Why Early A.A. Succeeded
The Good Book in
Alcoholics Anonymous
Yesterday and Today
(A Bible Study Primer for AAs and other 12-Steppers)
"We already had the basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form.
We got them ... as a result of our study of the Good Book."
-Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith,
Co-Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
Dick B.
With a Foreword by Jeffrey H. Boyd, M.D., M.Div., M.P.H.
Copyright 2001 by Anonymous
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ISBN 978-1-937520-05-2
Published by First Edition Design eBook Publishing July 2011
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com
Smashwords Edition
Paradise Research Publications, Inc. (print)
Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
Published 2001 Printed in the United States of America
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher.
This Paradise Research Publications Edition is published by arrangement with Good Book Publishing Co., P.O. Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837
The publication of this volume does not imply affiliation with nor approval or endorsement from Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism-use of the Twelve Steps in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A. A. , but which address other problems, does not imply otherwise.
Note: All Bible verses quoted in this book, unless otherwise noted, are from the Authorized (or "King James") Version. The letters "KJV" are used when necessary to distinguish it from other versions.
Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication
(Provided by Quality Books, Inc.)
B., Dick.
Why early A. A. succeeded: the good book in Alcoholics Anonymous yesterday and today / Dick B. ¬1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-885803-31-1 (print)
LCCN 00-093351
1. Alcoholics-Rehabilitation-Biblical teaching.
2. Alcoholics Anonymous-History.
3. Recovering alcoholics -Religious life.
4. Twelve-step programs-Religious aspects-Christianity.
5. Bible-Criticism, interpretations, etc. I. Title
HV5278.B25 2001 362.292'86 QBIOO-701365
Other Titles by Dick B.
Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source
Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A. 's Principles of Success
The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living That Works
The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous
New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A.
The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth
Courage to Change: The Christian Roots of the Twelve-Step Movement
The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A. 's Roots in the Bible
That Amazing Grace: The Role of Clarence and Grace S. in Alcoholics Anonymous
Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A.
Turning Point: A History of Early A.A. 's Spiritual Roots and Successes
Hope!: The Story of Geraldine D., Alina Lodge & Recovery
Utilizing Early A.A. 's Spiritual Roots for Recovery Today
The Golden Text of A.A.: God, the Pioneers, and Real Spirituality
By the Power of God: A Guide to Early A.A. Groups & Forming Similar Groups Today
The Good Book in Alcoholics Anonymous Yesterday and Today
To Donald Edward Brown
Special thanks to:
Kathryn Mau Trust #1, Manhattan Beach, California Frederick Robert Johnston, Maui, Hawaii Mr. and Mrs. Tom W. Shepherd, Hacienda Heights, Calif.
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
The Way Out
The Beginning
The Relationship They Sought
My People Are Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge
Divine Help Doesn't Mean "Idol" Help
I Our Creator Is in the Deliverance Business
Calling All Teachers!
A Guide to the Way Back and Out!
What Early AAs Said about Reading the Bible
From the Words of A.A. 's Pioneers Themselves
A.A. Co-founder Dr. Bob
A.A. 's Conference-Approved Book, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
From the Writing of Dr. Bob's Daughter, Sue Smith Windows
From the Remarks of Pioneer Clarence Snyder
From the Remarks of Dr. Bob's Son, Robert Smith
From Early Akron A.A. Pamphlets Commissioned by Dr. Bob
From Remarks by A.A. Co-founder Bill Wilson
From Dr. Bob's Wife, Anne Ripley Smith, the "Mother of A.A."
From A.A. 's Trustee-to-Be Frank Amos's Report to John D. Rockefeller, Jr
From Bill Wilson's Secretary and
A.A. 's First Archivist, Nell Wing
From Dr. Bob Himself on
A.A. 's Good Book Source
From Tapes of Early Pioneers That Were Interviewed
From Personal Stories in the First Edition of A.A. 's Basic Text
The Foregoing Confirm the Bible's Critical Role in Early A.A.
They Mean You Can Study the Good Book Today
The Bible and Recovery
Do People Really Want What Early A.A. Had!
What's up with Anonymous Fellowships and the Bible Today?
The Facts about Early A.A. Are Basically Unknown Today
A.A. 's "In-house" Teachers Are Long Gone
Today's Emphasis on Simplicity Encourages Ignorance
What Pioneer A.A. Was About
It Was about "Finding" God
A.A. Was Really about Seeking God
Begin Your Bible Study by Learning about God
Learn and Understand
God Exists
God Is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
Establishing a Relationship with God, the Creator
The Name of the Creator
The A.A. Backdrop and Why the Particulars about the Creator's Name Are Vital
The Creator's Name Is Important to Us.
The Creator's Name Is Important to Him!
The Creator's Name is Yahweh
Learn What the Bible Says about the Creator
God Is Almighty
God Is Our Maker
God Is in Heaven
God Is Spirit
God Is Not a Man
God Is Invisible
God Is Love
God Is Light
Some Other Things God Is
There Is Only One God
There Is No Other "God" Like Yahweh
Don't Mention the Name of Other Gods
Learning about God's Word, the Bible
Dr. Bob and Anne Urged the Bible's Importance
God Communicates His Will to Human Beings in Many Ways
God Himself Speaks to People Directly
God Speaks through Angels
God Speaks through Prophets
God Speaks through His Son, Jesus Christ
God Speaks by Revelation to Born-again Believers
Learning What the "Bible" Is
The Word of God
How We Got the Word of God
The Word of God and the Will of God
The Word of God: Truth
The Good Book Offers Far More Than Sobriety
It Offers Victory
It Speaks of Future Rewards
It Enables One to Discern Truth from Error
"Wise" and "Wisdom" in Proverbs
The Vital Importance of God's Guidance
Therefore, Study the Good Book
Learning about God's Son, Jesus Christ!
"Jesus Is the Christ, the Son of God"
Anne Smith's Journal and Your Path
About the "Surrenders":
To As Much of God As You Understand or Know
You Came to Him through Believing on His Son:
Power after Confession and Belief
Learn How Jesus Fits in the Picture
Jesus: The Only Way to the Only True God
Becoming God's Kids
Holy Spirit, Power, and the Love of God by God's Grace
Fellowship with God, His Son, and Each Other
Necessity for Obeying God's Commandments
Knowing and Understanding God through Christ
Jesus Christ Declared God
Jesus Christ Came to Destroy the Devil and His Works
Jesus Christ and the Will of God
Jesus Christ and His Accomplishments
Sin, Love, Choice, and Obedience
God's Ways, and God's Mercy and Grace
Sin
"Sin" in the Old Testament
"Sin" in the New Testament
Some Sources of Sin
Some Consequences of Sin
The Forgiveness of Sin
The Inheritance of Sin
Personal Sins
The Standard for the Believer
The Preventives for Sin
The Need to Obey
Some Questions for the Critics
Release from Your Prisons
First, about God's Will
Power Available to Believers
Above All They Can Ask or Think
Forgiveness, Healing, Deliverance
Believing in Order to Receive
The Release Available
Release from Fear
Release from Guilt
Release from Anxiety
Release from Cares
Release from Shame
Release from Insecurity
Release from Poverty
Release from Confusion
Release from Weakness
Release from Doubt
Release from Temptation
Release from Sickness
Release from Evil Spirits
Release from the Devil' s Fiery Darts
Release from Oppression by the Devil
Everlasting Release
Free indeed!
More to Learn
Praying and Prayers
Confess Your Sins to God to Receive His Forgiveness
Ask God for Things in the Name of Jesus Christ
Ask God to Supply Your Need
Thank God for What He Has Done for You
Praise God for What He Has Done
Pray in the Spirit
Seek God When You Need Healing
Seek God for Deliverance
Seek God for Guidance
Pray to God for Others As God Directs
Cast out Evil Spirits in the Name of Jesus Christ As God Directs
Renewing Your Mind to God's Word
Manifesting the Gift of the Holy Spirit
Resisting the Devil
Believing
Understanding the Bible As an Eastern Book
Understanding Figures of Speech in the Bible
Learning about the Early Manuscripts of the Bible
Reading for Scope
Word Studies
It's Not So Tough
What's on the Platter Today
It Is What God Says That Counts
Become Knowledgeable about the Bible's Place in A.A.
Get Acquainted with the Bible's Contents
Boldly Mention God, His Son, and His Word
Grow
Learn Your Resources
Pass It On!
There Is a Process, Then
Birth
Growth
Maturity
Trust God with All Your Heart
-Appendix 1: The Creator's Name is Yahweh!
-Appendix 2: The Materials Dr. Bob Considered "Absolutely Essential"
-Appendix 3: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Bibliography
Foreword
The success rate of early Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron was 75 %. In Cleveland, it was 93 %. Today, by most accounts, it is less than 10%. How was the effectiveness of A.A. lost? What did the founders know that we don't?
Dick B. is uniquely qualified to answer this question. He has the mind of a lawyer digging up the facts, and the passion of an alcoholic whose life was saved by A.A. It was not until Dick had been an A.A. member four years that he heard that A.A. came from the Bible. As a committed Christian, Dick was fascinated. He spent the next decade researching this issue, publishing 14 titles on the biblical roots of A.A., and amassing the most comprehensive library on the spiritual origins of A.A. that the world has ever seen (more than 23,000 books and other documents). His wisdom is distilled in this volume, which proposes that the decline in A.A. 's effectiveness is directly linked to the loss from A.A. of THE one and only Higher Power who was considered in early A.A. to be THE curative Agent.
Today in A.A., and in most of the 200 other Twelve Step programs that have adopted the A.A. approach, it is commonplace to say that the "Higher Power" mentioned by Step Two could be anything--a light bulb, radiator, the A.A. group itself, New Age spirituality, or whatever the alcoholic wishes to imagine. Anything greater than yourself counts as a "Higher Power" these days. Much, but not all, A.A. literature and many A.A. sponsors are cautious about the Bible and Christianity. Many warn that Bible reading leads directly to drinking, and that church should be avoided. Other historians who write about A.A. (e.g., Ernest Kurtz, William White, Wally P., Charles B., and others) usually omit any mention of Christianity or the Bible from their account of A.A.'s origins. This is astonishing, given that Dr. Bob, the original A.A. groups in Akron, and to some extent even Bill W., were crystal clear that the Bible and the Oxford Group were the primary sources of the spiritual recovery from addiction documented in the Big Book and its Twelve Steps. Such revisionist historians are seeking to please humans rather than pleasing God. They are reading back into A.A. history the distorted assumptions of today's Twelve Step culture. Twelve Steppers have drifted so far from their origins that they no longer know whence they came, and in the process they have lost their effectiveness.
Any Christian interested in how alcoholism or other addictions have been and can be overcome will be fascinated with this book, which balances: (1) readability, and (2) abundant quotes from the original documents, demonstrating beyond any shadow of a doubt that the founding fathers and mothers of A.A. thought that it was the God of the Bible who was delivering them from their slavery to alcohol. The book which was carried into every A.A. meeting before anyone ever thought of writing the "Big Book" was the Bible. The"Good Book" was the textbook out of which A. A. grew.
Jeffrey H. Boyd, M.D., M. Div., M.P.H. Chairman of Psychiatry, Waterbury Hospital, Waterbury, CT Ordained Episcopal Minister Chairman of the New England Evangelical Theological Society
Preface
This book was written in the year 2000 after this author received many requests for information as to how to deal with the Bible when you are in today's A.A. and other 12 Step or Anonymous fellowships.
I felt the best way to start was by seeing how frequently and in what manner the early AAs discussed and used the "Good Book." That was the preliminary approach for this primer and guidebook. I had already done a title on A.A. 's roots in the Bible (The Good Book and The Big Book), also on Quiet Time in early A.A.-which always involved Bible study (Good Morning.'). I had also done several titles on the major contributors to, and sources of, early A.A. 's biblical ideas-Anne Smith (Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939), the Rev. Sam Shoemaker (New Light on Alcoholism), the Christian literature AAs read (The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth), and the Oxford Group books and practices (The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous). And I wrote several titles on how to use our spiritual roots today, including my last title-By the Power of God-which suggested how groups could establish Bible study fellowships in or out of A.A. and still conform to present-day A.A. Traditions. Many have formed such Bible fellowships or Big Book/Bible Study groups. But I discovered that the founders and/or leaders of these groups still were wondering exactly what and how to study in the Bible once the group was formed.
What was needed, it seemed, was a guide to the Bible. A book that would report on those things in the Good Book that the early AAs had studied. And a book which would, as well, point to exact ideas that either individuals or groups could pursue. The objects were many:
(1) Obtaining God's help in curing alcoholism-yes, curing it!
(2) Learning first about our Creator, so that people would no longer continue to say that they couldn't understand God (for without understanding Him and all that He provides, it is pretty hard to live according to His will, receive His blessings, and know how to call on Him for help).
(3) Accessing the vast amount of information Almighty God has actually made available as to how to become His kids, how to know His will, how to pray and listen to Him, how to receive His forgiveness and deliverance and healing, and what to expect as rewards for coming to Him and obeying Him.
(4) Seeing precisely what the Bible is, how it was written, and what our Creator expects us to do with it.
(5) Learning that we truly can be released from our prisons, live the abundant life, and be assured of everlasting life if we look to God's Word for the answers.
(6) Providing a clear contrast between the self-made religion, absurd names for God, and half-baked prayers that are bewildering newcomers, being settled for by the compromisers, and encouraging the revisionists that are pouring into the scene in an effort to explain away the failures of what's becoming a watered-down "self help" program.
(7) Suggesting the straight and dependable path to victory that comes from relying on God, resisting the Devil, and seeking first the kingdom of God in the heavily encumbered "recovery" scene of today.
It is my hope and belief that lives will be saved among those who really want to know and understand our Creator, the accomplishments of His Son Jesus Christ, and the power He made available through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Early AAs knew and understood these things, and talked about them. So can you. And what a message that is-"God has done for me what I could not do for myself." Pass it on!
Dick B. Kihei, Maui, Hawaii January, 2001
Acknowledgments
My previous titles have contained long lists of acknowledgments. So it is not necessary to mention again all of the people who have contributed knowledge and information to the work of the past ten years. Most are even specifically mentioned in the text of my books.
Once again, however, it is important to me to mention the help and advice and patience of my son Ken. He's not an alcoholic. He is a wonderful son, a Bible scholar with some 29 years of work under his belt, and now an ordained minister. He has helped me work with drunks, helped offer them the chance to learn of God and His Word, and brought many to fellowship and sonship with God through Jesus Christ. He has helped prove how available today are the resources of our Creator, just as they were in early A.A. He has helped establish today the accuracy of Dr. Bob's statement, "Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!"
There are some new sources of new help. Ozzie and Bonnie at The Wilson House. The many who have attended my seminars there and gone forth to bring God and the Bible back to AAs who want them. Ray G. and Corey F. who helped put the historical message before international A.A. at the Minneapolis Convention of2000-an event that has not occurred for years. The many who have helped build our collection of historical books and materials to more than 23,000 in number so that we could begin to make these resources accessible, copyable, and known around the United States and the world. Specifically, Dr. Bob's kids, John Seiberling, Jim and Ellie Newton, George Vondermuhll, Jr., Moral Re-Armament, Willard
Hunter, Dennis C., and Danny W. The hundreds who have been visiting our website and then blessing us with phone calls, letters, and emails explaining how much they have wanted to hear about God and the Bible and Jesus Christ in A.A.-newcomers and Oldtimers alike.
A special word about my sponsor and brother in Christ, Bob J. For the past several years, Bob has been of immeasurable assistance in providing an office, a research center, a number of our resources, some of our historical acquisitions, and lots of enthusiasm. Of late, even filming a good deal of my teaching efforts. In addition, he has traveled with me as I gathered material for this book-to The Wilson House in Vermont, to Dr. Bob's Home and other archives and research spots in Akron, to the International Convention in Minneapolis, to several of the Clarence Snyder retreats, and to many A.A. activities, meetings, and conferences. I needed his help, and he was most generous in providing it.
Robert H., my sponsor and brother in Christ, and Steve C. (a member of our Bible fellowship) have been helpful in assembling materials and making my life easier in the midst of all the work on Maui. And thanks to both my sons, their wives, and my granddaughters who have really shown me the importance of family in sobriety and in life.
Chapter One - The Way Out
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Cor. 10:12-13; New International Version)
The Beginning
A noble experiment began in Akron, Ohio, on June 10, 1935. There was an attempt by Bill W. and Dr. Bob to solve the seemingly hopeless problem of alcoholism by spiritual means. By 1938, these two founders of the program counted noses and found they had 40 men who had recovered with what A.A. then called "divine aid." Bill W. was commissioned to write a textbook which would describe the steps the pioneers took on their path to a right relationship with our Creator. In the Spring of 1939, Bill's manuscript was ready for publication. But a name was required. Concerning the selection of the name, Bill wrote:
After endless voting on a title for the new work, we had decided to call it The Way Out. But inquiry by Fitz M., our Maryland alcoholic, at the Library of Congress disclosed the fact that twelve books already bore that title. Surely we couldn't make our book the thirteenth. So we named it Alcoholics Anonymous instead! Though we didn't know it, our movement then got its name -a name which because of the implication of humility and modesty had given us our treasured spiritual principle of anonymity (The Language of the Heart, p. 107).
Hurrah for Bill's mentioning the principles of humility and modesty and anonymity. They have served a great purpose in A.A. But they were not the heart of “the way out" that A.A. 's pioneers had relied upon. The "way out" for the real alcoholic did not begin with a humble, modest, anonymous fellowship. The real way out began with the Creator they had relied upon. They had relied upon the power of God Almighty for relief from their alcoholism. They did that because will-power, self-knowledge, self-reliance, fear, and all human power had completely failed this afflicted crowd. And the way-the way out-was found in the Bible, which they affectionately called "The Good Book. " That was their guide!
This book will provide a guide to what they studied, learned, and applied from the Bible. It will also provide an opportunity for you to do likewise, should you believe what Dr. Bob said when he wrote: "Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!" (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., p. 181).
A guidebook is not an encyclopedia. It does not purport to contain all the information or answers on a subject. It can, however, point the way to something one wishes to find or learn. That, then, is the purpose of this book.
A.A. pioneers wanted something very special. They didn't want to be just "dry. " They didn't want to be "dry" alcoholics who were merely "on the wagon," yet still wanted to drink, needed to drink, but had sworn not to drink. They also were looking for much more than a fellowship of kindred souls who had survived a common peril; and their basic text said so. Moreover, they wanted something more than mere sanity when it came to their uncontrolled and uncontrollable drinking. Believe it or not, they even wanted more than a "cure" for alcoholism though this was zealously sought.
The Relationship They Sought
A.A. 's founders said quite clearly what they needed, wanted, and sought:
The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves (Alcoholics Anonymous, pI ed., 1939, pp, 35-36).
If what we have learned, and felt, and seen, means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever our race, creed, or color, are children of a living Creator, with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try (Alcoholics Anonymous, pI ed., 1939, p. 39).
Each individual, in the personal stories, describes in his own language, and from his own point of view the way he established his relationship with God (Alcoholics Anonymous, 151 ed., 1939, p. 39).
Early A.A. members wanted, and eagerly sought, a relationship with God, their Creator. Their Big Book said this many times. They wanted to "enter upon a new relationship with their Creator . . . [which] would have the elements of a way of living that answered all [their] problems;" and their basic text said this as well (Alcoholics Anonymous, pi ed., 1939, p. 23, italics added). These pioneers wanted the Divine power and help that would insure relief from their "cunning, baffling, powerful" foe, which they called alcohol. They specifically indicated they wanted to "find" or "rediscover" God (See the Multilith Copy of the Original Manuscript of the Big Book, p. 13). They wanted a solution that would produce "deep and effective spiritual experiences, which [would revolutionize their] whole attitude toward life, toward [their] fellows, and toward God's universe" (Alcoholics Anonymous, pI ed., 1939, p. 35). And, though many in 12 Step fellowships today would deny the foregoing points, you can readily confirm them by simply reading the first two chapters of Alcoholics Anonymous, the First Edition of their text, which was published in 1939.
The alcoholics found their real solution. They found a way out consistent with the promise of 1 Cor. 10: 12-13 quoted above. Their Creator provided the way. And their founders said so.
Suddenly the ceiling went up. We no longer flew blind. A beacon had been lighted. God had shown alcoholics how it might be passed from hand to hand (RHS, Memorial Issue of the AA Grapevine, issued in January, 1951, on the occasion of Dr. Bob's death, p. 8).
They proposed calling their handbook (their text-book to be) The Way Out, though it is not clear whether their favored title's language came from the Bible or from their own deliverance. How strange it is, therefore, that so many addicted and afflicted people today have forgotten that real and early way out. Instead, they have seemingly focused their attention on a fellowship of anonymous well-doers-a fellowship in which the "power" can be that of the "group" or an "it" or just, plain, nothing at all. Many in today's fellowship have followed suit by saying today's A.A. creed is nothing more than: "Just don't drink, and go to meetings." Some add: your "higher power" can be whatever you want "it" to be. In fact, you need not believe in anything at all! You can find this language in many ofthe pamphlets emanating from A.A. today (See examples quoted in Dick B., Turning Point, pp. 5-6).
My People Are Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge
Let's consider from God's perspective the prevalent trend toward abandoning the original "way out." :
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children (Hos. 4:6).
The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not; the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet not gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, 0 ye heavens at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jer. 2:8, 11-13).
Worse, the abandonment of God's way by some groups has, not surprisingly, spawned a host of new theories about the supposed nature of A.A. 's own spiritual program of recovery. There is today a strong group of revisionists who would change the whole program. To some extent, they already have. Some claim A.A. is no longer about "God;" it is, they say, about "not-god." (See Kurtz, Not-God, 1979, p. 109).
Even worse yet, there is an assertion that A.A. itself is "not God" and has, these same analysts believe, now achieved "its profound not-God-ness," whatever that means (See Kurtz, supra, pp.135, 159, 185). Others claim A.A. is no longer about the Creator, but about some nebulous "higher power" which, they say, can be a "something," a "light bulb," some other god (perhaps even a "goddess"), or just plain nothing at all. "Salvation," they insist, "is accepting reality," not accepting Christ (Kurtz, supra, pp. 184¬85). Still others have claimed, and persist in claiming today, that when the word "God" is mentioned in A.A. 's basic text, the three letter word has somehow acquired a manufactured meaning and refers to a "convenient" or "expedient" god (Wally P., Back to Basics, pp.38-39). A god which, or who, can be whatever expedience or convenience or sometimes just plain stupidity suggests to you that "it" can be (Compare Dick B., By the Power o/God, pp. 14-15).
This book is not about any of the foregoing gods, idols, "not gods," "somethings," or "nothings." It does not accept, describe, endorse, or discuss, as part of its subject matter, the revisionist program-a group of concepts that seeks to "universalize" or "homogenize" the 12 Steps and otherwise "pluralize" the program. Nor does it embrace the idea that 12 Step recovery must somehow satisfy, mollify, and include the theories of each and every religion, of humanism, of agnosticism, of New Age thinking, of pantheism, or of atheism, by changing the Creator to a creature or statue, by admitting all comers, and by virtually reducing the program to a society for entertainment or comfort to any kind of sick newcomer.
Alcoholism is a life or death matter for the real alcoholic. Perhaps even more so for many other varieties of addiction today. The original ideas that A.A. pioneers borrowed from religion have never, ever, been shown to be less valid, less powerful, or any less necessary than they are today. And were yesteryear when a noted physician told early, incurable, real, alcoholics that they were "100% hopeless, apart from Divine help" (Alcoholics Anonymous, pI ed., 1939, p. 55). That precise "Divine help" phrase is still in
A.A. 's basic text (See Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., 1976, p.43). So, it isn't the idea that has been abandoned or sweetened to the taste; it's the writings of those who really don't believe that "Divine help" is the key.
The best answer for them is what Bill Wilson said, in 1943, when he was sharing the platform with Dr. Bob in front of thousands of alcoholics:
"There is a definite religious element here," Bill said. "I pray and I feel released." He emphasized that Divine Aid was A.A. 's greatest asset, more effective than confinement, environment changes and dietary experiments (The Tidings, March 16, 1943, p. 17).
So, A.A. said in 1939-"100% hopeless, apart from Divine help!" Bill Wilson said in 1943--"Divine Aid was A.A.'s greatest asset!"
A.A. still said in 1976-"100% hopeless, apart from Diving help!" The "way out" for anyone who can read is quite clearly "Divine help," "Divine aid!"
Divine Help Doesn't Mean "Idol" Help
The Psalms reminded God's people of the difference between God's help and the "help" that came from self-made religion and self-made "gods":
Not unto us, 0 LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. o Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. (Ps. 115: 1-9).
This guide is for those who want the same way out the founders found; who wish to take the same attitude toward the "One with all power" that the founders took; who want to worship and glorify the same Almighty God the pioneers purposed to serve; and who wish to receive the same guidance and deliverance that the founders sought and received. Let's therefore see what that was, and look at a little of what A.A. 's co-founder Bill Wilson said about it:
As a society, we must never become so vain as to suppose that we have been the authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect that each of A.A. 's principles, every one of them, has been borrowed from ancient sources. . . . Let us constantly remind ourselves that the experts in religion are the clergymen; that the practice of medicine is for physicians; and that we, the recovered alcoholics, are their assistants (Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pp. 231-32).
We are only operating a spiritual kindergarten in which people are enabled to get over drinking and find the grace to go on living to better effect (As Bill Sees It, p. 95).
While most of us believe profoundly in the principle of "guidance," it was soon apparent that to receive it accurately, considerable spiritual preparation was necessary (Pass It On, p. 172).
[Bill Wilson was addressing the wife of A.A. Number Three, and said:] Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed. 1976, p. 191).
Dr. Bob-A.A. 's other co-founder-Iaid it on the line as follows:
If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you .... But if you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for good and all, and sincerely feel that you must have some help, we know we have an answer for you. Your Heavenly Father will never let you down (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., 1976, p. 181)!
Much has been written, much has been said about the Twelve Steps of AA. These tenets of our faith and practice were not worked out overnight and then presented to our members as an opportunist creed. Born of our early trials and many tribulations, they were and are the result of humble and sincere desire, sought in personal prayer, for divine guidance (Article by Dr. Bob, September, 1948, "The Fundamentals -In Retrospect") .
And it has become increasingly clear that the degree of harmonious living which we achieve is in direct ratio to our earnest attempt to follow them [the Twelve Steps] literally under divine guidance to the best of our ability (Article by Dr. Bob, supra).
Far better it is for us to fully understand the meaning and practice of "thou good and faithful servant" than to listen to "When 60,000 members, you should have a sixty-stories-high administration headquarters in New York with an assortment of trained "ists" to direct your affairs." We need nothing of the sort. God grant that AA may ever stay that simple .... And always, it has been the constructive, personal Twelfth Step work based on an ever-upward-looking faith which has done the job (Article by Dr. Bob, supra. For sources of Dr. Bob's biblical reference to "good and faithful servant," see Matt. 25: 21; 25:23; Num. 12:7).
Most of us will concede that when it came to the personal showdown of admitting our failures and deciding to surrender our will and our lives to Almighty God, as we understood him, we still had some sneaking ideas of personal justification and excuse. We had to discard them, but the ego of the alcoholic dies a hard death (Article by Dr. Bob, supra).
Bill Dotson, who was sponsored by both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, and was known as "A.A. Number Three," said this: Bill [Wilson] was very, very grateful that he had been released from this terrible thing and he had given God the credit for having done it, and he's so grateful about it he wants to tell other people about it. That sentence, "The Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep telling people about it, " has been a sort of a golden text for the A. A. program and for me (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., 1976, p. 191).
Medical writer Paul de Kruif wrote the following in July, 1991, for A.A. 's official magazine:
The medicine the AAs use is unique. Though it should be all-powerful, it has never been tried with any consistent success against any other major sickness .... It is free as air-with this provision: that the patients it cures have to nearly die before they can bring themselves to take it. The AAs' medicine is God and God alone. This is their discovery (Volume II, Best o/the Grapevine, pp. 202-03).
All of the foregoing people were talking and writing about our Creator, Almighty God-and no other!
Our Creator Is in the Deliverance Business
To what, then, is this book a guide? This guide is certainly not the Bible. Nor does it even discuss the entire Bible. Its author is not a Bible teacher. It does not cover all of the items that might be studied in the Bible or that early A.A. members studied in the Bible. It does not suggest that the following studies are the only studies that can or should be undertaken.
It is a documented guide to what A.A. pioneers said about God Almighty and what He can do for those suffering from alcoholism and unmanageable lives. It is a guide to belief that there is a cure for alcoholism-a cure which does not require one to be "in recovery" for years or "in therapy" for years, or "in meetings" for years, or without help for all problems once alcoholism has been defeated. The process is not interminable. Despite what one part of their basic text says, and what so many propound today about the "disease," early AAs talked about cure, not illness.
This book is a documented guide to what A.A. pioneers thought about the importance of the Bible, about what to read in it, and about the part it played in their astonishing successes. It is also a guide to the parts they read. It is a guide to what they learned (and you can learn) about bringing the power of God into your life once and for all. Just as the pioneers did.
Think of the verse so frequently quoted in early A.A., and throughout later years by pioneer Clarence Snyder:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17; See Dick B., That Amazing Grace, pp. 33-34).
This book is a guide to the way out--of their alcoholism and other problems--that the early AAs found. In that respect, the pioneers' Good Book itself contains these guides:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (John 5:39).
Then Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32).
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5: 1). I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.... Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17: 17).
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).
Calling All Teachers!
Students need teachers. The disciples of Jesus Christ had Jesus himself as their teacher.
And he [Jesus] taught daily in the temple .... (Luke 19:47a)
The English verb "taught" in the verse above is a translation of the Greek verb didask6, "to teach. "
Ye call me [Jesus] Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am (John 13: 13)
The English noun "Master" in the verse above is a translation of the Greek noun didaskalos, "teacher." In fact, the word "disciple," as it is used in the New Testament, essentially means "student."
And when he [Jesus] had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease (Matt. 10: 1)
The English noun "disciples" in the verse above is a translation of the Greek noun mathaes. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines this word as "a learner, pupil, disciple." Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible defines it as "taught or trained one. "
The First Century Church had the apostle Peter, the apostle Paul, and others as their teachers. Consider, for example, these verses from the Book of Acts:
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet
Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?
And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him (Acts 8:29-31)
And consider also this section from Ephesians chapter 4:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph. 4: 11,12)
We certainly have many trained Bible teachers today who know the Word of God and can give fine instruction to those who want to learn. Most churches conduct Bible studies. Many Bible fellowships teach the Bible. There are video and audio cassette tapes devoted to that end. It may be quite appropriate to seek such instruction either in, or out, of A.A. and 12 Step fellowships.
I was surprised, and even amused, when one of my earlier publishers wrote to the effect that" A.A. has no teachers. "I'll leave it to others to ponder the consequences that result from such thinking, particularly in today's A.A. Also, I would remind one and all that A.A. today does have many fine "teachers" who conduct "Big Book" seminars and studies. Anyway, the guy was full of prune juice if he was referring to the days when the program was being developed. A couple of verses from Proverbs-which were read by early AAs-provide this answer to the idea that people don't need instruction:
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction (Prov. 10: 13-14).
Good understanding giveth favour; but the way of transgressors is hard. Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly (Prov. 13:15-16).
When did some in our great fellowship begin to reject instruction, knowledge, and understanding! You could say it began when they stopped reading the Good Book. But the "stinking thinking" of this particular variety seems to have been a studied theory of scholars:
"Thirty meetings in thirty days" was its standard prescription for newcomers. This maxim asked for investment and commitment, but it also expressed a faith that if one brought the body, the mind would follow. Another frequent injunction more explicitly pointed up both the humanistic tinge of A.A. 's faith in human nature and the specific source of this faith in the thought of William James. Practices such as attendance at meetings, the inventory Steps of its program, and asking for help even if one did not believe, were urged under the mandate: " Act yourself into a new way of thinking rather than trying to think yourself into a new way of acting" (Kurtz, Not-God, p. 185).
Boy have I heard that stuff in A.A. meetings. But I never read it in our early history or in the Good Book from which our pioneers got their ideas!
Early A.A. was a constituent part of the Oxford Group, and the Oxford Group's Founder, Dr. Frank Buchman, hired teachers such as Mary Angevine to help Oxford Group people study the Word of God. Bill Wilson said Rev. Sam Shoemaker's "teachings" were the well-spring of A.A. 's ideas. And Sam and his circle frequently taught the Word of God. Rev. Cleve Hicks, Rev. Irving Harris, and writer Roger Hicks-all of the "Shoemaker group" -taught and wrote about the Bible; and, in the case of Harris and Roger Hicks, even wrote guidebooks on how to study the Bible (see Roger Hicks, How to Read the Bible, London: The Oxford Group, 1939):
The Bible is an essential part of the morning's Quiet Time. It is often helpful daily to follow selected passages such as are provided by the Bible, Reading, Fellowship (Series A) or the Churchman's Almanack (Hicks, How to Read the Bible, supra, p.4).
