“The dogma of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present and future. As our circumstances are new, we must think anew, and act anew.” Abraham Lincoln 

A PDF transcript is now available for this show HERE. 

To push through the dogma of our past pits the rebel David against the Goliath of status quo. In Episode 17 of Rebellion Dogs Radio we get to know two rebels. 

Marc Lewis is a neuroscientist and a professor. His new book, The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is not a Disease challenges a well worn groove in addiction language about the disease of addiction. 

Gretta Vosper may not be the only Christian minister that doesn’t treat the Bible as a literal history book but as an out-of-the-closet atheist her West Hill United Church ministry is under fire from the powers that be. Both the medical/psychiatric infrastructure and the Christian church have very Goliathesque qualities and we may fear seeing our rebellious heroes crushed. Of course, Abraham Lincoln has your back, Marc and Gretta. He knows today’s story can’t be told in yesterday’s language.   

I am reading a Malcolm Gladwell book called David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants. Gladwell offers two insights or a new way of looking at seemingly overwhelming odds. 

“The first is that much of what we consider valuable in our world arises out of these kinds of lopsided conflicts because the act of facing overwhelming odds creates greatness and beauty. And second, that we get these kinds of conflicts wrong; we misread them, we misinterpret them. Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the source of great weakness. And the fact of being an underdog can change people in a way that we fail to appreciate. It can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten and make possible what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.” 

On this show you will get to know Marc Lewis; he chats with us about why he wrote a new book. In the interests of understanding addiction better, we discuss what neuroscientists might want to focus some of their attention on, now that the disease-model is showing signs of weakness. Even if you have no investment in how doctors and researchers are labeling addiction and recovery, you may find Marc’s research fascinating. He introduces us to an alcoholic, a meth-head, heroin addict, a woman with an eating disorder and a prescription pill addict who were part of Marc Lewis’s research. These stories are hair-raising.

As always, we welcome your comments, criticisms, concerns or questions. Consider yourself, part of the community. To close, here’s one more quote, a final word from Oscar Wilde about why we have to rally behind our rebels: 

“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made.”

Links: 

Marc Lewis, author of Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is not a Disease. 

Gretta Vosper, Progressive Christianity 

CBC Tapestry Letting Go with Gretta Vosper and Miriam Katin 

CBC Tapestry AA, God of your understanding a Recovery Rabi and three from Toronto's Beyond Belief Agnostics & Freethinkers Group 

Malcolm Gladwell, author of David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants