From Sin to Disease: The Medicalization of Addiction and Its Influence on How The Southern Baptist Convention Approaches Ministering to Those Who Struggle with Mind Altering Substances

Since Benjamin Rush first introduced the disease of wills as the cause of alcoholism, a steady and slow infiltration of the disease model has infected how the church treats those who struggle with addictions. The first organization that truly sought to remove the soul care of addicts from the church was Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), through their bestselling The Big Book of AA and the introduction of the 12 Steps. AA’s influence on how the church confronts addiction still reverberates today, with many of the ministries that address addiction firmly rooted in what can be found in AA literature.
Addictions were once viewed as an issue caused by sin and best addressed through faith and prayer. Currently addiction is seen through the lens of disease. The ramifications are consequential as more church members are struggling with addictions than ever before. Tracing the progression of addiction from sin to disease will reveal that the SBC and its churches have been negligent in understanding the underlying foundations of AA and the influence that the medicalization of substance abuse has had on how churches approach what should be classified as a sin issue.

Jonathan K. Okinaga is assistant professor of Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the author of How God Sanitized My Soul (2009) and My Loved One Is an Addict: Now What? (2019).