Early A.A. members also learned from qualified teachers such as Dr. Bob, Bob's wife Anne, Henrietta Seiberling, and Mr. And Mrs T. Henry Williams. Pioneers were also encouraged to join churches and have religious affiliations, presumably with the expectation that they would be learning even more from qualified teachers in those places.
Dr. Bob was a prime example, becoming a charter member of Akron's Westside Presbyterian Church in his earliest sobriety, along with his wife. Later, he was to become a communicant at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron. Henrietta, T. Henry, and Clarace were all church members. Bill Wilson sought out Roman Catholic teaching for a time. So there were teachers aplenty in the early A.A. days-teachers who were sought and heard. And there are teachers few in today's A.A., at least when it comes to helping AAs and 12¬Step people understand their program by learning about its spiritual and biblical sources and concepts.
This is not a guide to details. It is a guide to growth. It points the way toward a path that A.A. 's pioneers took and that today's afflicted can also take. It suggests further work with teachers and teaching-the same kind of work undertaken by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob. This is the kind of work the founders did and referred to in the following comments in the Big Book:
There are many helpful books also. Suggestions about these may be obtained from one's priest, minister, or rabbi. Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they have to offer (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., p. 87).
We think it no concern of ours what religious bodies our members identify themselves with as individuals. This should be an entirely personal affair which each one decides for himself in the light of past associations, or his present choice. Not all of us join religious bodies, but most of us favor such memberships (Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., p. 28).
A Guide to the Way Back and Out!
This guidebook demonstrates that the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous has headed into a downward spiral. It also shows that a dramatic change has taken place with respect to the zeal of its members for a relationship with God, for coming' to Him through Jesus Christ, for study of the Bible, and for establishing or continuing in membership in religious bodies. We will soon see that Bill W. and Dr. Bob regarded Jesus's Sermon on the Mount as the key to A.A.'s philosophy. Dr. Bob studied the Sermon itself (in Matthew chapters 5-7). He also studied some leading writers of the day on that subject. One of those writers was E. Stanley Jones, all of whose books were recommended to AAs by Anne Smith. We now know that Bill Wilson also read Jones, and the author found one of the Jones books in Wilson's library at his Stepping Stones home. Not surprisingly, Jones wrote the following in this book which Dr. Bob studied and circulated--The Christ of the Mount: A Living Exposition of Jesus' Words as the Only Practical Way of Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1st ed, 1931, Festival ed., 1981):
THE WAY OUT (The Christ of the Mount, p. 253).
Four years have gone by since I published Christ at the Round Table. Have I been compelled to alter the conclusions I recorded there, namely, that by actual experimentation, Christ is proving the Way? After four years more of Round Tables I have no alteration to make except in the way of added emphasis. As I have listened to the finest that the religious East could produce I have been struck with the fact that outside of Christ, men were uncertain, or fumbling. In Christ, they had found God or, rather, God had found them. And with it they had found a working way to live. They were rejoicing. One Moslem lawyer, surprised at this, said ... "all of you Christians said you had found something, while we Hindus and Moslems all said we had found nothing. Therefore you must have lacked our frankness." I quietly suggested that there was another alternative: Christ is the Way (The Christ of the Mount, pp. 326-27)!
An Englishman, high up in the government authority in India, said at the close of an address, "I see no way out of our present difficulties, except as we Englishmen and you Indians both catch the spirit of Christ and live it out in our relationships with each other." ... In the book of Revelation Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega" -the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. In other words, he is the Christ of the Beginnings and the Christ of the Final Word. The Christ of the Beginnings! Yes, and how amazingly he began! He spoke these great words on the mount and lived them, every one-and more. In the Sermon he taught men to pray, "Our Father. . ." He is the Christ of the Final Word. The Sermon on the Mount is the transcript of his mind and spirit. . . . It is a working philosophy of life-the only one that will work. For the universe backs this way of life (The Christ of the Mount, pp. 330-32).
Our guidebook urges that many "in recovery" need to "recover." They need to be delivered. They need to be inspired to change their life to "do God's will"-just as the early AAs were and as the Big Book still encourages. Our guidebook also urges that they know their own early history. They need to know the zeal for God and His Word that existed among our A.A. pioneers. They need a guide to utilizing the power of our Creator in overcoming alcoholism. They need a guide that will assist them in properly relating themselves to Almighty God. They need a guide that will enable them to enjoy the abundant life the Creator promises to those who seek Him through His Son. (See, for example, John 3:16 and John 10: 10.) They need truly to be able to call Him their Heavenly Father, just as Jesus did and taught others to do. And just as Dr. Bob so frequently did (Big Book, 3rd ed., p. 181).
For such, this book can be a guide.
Chapter Two – What Early AAs Said about Reading the Bible
Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At the start, this was all we [the agnostics to whom these remarks were addressed] needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him (Bill Wilson, Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., p. 47).
Of course the Bible ought to be the main Source Book of all. No day ought to pass without reading it (Anne Ripley Smith, Dr. Bob's wife, quoted in Dick B., Anne Smith's Journal, 1933¬1939, 3rd ed., p. 82).
There are many in the A.A. Fellowship today, and many outside of it as well, who describe today's A.A. as "spiritual, but not religious." There are also those who believe A.A. is too religious. Not surprisingly, there are many clergy and other religious people today who believe A.A. is neither spiritual nor religious. Still others claim A.A. is still too "Protestant." And there are those who label it too "Christian."
