A.A. History Fragment Number Ten
By Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
The Remarks and Conclusions of the Rockefeller Group, the Founders, and Dr. Silkworth that led to the formation of The Alcoholic Foundation on August 11, 1938, when Big Book preparation was moving forward with Bill Wilson. In a report on the activities of the Akron Christian Fellowship, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s representative Frank Amos said the following:
During December, 1937, Mr. William G. Wilson arranged an appointment with W. B. Richardson at Rockefeller Plaza. Mr. Wilson told briefly the story of how, after many vain attempts to discontinue the use of alcohol, he had achieved what he believed was a permanent cure, through what he termed a religious or spiritual process.
A dinner conference was arranged. And those present were Messrs Scott, Richardson, Chipman, and Amos (the Rockefeller group); two other non-alcoholics, Dr. W.D. Silkworth (Bill Wilson’s physician and chief psychiatrist at Towns Hospital) and Dr. Leonard Strong (Wilson’s brother-in-law), and “the following ex-alcoholics, William G. Wilson, Henry G. Parkhurst, William J. Ruddell, Ned Poynter and Joe Taylor, all of New York and vicinity; Mr. John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo of near Baltimore, Maryland; Dr. Robert H. Smith and J. Paul Stanley of Akron, Ohio.” The conference lasted five hours.
Dr. Silkworth, Psychiatrist at Charles B. Towns Hospital, New York, which is rated as a leading hospital in this country for the treatment of alcoholics, made the statement that he had treated a number of these ex-alcoholics present, some of them several times, and that not one of them, in his opinion, could have been permanently cured by any means known to medical science or to Psychiatry.
He went on to state without reservation that while he could not tell just what it was that these men had which had effected their “cure,” yet he was convinced they were cured and that whatever it was, it had his complete endorsement. He stated that alcoholism is, medically, an incurable disease. These statements from an outstanding Psychiatrist and a leading authority on the treatment of alcoholism, made a very profound impression upon the non-alcoholics present.
A meeting was arranged for Mr. Wilson to talk to a friend of Mr. Amos and within two weeks this friend accepted without reservation the principles of the “cure” by a religious or spiritual approach. Over eight months have elapsed since that time, and there is every evidence that this party is permanently cured, although it is the policy of these ex-alcoholics through their own experience in working with other alcoholics, not to accept any alcoholic as permanently cured until a considerable period of time has elapsed. That period usually ranges from two to three years. The present leaders of the movement, all of them ex-alcoholics, have been teetotalers for periods ranging from two to four years.
Author Dick B. obtained the Frank Amos report quoted above, with the permission of archivist Paul L., during Dick’s two visits to the Stepping Stones Archives at Bedford Hills, New York. For documentation of Dr. Silkworth’s further affirmations that alcoholism was curable by the power of the “Great Physician,” Jesus Christ, see Dale Mitchel, Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks: The Biography of William Duncan Silkworth, M.D. (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2002), pages 44, 47-52, 67-68, 106; Norman Vincent Peale, The Positive Power of Jesus Christ: Life-Changing Adventures in Faith (Pauling, NY: Foundation for Christian Living, 1980), pages 59-63; Dick B., Cured: Proven Help for Alcoholics and Addicts, 2d ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2006), pages 9-12, 15-18.
Contact Dick B. via email at: dickb@dickb.com. Visit his main website at: www.DickB.com.
Gloria Deo
4.26.2009
4.24.2009
Alcoholics Anonymous and “A New Way Out” A.A. History
A.A. History Fragment No. Nine
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
“A New Way Out” shows emphatically that the same power and love of God that enabled the recovery and cure of early A.A. members in Akron is available today to those who suffer.
Early A.A. first favored the name “The James Club” for its society. See DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 71. 213. The older members strongly believed that the Book of James, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 were the parts of the Bible that were absolutely essential to their program. DR. BOB, 96. In fact the Book of James was a favorite with early AAs DR. BOB, 71.
As the A.A. Big Book was being readied for publication, the “James Club” title was discarded. DR. BOB, 213. At first, the title “The Way Out” was favored by a considerable majority of the pioneers. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 165. Most were Akron AAs. Pass It On, 203, while Bill Wilson favored the name “Alcoholics Anonymous.” Pass It On, 203. Bill W. asked AA John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo to research the Library of Congress, where Fitz found that there were already 25 books entitled “The Way Out” and another 12 entitled “The Way.” Pass It On, 203; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 166. None was called “Alcoholics Anonymous,” And the name “Alcoholics Anonymous” was then adopted for the basic text. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 166.
However the favored concept of a “way out” and a “pathway to a cure” did not immediately die out—a fact underlined by the title and cover proposed in an early draft of the Big Book cover. That draft cover contained the name “Alcoholics Anonymous” and then added “Their Pathway to a Cure.” See the excellent reproduction on the cover of Alcoholics Anonymous: Their Pathway to a Cure. A “First – First” Double Anniversary Limited Edition of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (Nashville, TN: Broad Highway Publishing Company, LLC, n.d.).
Nonetheless, neither “The James Club,” nor “The Way Out,” nor “Their Pathway to a Cure” survived the special excision that took place among four people in the office of Henry Parkhurst in Newark, New Jersey just prior to the time the Big Book went to print. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 166-69. A manuscript of some 800 pages was cut by at least a third, and some 400 pages were thrown out. Pass It On, 400. Hazelden History Director and author Bill Pittman personally told me that Bill’s secretary Ruth Hock (who was one of the four present and involved) said that the discarded pages consisted primarily of Biblical and Christian content..
Bill Wilson himself described many of the changes where a select group of folks in New York threw out the Christian and Bible materials prior to publication: (1) “Fitz thought that the book ought to be Christian in the doctrinal sense of the word and that it should say so. He was in favor of using Biblical terms and expressions to make this clear.”Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 162. (2) “A few, led by our wonderful southern friend, Fitz M., wanted a fairly religious book infused with some of the dogma we had picked up from the churches and missions which had tried to help us. The louder these arguments, the more I felt in the middle.The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings, 202. Secretary Ruth Hock (who was present) added:
“Jimmy B. opposed the strong references to God, in both the steps and the rest of the early chapters; Hank [Parkhurst] wanted to soft-pedal them; but Fitz insisted that the book should express Christian doctrines and use Biblical terms and expressions.” Ruth remembered: “Fitz was for going all the way with ‘God’; you [Bill] were in the middle; Hank was for very little.” Pass It On, 109. However, the resulting Big Book contained conflicting references to “God,” “Creator,” “Maker,” and “Heavenly Father,” coupled with bizarre phrases such as “higher power,” “Creative Intelligence,” “Great Reality,” “Spirit of the Universe,“ and “Power,” Bill Wilson then chose to reject all the other Big Book and AA statements about the cure of alcoholism and wrote, “We are not cured of alcoholism.” Such a claim negated the very pleas that alcoholics “find God,” “establish their relationship with God,” and rely on “God,” the “One with all power.” These emphases on the power of God had been made the cornerstone of Bill’s 1939 suggested program of recovery and cure .
“A New Way Out” is not a way to evacuate, take flight from, or flee church, religion, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Big Book, the Twelve Steps, or a recovery program. It is “a” Way that seems vitally needed today when so many are dwelling on nonsense gods, nebulous “higher powers,” and the necessity for “meetings.” This “Way” was the way of the followers of Jesus Christ as they were called in the First Century. This “Way” is “new” only because it is a new, needed, renewed return approach countering the growing language of universalism, secularism, and even atheism in recovery talk. It is a way “out” of the misery, the sickness, the confusion, the intimidation, and the fear encountered by those children of God who want God’s help in getting well, the same help that produced a documented 75% success rate among the early Akron A.A. people in their Christian Fellowship.
The Way of the 1935 A.A. group and its Christian Fellowship is an assured way of deliverance by the power of God after coming to Him through Jesus Christ, whether one is suffering in prison, in a homeless shelter, in a rehab, in treatment, in therapy, in a Twelve Step fellowship, or in some church or religious recovery group. Still suffering and relapsing in a group, meeting, or society which is not emphasizing abstinence, the love and power of God, obedience, growth in fellowship with God, and intensely working with and helping others to recover in the same manner by means of love for and service to them. The message for them is the one that Dr. Bob set forth in the last page of his personal story (181): “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!”
dickb@dickb.com; http//www.dickb.com
Gloria Deo
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
“A New Way Out” shows emphatically that the same power and love of God that enabled the recovery and cure of early A.A. members in Akron is available today to those who suffer.
