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Your site from an AA Christian is a welcome, refreshing site. And I attach the following on the subject:Alcoholics and Addicts – Helping Them the Old School Way
With God’s Power: Compassionate, Sustained, Personal Action
Dick B.
© 2007 by Anonymous. All rights reserved
A Challenge to Take the Best, Give the Best, and See the Best
Recently, I was asked to return to a Men’s Step Group meeting on Oahu and lead its retreat for a group of men who spend two years meeting weekly and learning all they can about the Big Book, the Twelve Steps, real Twelve Step Fellowship history, the Bible, prayer and meditation, and the role of Christians in 12 Step Fellowships today. This I love to do because these men, under the leadership of one of the members of our nationwide history fellowship, are given the tools, the information, the challenges, and the collateral facts about why the early A.A. Christian Fellowship achieved its documented 75% to 93% success rate. This was achieved with seemingly hopeless, “medically incurable” real alcoholics who relied on their Creator and were cured of their dreadful malady. The A.A. pioneers went for the best, gave the best, and saw the best that God offers to those who come to Him through His son. And then abstain and resist temptation; rely on Him for strength, guidance, and deliverance; obey Him by eliminating sinful conduct and replacing it with the love of God and service to God; grow in their relationship with Him, His son, and other believers through prayer, Bible study, seeking His will, reading Christian literature; fellowshipping together and witnessing to others; and devoting substantial time and effort helping others get straightened out. This discussion will address the question of what Christians in A.A. can do today, and how such actions can bring to newcomers, alcoholics, and addicts the same deliverance that was received in early A.A.
Caveat
You should avoid being entrapped by the novel yet frequent contentions of some in and out of A.A. that a discussion like this seeks to Christianize A.A. Or to return A.A. to Christianity. Or to make A.A. the special encampment and hunting preserve of Christian evangelists. The problem with such arguments is that those who make them leap before they look. They don’t look for or see the fact that early A.A. was a Christian Fellowship. Or that it was then uniquely and astonishingly successful. Or that A.A. changed dramatically when its Big Book was published four years after its founding. Or that people of all and many faiths began entering A.A. almost as soon as it began. Or that there was a calculated effort at or after the publication of the Big Book to secularize and universalize the Society; to construct a religious approach that would allow people to begin with idolatry and come to find the one, true God by following some Oxford Group precept; and to revise Christian and Biblical phrases to palliate the few who objected to and influenced removal of most observable references to the Creator, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. In other words, there is no logic in assuming that a look at history and early success constitutes a crusade to reverse course and return to long-gone fellowship practices. Such argumentation is suspect from the start. It is fallacious, and it should be rejected as an idea that throws the baby out with the bath water. It seems to have its birth in anger, ignorance, and personal prejudice. Moreover, it tends to make Christians feel ousted, uncomfortable, and out of step where they have every right to hold to their faith, utilize the power of God, and tell others what God has done for them. The warning here is that this article claims there is a very real place and service for Christians to perform in 12 Step Fellowships today. And the thoughts come largely from successful pioneer sources, principles, and practices. Neither Jesus nor Peter nor Paul received much earthly support; but they had a far greater ministry and purpose for the Creator they loved.
Here are Some Practices that Closely Define the Old-School Akron Program
The suggestions are taken largely by fleshing out the summary of the early program which was given by A.A. trustee-to-be Frank Amos after he had been sent to Akron to examine and report on the program that was founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in the summer of 1935. The program itself was developed and practiced largely by Dr. Bob, his wife Anne, and Henrietta Seiberling over the next two years. Then Bill, Bob, and Anne gathered in late 1937 to measure its numbers and successes. This resulted in their proclamation of thanks to God that He had shown them how the message could be passed along to others.
The Starting Gate
Qualifying the newcomer: From the outset, a real effort was made to find out as much as possible about a newcomer, his beliefs, his family, his drinking, and his willingness to believe in God and do whatever it took to get well. This sometimes involved visits with the family. It sometimes involved swapping stories. It definitely involved getting the newcomer to concede to his innermost self that he had been licked by a life-controlling problem that neither he nor any other human being could overcome.