All could profit by learning what early AAs really did and said, and then comparing that early program-a program far different from today's program-with the Twelve Step programs and fellowships today. There has been too much emphasis on what people think A.A. is, rather than upon what early A.A. pioneers, and others who knew it at the beginning, actually said and reported it to be. We'll examine the latter statements and reports.
From the Words of A.A.'s Pioneers Themselves ...
There are plenty of enlightening descriptions of early A.A. 's intimate relationship with religion, the Bible, our Creator, and God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The descriptions were uttered by A.A. pioneers themselves. The following are some examples.
A.A. Co-founder Dr. Bob:
When we started in on Bill D. [who was A.A. Number Three], we had no Twelve Steps ... But we were convinced that the answer to our problems was in the Good Book. To some of us older ones, the parts that we found absolutely essential were the Sermon on the Mount, the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James (The Co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical sketches Their last major talks. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975, pp. 9-10).
Members of Alcoholics Anonymous begin the day with a prayer for strength and a short period of Bible reading. They find the basic messages they need in the Sermon on the Mount, in Corinthians and the Book of James (From a talk by Dr. Bob in Youngstown, Ohio. See Wally P., Butfor the Grace of God. p. 45).
[Emphasizing humility, Dr. Bob said in his last major address] Christ said, "Of myself, I am nothing-My strength cometh from My Father in heaven. " If He had to say that, how about you and me? (The Co-Founders, supra, p. 15).
It is the hope of the King School Group-whose property this is-that this Book may never cease to be a source of wisdom, gratitude, humility, and guidance, as when fulfilled in the life of the Master [Jesus Christ].
The statement above is the inscription in Dr. Bob's Bible which he donated to the King School Group (A.A. Group No.1). See Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book, p. 5.
A.A. 's Conference-Approved Book, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers:
"We had much prayer together in those days and began quietly to read Scripture and discuss a practical approach in its application to our lives, " he [Paul S.] said (p. 111).
The Bible was stressed as reading material, of course (p. 151).
Hospitalization was another must in the early days .... These patients were allowed only a Bible as reading material (p. 102).
An early Chicago member wrote .... "Dr. Bob was the first group leader I heard refer simply and without ostentation to God. He cited the Sermon on the Mount as containing the underlying spiritual philosophy of A.A." (p. 228).
They had the Bible, and they had the precepts of the Oxford Group .... They were working, or working out, the A.A. program-the Twelve Steps-without quite knowing how they were doing it (p. 96).
The A.A. members of that time [from 1935 to 1939] did not consider meetings necessary to maintain sobriety. They were simply "desirable." Morning devotion and "quiet time," however, were musts (p. 136).
Sue [Sue Smith Windows, daughter of Dr. Bob and Anne Smith] also remembered the quiet time in the mornings-how they sat around reading the Bible. Later, they also used The Upper Room, a Methodist publication that provided a daily inspirational message, interdenominational in its approach [This publication had a Bible verse for each day, and usually contained references to other Bible passages for further study]. Then somebody said a prayer, she recalled. After that, we were supposed to say one ourselves. Then we'd be quiet. Finally, everybody would share what they got, or didn't get. This lasted for at least a half hour and sometimes went as long as an hour (pp. 71-72).
Morning quiet time continued to be an important part of the recovery program in 1938-1939, as did the spiritual reading from which the early members derived a good deal of their inspiration (p. 150).
From the Writing of Dr. Bob's Daughter, Sue Smith Windows:
There was no program. Dad and Mom and Bill were working out the program. At that time I was getting involved with quiet times they had in the morning. The guys would come, and mom would have her quiet time with them .... They read the Bible, prayed and listened, and got guidance (Robert Smith and Sue Windows, Children of the Healer, pp. 43-44).
From the Remarks of Pioneer Clarence Snyder:
Clarence Snyder was an early A.A. pioneer who got sober in February, 1938, and was sponsored by Dr. Bob. He said:
Everything in this program came from the Bible .... A.A. was grounded in the Bible (See Dick B., That Amazing Grace: The Role of Clarence and Grace S. in Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 43, 33.)
"Also, just as Dr. Bob had done, Clarence many times told others that A.A. 's basic ideas had come from Matthew chapters 5-7 (Jesus's Sermon on the Mount), 1 Corinthians13 (the so-called "love" chapter, and the book of James. Grace [Clarence's wife] said Clarence told his babies to read those three segments; and Grace (as one of Clarence's babies) did just that. She said the reading was not recommended reading; it was required" (Dick B., That Amazing Grace, supra, p. 34).
"Two years after publication of the book [Alcoholics Anonymous, 15\ ed., 1939], Clarence made a survey of all of the members in Cleveland. He concluded that, by keeping most of the "old program," including the Four Absolutes and the Bible, ninety-three percent of those surveyed had maintained uninterrupted sobriety" (See Mitchell K., How It Worked: The Story of Clarence H. Snyder And the Early Days of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio, p. 108).
From the Remarks of Dr. Bob's Son, Robert Smith:
Before there was a Big Book-in the period of "flying blind," God's Big Book was the reference used in our home. The summer of 1935, when Bill lived with us, Dr. Bob had read the Bible completely three times. And the references that seemed consistent with the program goals were the Sennon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, and the Book of James (See Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book, p. ix-the Preface written by Dr. Bob's son "Smitty").
From Early Akron A.A. Pamphlets Commissioned by Dr. Bob:
There is the Bible that you haven't opened for years. Get acquainted with it. Read it with an open mind. You will find things that will amaze you. You will be convinced that certain passages were written with you in mind. Read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew V, VI, and VII). Read St. Paul's inspired essay on love (I Corinthians XIII). Read the Book of James.