Early A.A. first favored the name “The James Club” for its society. See DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 71. 213. The older members strongly believed that the Book of James, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 were the parts of the Bible that were absolutely essential to their program. DR. BOB, 96. In fact the Book of James was a favorite with early AAs DR. BOB, 71.
As the A.A. Big Book was being readied for publication, the “James Club” title was discarded. DR. BOB, 213. At first, the title “The Way Out” was favored by a considerable majority of the pioneers. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 165. Most were Akron AAs. Pass It On, 203, while Bill Wilson favored the name “Alcoholics Anonymous.” Pass It On, 203. Bill W. asked AA John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo to research the Library of Congress, where Fitz found that there were already 25 books entitled “The Way Out” and another 12 entitled “The Way.” Pass It On, 203; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 166. None was called “Alcoholics Anonymous,” And the name “Alcoholics Anonymous” was then adopted for the basic text. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 166.
However the favored concept of a “way out” and a “pathway to a cure” did not immediately die out—a fact underlined by the title and cover proposed in an early draft of the Big Book cover. That draft cover contained the name “Alcoholics Anonymous” and then added “Their Pathway to a Cure.” See the excellent reproduction on the cover of Alcoholics Anonymous: Their Pathway to a Cure. A “First – First” Double Anniversary Limited Edition of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (Nashville, TN: Broad Highway Publishing Company, LLC, n.d.).
Nonetheless, neither “The James Club,” nor “The Way Out,” nor “Their Pathway to a Cure” survived the special excision that took place among four people in the office of Henry Parkhurst in Newark, New Jersey just prior to the time the Big Book went to print. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 166-69. A manuscript of some 800 pages was cut by at least a third, and some 400 pages were thrown out. Pass It On, 400. Hazelden History Director and author Bill Pittman personally told me that Bill’s secretary Ruth Hock (who was one of the four present and involved) said that the discarded pages consisted primarily of Biblical and Christian content..
Bill Wilson himself described many of the changes where a select group of folks in New York threw out the Christian and Bible materials prior to publication: (1) “Fitz thought that the book ought to be Christian in the doctrinal sense of the word and that it should say so. He was in favor of using Biblical terms and expressions to make this clear.”Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 162. (2) “A few, led by our wonderful southern friend, Fitz M., wanted a fairly religious book infused with some of the dogma we had picked up from the churches and missions which had tried to help us. The louder these arguments, the more I felt in the middle.The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings, 202. Secretary Ruth Hock (who was present) added:
“Jimmy B. opposed the strong references to God, in both the steps and the rest of the early chapters; Hank [Parkhurst] wanted to soft-pedal them; but Fitz insisted that the book should express Christian doctrines and use Biblical terms and expressions.” Ruth remembered: “Fitz was for going all the way with ‘God’; you [Bill] were in the middle; Hank was for very little.” Pass It On, 109. However, the resulting Big Book contained conflicting references to “God,” “Creator,” “Maker,” and “Heavenly Father,” coupled with bizarre phrases such as “higher power,” “Creative Intelligence,” “Great Reality,” “Spirit of the Universe,“ and “Power,” Bill Wilson then chose to reject all the other Big Book and AA statements about the cure of alcoholism and wrote, “We are not cured of alcoholism.” Such a claim negated the very pleas that alcoholics “find God,” “establish their relationship with God,” and rely on “God,” the “One with all power.” These emphases on the power of God had been made the cornerstone of Bill’s 1939 suggested program of recovery and cure .