Hospitalization or medical help: I can attest to the accuracy of the statement that many do not realize that the alcoholic is a very sick person—some, not all. In my case, I suffered detoxification and heavy sweating, three grand mal seizures, lack of bladder control, physical pains, numbness in my legs, memory problems, concentration problems, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, confusion, and uncontrollable shaking that lasted for some five years. Others, of course, have severe mental problems; and still others come in with broken bones, liver problems, throat problems. Many more with seemingly insurmountable legal, criminal, domestic, tax, insurance, court, debt, housing, nutrition, dental, and other disaster-ridden burdens. I too had many of these. Fortunately, the Akronites were led by a physician—Dr. Bob. Fortunately also, Bill, in New York, had been hospitalized and grounded in some medical aspects from his psychiatrist Dr. William D. Silkworth at Towns Hospital. Today, I know my earliest problems could have been prevented or lessened had someone sent me to a doctor first, instead of trying to suggest amateur remedies like orange juice and honey. Better still, had they sent me to a treatment detox facility such as the one I entered after my initial bout with seizures, ambulances, and the ICU. A.A. pioneers were almost uniformly hospitalized in Akron, first at Akron City Hospital, and later at St. Thomas. There they were given medications; they were visited daily by Dr. Bob—often for hours; they were visited by groups of pioneers who shared experiences and the solution; they were allowed only a Bible in their rooms; and after a five to seven day stay, Dr. Bob visited them, asked them if they believed in God, and then had them surrender on their knees aside their hospital bed. And then they were released.
After-Care
Focus on pioneer homes: On release from the hospital, the pioneers were given a Bible and urged to begin helping others. Most also received a copy of the Upper Room to assist them in daily prayer. A large number went to what might be called the first half-way houses. In most cases, they lived with Dr. Bob and Anne Smith at the Smith Home on 855 Ardmore in Akron. There they were sheltered, fed, bedded, and “indoctrinated” in a very real sense.
Morning Quiet Time—A Must: Each morning Anne Smith would hold a Quiet Time at the crack of dawn. It was for alcoholics and their families. She would open with prayer, read from the Bible, conduct group prayer, conduct a brief quiet period, and then discuss the Bible, or material from Anne Smith’s Journal, or devotionals like the Upper Room. Anne’s Journal contained recommended reading, discussion of Oxford Group precepts, Bible verses, materials on love, practical suggestions for alcoholics and their families, and Anne’s own recipe’s for health and prosperity.
Individual and group activity: Individual prayer and quiet time and reading were all encouraged. There were almost unceasing get-togethers daily in the Smith home. It is quite clear that several things were being stressed: (1) Bible study. (2) Prayer. (3) Quiet Time. (4) Adoption of a few Oxford Group ideas such as the Four Absolutes as moral standards and their Five C’s for life-changing. (5) The Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 were read, studied, and re-read. (6) Dr. Bob began circulating religious literature to the end that it would be studied and returned—followed by actual questioning about the book by Dr. Bob. These included devotionals and the many books specified in my title, The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth and Dr. Bob and His Library. (7) Individuals were counseled, cared for, and encouraged by Dr. Bob, by Anne Smith, by Henrietta Seiberling, and Mr. and Mrs. T. Henry Williams.
Surrenders and failures: All were expected to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; and all were expected, if able, to visit newcomers in the hospital. As with today, there were rim-runners—those who wouldn’t profess belief in God, wouldn’t accept Christ, didn’t think they had a problem, were unwilling to accept the discipline, were just plain crazy, and those who managed to blame others for their problems and leave. Those who stuck were the ones who achieved the remarkable cures and said so.
More homes added: As the need for more homes increased, so did the homes where the newcomers were housed—homes of Wally Gillam and Tom Lucas, for example. One historian who neither accepts nor endorses nor adequately describes the Akron pioneer program nonetheless correctly observed that the Akron fellowship seemed to be one continuous series of meetings. He just didn’t describe what they were. Dr. Bob alluded to them and their content.
The Bible emphasis: First Dr. Bob spoke of the fact that the old timers were convinced that the answer to their problems was in the Good Book. He said that James, the Sermon on the Mount, and First Corinthians were found to be absolutely essential. He added, “We used to have daily meetings at a friend’s house” See the Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical sketches Their last major talks, 1972, 1975, p. 15.
