Is Celebrate Recovery Leading You Astray? A Critical Examination
This blog post critiques the Celebrate Recovery (CR) program, a popular Christian-based addiction recovery program. The author argues that CR misinterprets Scripture and teaches unsound theology, leading to a flawed understanding of human nature, sin, and salvation.
Key points of the critique:
- Misuse of Scripture: CR’s core principles, based on the Beatitudes, are misinterpreted by taking them out of context and imposing meanings not intended by the author. This leads to inaccurate teachings about addiction, forgiveness, and God’s role.
- Unsound theology: CR presents several problematic views, including:
- Lowering God’s sovereignty: CR downplays God’s control over our lives and suggests He isn’t responsible for our suffering.
- Salvation as self-choice: CR presents salvation as a decision made by the individual, downplaying God’s sovereign grace.
- Distorted view of Christ: Christ is referred to as a “Higher Power” rather than the only Savior and King.
- Incorrect view of humanity: CR focuses on self-esteem and self-love as the root of sin, neglecting the deeper issue of human rebellion against God.
- Misunderstanding of salvation: CR equates salvation with addiction recovery, overlooking the need for forgiveness, reconciliation, and a new nature.
Overall, the author argues that CR’s approach is harmful because it misleads participants and offers an inadequate understanding of sin and salvation.
Read the full article on the ACBC website here: https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/essays/an-analysis-of-the-celebrate-recovery-addictions-program/