“A New Way Out” is not a way to evacuate, take flight from, or flee church, religion, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Big Book, the Twelve Steps, or a recovery program. It is “a” Way that seems vitally needed today when so many are dwelling on nonsense gods, nebulous “higher powers,” and the necessity for “meetings.” This “Way” was the way of the followers of Jesus Christ as they were called in the First Century. This “Way” is “new” only because it is a new, needed, renewed return approach countering the growing language of universalism, secularism, and even atheism in recovery talk. It is a way “out” of the misery, the sickness, the confusion, the intimidation, and the fear encountered by those children of God who want God’s help in getting well, the same help that produced a documented 75% success rate among the early Akron A.A. people in their Christian Fellowship.
The Way of the 1935 A.A. group and its Christian Fellowship is an assured way of deliverance by the power of God after coming to Him through Jesus Christ, whether one is suffering in prison, in a homeless shelter, in a rehab, in treatment, in therapy, in a Twelve Step fellowship, or in some church or religious recovery group. Still suffering and relapsing in a group, meeting, or society which is not emphasizing abstinence, the love and power of God, obedience, growth in fellowship with God, and intensely working with and helping others to recover in the same manner by means of love for and service to them. The message for them is the one that Dr. Bob set forth in the last page of his personal story (181): “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!”
dickb@dickb.com; http//www.dickb.com
Gloria Deo
4.18.2009
Alcoholics Anonymous and Bill Wilson’s Bible Witnessing
A.A. History Fragment Number No. Eight
By Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
The Bill Wilson that many do not know became an “evangelist” almost immediately after he was discharged from Towns Hospital, having had a spiritual experience. For example, Lois Wilson’s biographer wrote:
The doctor [Dr. Silkworth] always allowed Bill to share his God-experience with some patients, hoping somehow it might help. . . . Dr. Shoemaker [the Episcopal rector at Calvary Church] encouraged Bill to spread the message of change and spiritual recovery to others like himself. Bill took the preacher at his word. With Lois’s full support, he was soon walking through the gutters of the Bowery, into the nut ward at Bellevue Hospital, down the slimy corridors of fleabag hotels, and into the detox unit at Towns with a Bible under his arm. He was promising sobriety to every drunk he could corner, if they, like he, would only turn their lives over to God. [See William G. Borchert, The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough: A Biography of the Cofounder of Al-Anon (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2005), 170.]
In fact, Rev. Sam Shoemaker wrote to Bill on January 22, 1935, commending Bill for his witnessing to Frederick E. Breithut who became known as the “chemistry professor.” Shoemaker wrote:
I hope you realize the guided-ness of your having known Jim Williams previously, as I understood you did, in business. His wife, Margaret, is fulltime in the Group and he has held out for a long while. You may be just the person that cracks the shell and brings him over. He drinks a lot and is desperately unhappy and inferior and needs what you have got for him. I am grateful for what you did for Breithut. [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A., new rev. ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1999), 531.]
And in a 1935 issue of Shoemaker’s parish newsletter, The Calvary Evangel, there was the announcement “that Frederick E. Breithut was confirmed on March 24, 1935, as a member of Calvary Episcopal Church, having previously been sponsored at a baptism on March 14, 1935, by William G. Wilson as his godfather, with Reverend Samuel Shoemaker performing the baptism.” [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism, 558]
The October 1929 issue of The Calvary Evangel contains a photograph of Sam Shoemaker and his staff in full vestment preceded by a member of the church who is carrying a cross. The photograph caption states, “On our way to rejoicing to Madison Square.” One church member in the 1928 photo was carrying a sign which stated, “Jesus Christ changes lives.” Other sign urged onlookers to “Come with us to Calvary Church.” L. Parks Shipley, Sr., a long-time Oxford Group activist, specifically recalled to me marching to such events in the 1930’s where the march would be followed by public witnessing at a park from a “soapbox.” Shipley said he believed Bill Wilson was among the “rejoicers” at one or more of these events during Wilson’s involvement with the Oxford Group. [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism, 556.]