The “Regular” Weekly Meeting
Once each week, alcoholics, their wives, and their families met with several Oxford Group people at the home of T. Henry Williams in Akron. The meeting was unlike a regular Oxford Group meeting. The Creator’s role was prominent. At a prior set-up meeting, the leaders asked God for guidance as to who should lead the regular meeting and what its topic should be. One wife called the regular meeting an “old fashioned prayer meeting.” Dr. Bob’s son characterized it as an old-fashioned “revival meeting.” Even T. Henry, himself an ardent Oxford Group member, called it a “clandestine lodge” of the Oxford Group. In short, research in recent years, makes it clear that these weekly meetings far more resembled the principles and practices of the United Christian Endeavor Society of Dr. Bob’s youth than they did any typical Oxford Group meeting. Thus: (1) “Drunkalogs” were not given, whereas “sharing for witness” was a major part of most other Oxford Group meetings. (2) There was no literature but the Bible, Anne Smith’s Journal, and a devotional such as the Upper Room, whereas Oxford Group literature poured out all over the world and particularly from Rev. Sam Shoemaker’s Calvary House in New York. (3) Bible study, prayer, and seeking guidance—so common and important in united Christian Edndeavor meetings and far more stressed than in the Oxford Group. For prayer and Bible study were the heart of the early meeting. (4) The focus of the group was helping alcoholics; and that was never an Oxford Group focus. (5) There was no concern for life-changing or world-changing per se though these were the hallmarks of Oxford Group writings, talks, teams, and travels. (6) As was the case with Christian Endeavor meetings, the Akron group [and later the A.A. groups themselves] was self-governing and self-supporting with no principal leader or teacher like Dr. Frank Buchman or Rev. Samuel Shoemaker, as was the case in the Oxford Group. (7) Literature that was passed around included many more than Oxford Group books—for there were well-known books on prayer, healing, love, faith, service, psychology, the Bible, Jesus Christ; and on daily devotions laid out in The Runner’s Bible, the Upper Room, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, My Utmost for His Highest, The Greatest Thing in the World, The Meaning of Prayer, as well as leading books by Christian writers like Harry Emerson Fosdick, Glenn Clark, Emmet Fox, E. Stanley Jones, Oswald Chambers, Norman Vincent Peale, and others.
Surrenders to Jesus Christ
Possibly the best-kept secret during the middle A.A. years was the fact that every single pioneer was required to go upstairs with two or three “elders” like Dr. Bob, T. Henry Williams, and perhaps an Oxford Group member. These men held a prayer session that was called a “real surrender.” It took me many years of research to come up with solid evidence of the conversion ceremony that took place and which also followed the lines of James 5:16. The newcomer would kneel on the floor. The elders would gather round him. He was asked if he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. He was asked if he would live by the cardinal teachings of Jesus Christ. And he and the elders all joined in praying that alcohol be taken out of his life.
I spent a good deal of time with different witnesses and records. And the foregoing surrender facts were unearthed and confirmed by me as follows: (1) The surrenders are widely mentioned in A.A. literature. (2) They were specifically mentioned to me by Nell Wing, Bill Wilson’s secretary, who sent me several pages of A.A. literature where they were covered. (3) I have seen no evidence such surrenders took place in Oxford Group meetings. (4) They were common-place in the United Christian Endeavor conversion meetings—though not involving the alcohol removal prayer
The following four independent sources (all A.A. original pioneers) verified what happened at the surrenders. And what happened was a conversion—a new birth by surrender to Jesus as Lord: (a) Ed Andy, in a phone conversion to which I was a party, said: “They wouldn’t let you in unless you accepted Jesus.” (b) Clarence Snyder told four of his sponsees that I have talked to, as well as his wife, Grace, exactly what occurred with respect to Jesus in the surrenders. (c) Larry Bauer both phoned me and wrote me to relate that they had taken him upstairs and got him “born again.” (d) J. D. Holmes wrote, in a negative tone, that he had been hounded about accepting Jesus.
Though Bill certainly surrendered, in the conversion sense, his story was somewhat different. It took me years to find the reports of eyewitnesses to Bill’s conversion at the altar at Calvary Rescue Mission before he ever met Dr. Bob. Then I discovered Bill’s own written statements that he had been born again. Also his statement at page 191 of the Big Book that the Lord had cured him of his terrible disease. See Dick B. The Conversion of Bill W. Finally, I realized that Dr. Bob had covered the point in his last major address in December, 1948, saying: “You recall the story about Bill having had a spiritual experience and having been sold on the idea of attempting to be helpful to other drunks. Time went by, and he had not created a single convert, not one. As we express it, no one had jelled (Co-founders, pp. 9-10).
Identifiable Oxford Group Practices
Oxford Group literature, both by Rev. Sam Shoemaker and others, was available on tables at the early weekly meetings. Some of it was specifically recommended by Anne Smith in her journal, and some of it was specifically read and circulated by Dr. Bob. There was also much mention of the Four Absolutes—honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love—by the Akron pioneers and later by Clarence Snyder as to Cleveland A.A. Anne wrote about them as “moral standards.” Dr. Bob called them “yardsticks.” There is some evidence that the equivalent of 4th and 5th Step inventories and confessions on moral shortcomings were followed. And there is some evidence that restitution was a principle that was adhered to even before Bill wrote the Twelve Steps.
