In an age of subjectivism, presentism, moral relativism, the rejection of the principles of reason and evidence, the existence of phrases liked 'lived experience' and 'my truth', the assertion that there are no such things as facts, it can be easy to become disoriented.
People even misinterpret a single line ripped out of context from Hamlet to support the idea that there is no absolute right and wrong, good and bad, etc.
Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me it is a prison.Why then, your ambition makes it one; 'tis too narrow for your mind.O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.
The point clearly is not that there are no facts but that negative experiences of those facts stem from an interaction between those facts and internal dispositions such as ambition.
Alcohol comes to the rescue. Alcoholism, the implacable foe, stands as one of the guardians of reality. Get the programme right, and you stay sober. Get the programme wrong, and you end up drunk. Drink and you may never stop. Set yourself up as your own lord and fail. Humble yourself to God and live accordingly and the Kingdom is yours.
Here's one of the Big Book lines on facts:
For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.
This weekend I'm going to a convention of Alcoholics Anonymous, because I'm an alcoholic, and that is the key fact. What is recovery? The working of the programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, no more and no less.
Here are some more Big Book facts quotations:The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution.
But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.
The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink.
When this sort of thinking is fully established in an individual with alcoholic tendencies, he has probably placed himself beyond human aid, and unless locked up, may die or go permanently insane. These stark and ugly facts have been confirmed by legions of alcoholics throughout history.
The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.
The practical individual of today is a stickler for facts and results.
Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us.
Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four. A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking a commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process.
If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not theorizing. These are facts out of our experience.
Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives.
Admit that he probably knows more about it than you do, but call to his attention the fact that however deep his faith and knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink.
Ask them to remember, when they are impatient, the blessed fact of his sobriety.
The fact is that he should work with other people to maintain his own sobriety.
At the very beginning, the couple ought to frankly face the fact that each will have to yield here and there if the family is going to play an effective part in the new life.