power exist? Well, it obviously exists in other people's lives.

In physics, gravity and electricity are available to everyone.

In metaphysics, the same principle applies; if it's available to some people, it must be available to everyone.

How do we establish a relationship with it? The fellowship, steps, service, sponsorship.

Since a word is simply a symbol for an idea, and an idea is simply a symbol for the reality, if one is fine with the reality, the idea and the symbol should not be a problem.

If the word is a problem, it is because a repulsive idea has become accidentally attached to the word, in this case God.

The repulsive idea is one which others hold and which one disagrees with.

First of all, let's practise tolerance: the world is full of people with differing ideas. Let's let them have those ideas, and they can let us have ours.

Now, let's reclaim the word and use it as we wish. There is no statutory, eternal, objective, or immutable relationship between words and ideas, particularly words that are already used extremely flexibly, like nice, good, right, or democracy.

The word God is not like the words avocado, Eiffel Tower, or Austro-Hungarian Empire. It symbolises many notions rather than a single entity.

In mathematics, one might say, 'let x = ...'. In AA, one might say, 'let the word God = ...'

If prejudice against other people's repulsive ideas cannot be gotten over right now, fine, in which case use whatever word or phrase you want: Higher Power, Spirit of the Universe, Great Spirit, Teacher, Love, Jabberwocky, Andrew, really whatever you like. It's just a symbol of the idea, which is a symbol of the reality.

Just like with a trip, it's the destination that matters, not the colour of the ticket or the livery on the aeroplane.