Other Practices That Were Developed
Frank Amos reported that social and religious comradeship were favored but not required. He also said that attendance at a church of one’s choice was favored but not required. It is not clear to me just how much work with newcomers as such was involved by individuals until after they left Akron and spawned the major new A.A. groups in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Houston. They certainly did visit newcomers in the hospital and meet and converse with them in the homes. Sponsorship as such did not seem to count for much until Clarence founded A.A. in Cleveland and then wrote his pamphlet on sponsorship.
But it was in Cleveland that the four elements of fast-growing A.A. developed—Big Book, Twelve Steps, Bible, and Four Absolutes. And use of these four tools took off like a rocket. That combination produced a documented 93% success rate, a growth from one group to thirty in a year, and a beehive of indoctrinations of newcomers in the principles of the new program.
Clarence Snyder Innovated Important Principles of Co-existence
One still-living former trusted servant and trustee in the A.A. hierarchy has seemed to spend much of his sober life driving a wedge between Clarence Snyder and Alcoholics Anonymous. He has not been alone. Several historians have joined those ranks. Several employees at A.A. headquarters have fostered continuing distaste for Clarence. And while there are many possible explanations for their positions, the fact remains that Bill Wilson himself acknowledged that the greatest growth in A.A. came from the Cleveland crowd. And, in that sense, Clarence proved himself to be a great example of how to combine the old and the new and achieve the best results. Dr. Bob’s daughter told me, when I asked about Clarence, “He was all for Dr. Bob.” And Clarence never stopped talking about what Dr. Bob and his wife had done for him.
Moreover, he openly, frequently, and clearly spoke of the Akron roots, the Bible emphasis, the Oxford Group influence, and the Big Book and Twelve Steps. This can and should be the model for co-existence today.
Why cover up history? Why reject the basic text? Why ignore success? Why drive a wedge between the Akron program and the Big Book program? Why censor all literature but that written by Bill Wilson or the New York hierarchy? Why censure those and exclude listings of those who mention God, Jesus, the Bible, and Christian literature? Why extend recognition to atheists, doctors, gays, women, lesbians, policemen, doctors, lawyers, airline pilots, firemen, dentists, and other special groups but refuse to list or publicize the existence of a group, its meeting schedule, its activities, or anything that is deemed “religious” but not “spiritual?” Why try to exclude afflicted people who were not excluded in early A.A.?
Let’s take a look at some major ideas promoted by Clarence Snyder—ideas that can offer help and hope for successful co-existence with and among idolatrous factions in A.A. and other 12 Step fellowships today.
The Big Book: Clarence Snyder taught from the Big Book. His Cleveland meetings began only a month or so after the Big Book was published. He readily grasped its ideas and quoted them frequently. He instituted retreats still surviving today where the Big Book is treated for what it is—the basic text of A.A. I’ve personally heard his tapes and seen his video renditions on “How It Works,” after which he asks his listeners, “How does it Work?” Their loud reply is “real good!”
The Twelve Steps: Just as he immediately embraced the Big Book on its publication in the Spring of 1939, so also did Clarence begin taking people through the Twelve Steps—following the instructions of the Big Book. He wrote a pamphlet still in circulation called Going Through the Steps. He wrote a pamphlet called My Higher Power the Light Bulb. There he inserted the words “light bulb” for “God” wherever the word “God” appeared in the Steps and demonstrated the absurdity of turning your will and your life over to the care of a light bulb, admitting to your light bulb the exact nature of your wrongs, and asking your light bulb to remove them, etc. He devised a way to take people through the Steps in no more than two days; and he was so inundated with newcomers, that he began to take them through the Steps in classes—something that is done at his surviving retreats today and is set forth in detail by his three old timer sponsees in the new workbook Our A.A Legacy to the Faith Community: A Twelve-Step Guide for Those Who Want to Believe.
The Four Absolutes: To see what Clarence took from Akron and the Oxford Group’s Four Absolutes, one only needs to listen to one of his taped talks. The survival of the Four Absolutes in Cleveland is manifest if you look at the mast-head of the Cleveland Central Bulletin which highlighted Absolute Honesty, Absolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, and Absolute Love. When I came to Hawaii, I learned that one of Clarence’s earliest sponsees was Clancy U. who lived on the Island of Oahu, traveled all over the United States visiting AAs, and died just short of his 50th sobriety birthday. Clancy U. was sponsored by both Dr. Bob and by Clarence. He was legendary for concluding his talks by saying, “Remember those Four Absolutes.”
