Lou Samaritano and Mark continue the series discussing Dr. Lance Dodes' myths of addiction that he writes about in his book The Heart of Addiction: A New Approach to Understanding and Managing Alcoholism and Other Addictive Behaviors... (Harper Collins, 2002).
Find Lou at abiblicalcounselor.com where he counsels in Sayville, Long Island, NY close to all the major thoroughfares there. He also counsels online via video conferencing software.
Myth #6 You should be treated by someone who also has an addiction.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says "...so that we may be able to comfort those..."
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort." (ESV)
Explaining the difference between being a sinner, being affected by sin, and sin having dominion over me.
All Scripture is useful... so that the man of God can be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)
It really is the Spirit of God and the Word of God. Anyone can help an addict.
Testimonies of what has happened to us are important but not what transforms the heart. God transforms hearts.
God's great and precious promises are given to us. It's His power, His word, His enabling us to escape the corruption of our own heart.
Sex addiction, hatred, anger, it doesn't matter what it is, the core of the heart needs to be justified and sanctified.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
The Bible gives us hope that we CAN be set free. It happens from the Lord who is the Spirit, not my testimony as a counselor, that changes hearts. We have the ability to point them to the One who can set them free.
Myth #7 "Addiction is basically a problem of brain chemistry." Dr. Dodes calls out this myth and we agree.
Mark went to a training about 25 years ago where he began to witness the transitioning of the terminology and yet maintained the same exact treatment philosophies.
The way we were brought up does have an affect on us but it is not binding on us. We still have a choice.
Sins have been taken out of the sin category and put them all in the sickness category. Lou mentions David Tyler and Kurt Grady's book, Deceptive Diagnosis: When Sin is Called Sickness (2006, Focus)
There is hope. If you are set free by Jesus Christ, you are not an alcoholic, you are a child of God.
"As you minimize sin, then being saved is not that big of a deal. I just had this chemical problem in my brain, but other than that I was a pretty good person." - Lou Samaritano
Three crosses are in The Addiction Connection logo, and that is purposeful -- Mark explains.