The Bible: Clarence forthrightly and frequently told the truth about A.A.’s roots. Like Dr. Bob, he said the program came from the Bible. See our A.A. Legacy, pp. 5, 18, 26, 30, 37, 44, 57-65. He pointed to the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 as the basic A.A. sources in the Bible. In the early years, Clarence spoke little of Bible specifics, but often of what he called “rummy stories” in the Bible—about Noah (Genesis 9:18-21); the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32); and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). Clarence frequently referred to 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (NAS). This verse was given to him by A.A. old-timer William Van Horn, and Clarence referred to, and quoted it for the rest of his life.
Other Contributions. (1) In 1944, Clarence wrote the first pamphlet ever written concerning sponsorship. Its original title was A.A. Sponsorship—Its Obligations and Its Responsibilities. It was printed by the Cleveland Central Committee with a different title. The full content is included in A.A. Legacy, pp. 78-82. It is a classic on how to sponsor; and it should be in wide distribution and use in A.A. and internationally, though I don’t believe it is. (2) Clarence is credited with the idea of “rotating leadership”—a principle that is followed in most A.A. meetings though virtually ignored in its World Services office and even as to “managers” in other offices. (3) Clarence adhered to and stressed the importance of hospitalization—just as it had been stressed in Akron. (4) Promotion was first and foremost in Clarence’s mind, including using his name and address, in newspapers to facilitate entry by those who were seeking help, He frequently ignored the “attraction” precept—saying “Who would be attracted to a drunk?”
A Formula for “Co-Existence” Today
Those who get disgusted with Christian-bashing, idolatry, and intolerance in some A.A. meetings do have a choice. They can get drunk. They can take flight. They can form a new meeting. They can form a new group. They can form a new fellowship. Or they can return to their treatment center, their homeless shelter, their rescue facility, their therapist, their doctor, their clergyman, or their church, religious denomination, or Christ-centered recovery program. They can write books on how A.A. failed them. They can write books unmasking A.A. or calling it a cult or calling it a useful lie. They can return to their former dishonest, criminal, disgusting, destructive behavior. They can criticize A.A., Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob, the steps, the foul language, the meat market mentality, the self-centered talking, or the erroneous theology in A.A. And perhaps such activity is more than justified on occasion.
But will they forget the important things that A.A. presented for their choice. They often came from the pit with inconceivable wreckage, and it left them disgraced, ashamed, and afraid. They often were killing their pain or over-expanding their minds with destructive drinking and drugs. They were unwelcome at home, on the job, in the Armed Forces, on the police force or fire squadron, and even among their fellow professionals and workers. Perhaps even in jail.
For them and for me, A.A. was the last house on the block. Moreover, you could see the word “God” as you looked in the books and on the walls. You found a zeal to impress upon you that drinking and drug abuse were problems that needed to be solved by abstinence. You found enthusiastic greeters—far surpassing those who had served you as ushers, waiters, and receptionists. You found lots of laughter and friendliness. You found those who really wanted to enjoy life without drinking. And you found there was a program of recovery—albeit more and more flawed as you looked at it carefully and observed the results.
There have been judges, doctors, clergy, dentists, policemen, firemen, laborers, farm workers, man and women, criminals, abusers and others who came to A.A. and were not rejected for their past mistakes. I fitted one of those categories. You found friendships easy to make and long-lived. And you found a myriad of ways to avoid loneliness, inactivity, self-pity, shame, friendlessness—all without a drink, a drug, or a trip to the liquor store or a bar.
I’ll close this part by asking you: is there something for a Christian to do in A.A. today? There is an account of the return of Jesus to Nazareth where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and “stood up for to read” [as was done when the Word of God was read[. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath annointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book. . . . And he began to say unto them, This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears (Luke 4:18-21).
Jesus ministered to sinners galore and healed them. Which reminds me of the sign outside Calvary Rescue Mission where Bill Wilson went to the altar and made his decision for Christ. That sign declared that the Mission was a place where the Carpenter [Jesus] mends broken hearts. And there was a drawing of a rag-tag down-trodden man on the sign. I like to think that the words of Jesus, and the significant picture on the sign at Wilson’s place of conversion, speak volumes about what the Christian can do in A.A. today.
For sure, nobody turned me away. Many had weird ideas about some “god.” But I had a sense that I was there to be helped and that they were there to help. And they made that obvious by their hugs, their warm greetings, and their giving me their names and phone numbers to use for help. And I sure did call them—many many times. That was how it all started for me; and, though it was a long time before I found a Christian who helped me, it was not long before I pulled out my Bible and began asking God to tell me what to do, what to say, how to act, and which person to approach in love and service. A Christian is empowered. He has at his beck and call the guidance of God, provided he seeks it in obedience and fellowship. He can bring that same treasure to a newcomer who wants it.
Some Barriers That Need Watching: Truthfulness About A.A. History
Christians in A.A. today, and, in fact, all AAs and Twelve Step people, need to know where they came from. They need to learn the facts, speak the truth, and accurately share their findings with others. Co-existence does not mean compromising on the truth. And the following facts need to be mastered:
Pioneer A.A.’s Christian Sources and Fellowship: Early Akron A.A. was a Christian Fellowship which derived most of its ideas from the Christian Endeavor practices of Dr. Bob’s youth, coupled with some major ideas from the Salvation Army and Gospel Rescue Missions involving conversion, plus some Oxford Group ideas, principal among which were the Four Absolutes.
Cured: Early Akron AAs, and the first three AAs themselves, all declared that they had been cured by the power of God; and their statements were widely publicized by A.A. itself, by their own declarations, and by newspapers and magazines across the United States.
Believing: Early Akron AAs were required to profess a belief in our Creator, to come to Him through His son Jesus Christ, and to accept the ideas and practices of the Bible, which they called the Good Book.
The James Club Idea: Early Akron AAs laid great stress on the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and First Corinthians Thirteen. Later, their Big Book quoted from James; their Steps incorporated specific ideas from James; and they wanted to call themselves “The James Club.” See Dick B. The James Club and The Original Program’s Absolute Essentials.
Conversions: The idea that a genuine conversion could bring about healings of alcoholics came primarily from the books and remarks of Professor William James, Dr. Carl G. Jung, Dr. William D. Silkworth, the Salvation Army, the Gospel Rescue Missions, and Bill Wilson’s own conversion at the altar of Rev. Sam Shoemaker’s Calvary Rescue Mission, followed by Bill’s calling on the Great Physician at Towns Hospital and having a conversion experience very similar to that of his own grandfather Willie Wilson who was saved and delivered from alcoholism many years earlier. See Dick B. The Conversion of Bill W.
The Big Book Differences: The A.A. Big Book very probably had only one author—Bill Wilson. Its writing was authorized by a close, split vote in Akron. It was then outlined by Bill Wilson and his partner Henry Parkhurst who formed a corporation known as Works Publishing Company, sold stock, issued a prospectus, and had in mind several new and different ideas. Recent research makes a strong case that the earliest drafts originally contained Christian and Biblical materials that were subsequently tossed aside. The outline drafted by Henry Parkhurst called for stories from a wide variety of afflicted people. Parkhurst urged a psychological rather than religious approach. Instead, Bill Wilson closeted himself with Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., and took as his major theme for the first portion of the book an adaptation of the life-changing ideas of the Oxford Group. There is Shoemaker language throughout the Steps and the text portions. Bill also drew on some medical ideas from Dr. William D. Silkworth. He adapted the conversion ideas of William James and Carl Jung and gave them an Oxford Group name—spiritual experience. He quoted portions of the Bible. He used the word “God” with Biblical descriptions of Him such as Creator, Maker, Father, Spirit, Father of Light, together with capitalized pronouns referring to Him, over 400 times. He picked up some New Thought ideas such as “Higher Power,” cosmic consciousness, infinite power, fourth dimension, and so on. For some reason not known to me, he abandoned the “cure” idea of early AAs and adopted the “no cure” teachings of lay therapist Richard Peabody, who died drunk. He adapted some of the Quiet Time ideas he had learned in Akron and in the Oxford Group. And he appeared to adopt a number of the Christian principles found in 1 Corinthians 13.
The Personal Story Differences: The personal stories in the back of the Big Book were a different matter. They were not selected for the sobriety the story-teller had attained. In fact, a number of the writers got drunk. However, they were selected to provide a variety of types. Moreover, the stories that were selected were not confined to the stories of pioneers. This fact has been ignored by several purported historians who reviewed only the personal stories and concluded erroneously that all of the pioneers got drunk. But the personal stories themselves, unlike ultimate basic text of the Big Book, frequently mentioned the Bible, Jesus Christ, and Christian literature. Most were written by or provided assistance for writers from the Akron fellowship—where the success rate had been the greatest.
Dr. Bob gently described Bill’s own early witnessing failures as follows: “You recall the story about Bill having had a spiritual experience and having been sold on the idea of attempting to be helpful to others. Time went by, and he had not created a single convert, not one. As we express it, no one had jelled” (Co-founders, pp. 10-11). Bill himself later wrote several times that he had been unable to get a single person sober at the beginning. Bill also wrote a well-known letter stating that Dr. Bob had achieved far greater success than the efforts of the folks in the East. And it was the latter situation that caused John D. Rockefeller, Jr., to send his agent Frank Amos to Akron to investigate the actual program being used by this group led by Dr. Bob. The Akron situation Amos investigated, as described and summarized by Amos, prompted both Amos and another Rockefeller colleague to comment that the program was Christian and was much like “first century Christianity.”
The Vice of Concealment, Fear, and Timidity
I have found no evidence in my own successful and continuous close association with A.A. or during my own continuous twenty-one years of sobriety that justifies the conclusion that there has been profit to the fellowship, the meetings, or the newcomers in the continued ignoring, distorting, and concealing of history. Regrettably, such has been a judgment call of people who don’t and can’t speak for our fellowship as to what history shall be discussed and what shall be buried.
The history of early A.A. is a fact; it just seemed to lose its oomph after Dr. Bob and his wife died, after Bill had his long and deep depression period, and after Bill seemed to favor Lois Wilson’s suggestion that what A.A. needed was a universal program because not all drunks were Christian.
I used to doubt the accuracy of Lois’s claim. But that was before I learned about the difference between the Akron program and the Big Book program; before I learned how much Bill had changed the Big Book program from the one he and Bob developed in Akron. Before I learned how all significant references to God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible were removed from the Big Book drafts. Before I learned how strange references to “higher power” were actually inserted. Before I learned how the doctrine of “no cure” was added and how drastically it differed from the statements of the founders and of a host of AAs over a decade. And before I learned how many New Thought and atheist compromises were made a part of the writings.
Concealment: The art of concealment makes and leaves no place for truth. That is the reason for cross-examination, impeachment, and rebuttal in court trials. The aim is to get at the whole truth and to unravel the opinions, hearsay remarks, unreliable stories, irrelevant detours bogus documents, lack of best evidence, and reliance on parole evidence that lead to lies and erroneous findings. If the light doesn’t shine, there is darkness. If the lie is believed, the Devil triumphs. We are not dealing with court trials, and perhaps not even with unknowing evil doers who seem to be working for the wrong team. We are, however, having hidden from us the truth of God’s Word and often respond without remembering or seeking the power of God. You may not prevent or change the concealment. You may not see the departure of those who do the cover-ups. And you can look for a human solution and have no better success than the alcoholic who conceals his problem and declines to turn for Divine Aid, as Bill Wilson called the religious solution. Yet here’s what a Psalm of David offered:
Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from the fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked: from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily: they say, Who shall see they search out iniquities: they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. . . . The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him: and all the upright in heart shall glory (Psalm 64:1-6, 10).
I firmly believe our Creator will help present the truth of His love, power, and healing abilities if we ask Him. The truth is not necessarily for those who make a free-will choice to disbelieve; but it is mighty important to those who are believers or might become believers if God showed them the way, just as Bill, Bob, and Anne felt He had shown them the way when they did their nose counting in 1937 and saw what He had enabled them to do. Try God! Try God first!
Fear: If fear reigns, it needs to be cast out. As A.A.’s own basic text suggests: Contempt prior to investigation is a guarantee of everlasting ignorance. And as soon as fear replaces fact and concealment replaces light and intimidation suppresses openness, the door is open to faulty control, faulty suppositions, and frequent failure. AAs today do not, for the most part, know their history. Prompted by fear from professional chatter and meeting babble, they swallow false gods, false theories, and false solutions. There is fear of reprimand, fear of error and mistakes., and fear of losing status.
The simple solution for all that is perhaps to remember President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous statement that: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” A.A. literature, hierarchical control, and dogmatic stubbornness have given rise to meetings and practices riddled with fear and where fear is made king: (1) Fear of the first drink. (2) Fear of relapse. (3) Fear of sharing one’s own experience, strength and hope from God, from Jesus Christ, and from the Bible. (4) Fear of reading any literature or books that are not “Conference Approved.” (5) Fear of holding meetings which discuss history, the Bible, and God in the same breath as the Big Book and Steps. (6) Fear of mentioning “outside issues.” (7) Fear that speaking out constitutes forbidden “cross-talk”—a treatment center term. (8) Fear that A.A. can’t cope with or help anyone but an alcoholic—even though I have really never encountered anyone in A.A. in my 21 years who has only been addicted to alcohol. (9) Fear that this or that principle or practice might be violative of some misinterpreted A.A. Tradition.
“The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). “God is love” (1 John 4:16).
The Perennial Sickness Fallacy: One need only listen to the “don’t drink and go to meetings” talk that dominates so many discussions in A.A. to ask forthrightly: “I thought the original AAs were cured of alcoholism.” They were. “I thought pioneer AAs were focused on reliance on God.” They were. “I thought the original AAs stressed Bible study and prayer.” They did. “I thought pioneer AAs read all kinds of religious literature.” They did. “I thought Bill’s Twelve Steps came largely from the life-changing program of the Oxford Group.” They did. “I thought Dr. Bob said the basic ideas of the Twelve Steps came from the study of the Bible.” They did. “I thought early A.A. meetings were devoted primarily to prayer, Bible study, discussion of the application of Biblical principles, surrenders to Jesus Christ, and asking for deliverance from alcohol.” They were. “I thought the original A.A. program stressed hospitalization as a must for the newcomers.” It did. “I thought people in the fellowship worked closely and intensely with newcomers.” They did. “I heard that early pioneers who used those Old School approaches were 40 in number (not 100); that they were considered “medically incurable;” that they were cured by the power of God; that they said they were cured by the power of God; and that they had a documented 75% success rate in Akron among those who really tried, and very soon had a 93% success rate in Cleveland where there was even more widespread and intense work with newcomers.” All these reflections were based on the actual facts. Yet they are seldom heard.
Some of these facts can actually be found, though incompletely presented, in A.A.’s own conference approved literature. Also, my 31 published titles and more than 170 articles document the facts. And more and more, non-A.A. biographies and writings are beginning to fill in the same holes with additional, and even the same, truthful details.
“. . . If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26).
The challenge of diversity for the sake of growth: A.A. is not a forum for rock-throwing. A.A. is not a forum for intolerant outbursts. A.A. is not a forum for suppressing religious freedom. A.A. is not a forum for quashing freedom of speech. A.A. is not a forum for quoting some illusory index of forbidden books. A.A. is not a forum for forcing someone’s opinions down someone else’s throat. A.A. is not a forum for airing resentments. A.A. is not a forum for idolizing fear. A.A. is not a forum for promoting idolatry. A.A. is not a forum for excusing relapses. A.A. is not a forum of “us against them.” All these unfortunate detours do exist. But they shouldn’t.
He who loudly asserts that A.A. is not a Christian fellowship today is 100% correct. He who says that A.A. today includes people of all races, colors, creeds, and nationalities is probably close to correct. He who says that A.A. today includes blacks, native Americans, Caucasians, folks from the mid-east, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics, South Americans, Europeans, Southeast Asians, Australians, and immigrants from many other places is probably close to correct. He who says that today’s A.A. contains atheists, agnostics, humanists, gays, lesbians, Roman Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, Moslems, irreligious, non-religious, unbelievers, and Hottentots is also close to accuracy.
But one might pause to observe a few additional, likely facts. There are probably more Christians in A.A. today than people of any other faith or religion. There are probably more people in A.A. who believe in God, have heard of the Bible, and have been to a Christian church than people in other categories. Preliminarily, I would again declare emphatically that A.A. is no longer, and is not a Christian Fellowship today. And he who claims that some AA is out of line for speaking of his Christian beliefs, speaking of the early Christian Fellowship, and mentioning the Bible is trying to “return” A.A. to Christianity or “cram” the Bible down people’s throats is spitting in the wind.
Most of the many Christian AAs that I know are scared to death to talk about their faith, scared to mention God or Jesus Christ or the Bible, and tend to believe the canard that to do so might scare a newcomer out of the rooms. The real issue, however, is not what you say, but where you say it, to whom you say it, how you say it, and what purpose you have in saying it at all. I haven’t found many Christian AAs who devote themselves to looking for scraps. Some may. But most are more likely to turn tail and run, rather than stand, resist the adversary, and call on Almighty God for help, guidance, and strength when and if verbally chastised by a loud mouth, angry talker.
Today’s A.A. is diverse. A.A. will remain diverse. And the diversity is not going to lessen. By the same token, America is diverse; Rotary Clubs are diverse; the YMCA is diverse, bird-watchers are diverse; soldiers and sailors are diverse; mushroom hunters are diverse; cowboys are diverse; and Congressmen are diverse. Hopefully, however, they can and often do unite for a purpose. And AAs are avowedly united in their purpose to help the newcomer overcome the ravages of alcoholism.
Diversity need not divide if the common and clearly stated purpose is understood and accepted.
“When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall” (Proverbs 19:16).
The curse of secularism and universalism What does a Christian, or a Twelve Step fellowship itself, do with scientists, academics,%2 |
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Monday, August 13th 2007 - 09:20:47 PM |
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