Bill Wilson’s enthusiastic witnessing with the Bible and to the power of Jesus Christ bears a distinct relationship to what Dr. William D. Silkworth told Bill Wilson during his third visit as a patient to Towns Hospital prior to Bill’s getting sober. Dr. Silkworth’s biographer states that Bill had a discussion with Dr. Silkworth on the subject of the “Great Physician.” And then Bill reached the conclusion, “Yes, if there was any Great Physician that could cure the alcohol sickness, I’d better find him now, at once.” [See Dale Mitchel, Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks: The Biography of William Duncan Silkworth, M.D. (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2002), 44.] Silkworth’s biographer stated, “that it was Dr. Silkworth who used the term ‘The Great Physician’ to explain the need in recovery for a relationship with Jesus Christ.” Author Mitchel states further:
In the formation of AA, Wilson initially insisted on references to God and Jesus, as well as the Great Physician. [See Mitchel, Silkworth, 50.]
Wilson’s fervor as to the power of Jesus Christ is evidenced by his statement on page 191 of Alcoholics Anonymous (4th ed., 2001): “The Lord has cured me of this terrible disease and I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.”
dickb@dickb.com; http://dickb.com
Gloria Deo
By Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
The Bill Wilson that many do not know became an “evangelist” almost immediately after he was discharged from Towns Hospital, having had a spiritual experience. For example, Lois Wilson’s biographer wrote:
The doctor [Dr. Silkworth] always allowed Bill to share his God-experience with some patients, hoping somehow it might help. . . . Dr. Shoemaker [the Episcopal rector at Calvary Church] encouraged Bill to spread the message of change and spiritual recovery to others like himself. Bill took the preacher at his word. With Lois’s full support, he was soon walking through the gutters of the Bowery, into the nut ward at Bellevue Hospital, down the slimy corridors of fleabag hotels, and into the detox unit at Towns with a Bible under his arm. He was promising sobriety to every drunk he could corner, if they, like he, would only turn their lives over to God. [See William G. Borchert, The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough: A Biography of the Cofounder of Al-Anon (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2005), 170.]
In fact, Rev. Sam Shoemaker wrote to Bill on January 22, 1935, commending Bill for his witnessing to Frederick E. Breithut who became known as the “chemistry professor.” Shoemaker wrote:
I hope you realize the guided-ness of your having known Jim Williams previously, as I understood you did, in business. His wife, Margaret, is fulltime in the Group and he has held out for a long while. You may be just the person that cracks the shell and brings him over. He drinks a lot and is desperately unhappy and inferior and needs what you have got for him. I am grateful for what you did for Breithut. [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A., new rev. ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1999), 531.]
And in a 1935 issue of Shoemaker’s parish newsletter, The Calvary Evangel, there was the announcement “that Frederick E. Breithut was confirmed on March 24, 1935, as a member of Calvary Episcopal Church, having previously been sponsored at a baptism on March 14, 1935, by William G. Wilson as his godfather, with Reverend Samuel Shoemaker performing the baptism.” [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism, 558]
The October 1929 issue of The Calvary Evangel contains a photograph of Sam Shoemaker and his staff in full vestment preceded by a member of the church who is carrying a cross. The photograph caption states, “On our way to rejoicing to Madison Square.” One church member in the 1928 photo was carrying a sign which stated, “Jesus Christ changes lives.” Other sign urged onlookers to “Come with us to Calvary Church.” L. Parks Shipley, Sr., a long-time Oxford Group activist, specifically recalled to me marching to such events in the 1930’s where the march would be followed by public witnessing at a park from a “soapbox.” Shipley said he believed Bill Wilson was among the “rejoicers” at one or more of these events during Wilson’s involvement with the Oxford Group. [See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism, 556.]
Bill Wilson’s enthusiastic witnessing with the Bible and to the power of Jesus Christ bears a distinct relationship to what Dr. William D. Silkworth told Bill Wilson during his third visit as a patient to Towns Hospital prior to Bill’s getting sober. Dr. Silkworth’s biographer states that Bill had a discussion with Dr. Silkworth on the subject of the “Great Physician.” And then Bill reached the conclusion, “Yes, if there was any Great Physician that could cure the alcohol sickness, I’d better find him now, at once.” [See Dale Mitchel, Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks: The Biography of William Duncan Silkworth, M.D. (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2002), 44.] Silkworth’s biographer stated, “that it was Dr. Silkworth who used the term ‘The Great Physician’ to explain the need in recovery for a relationship with Jesus Christ.” Author Mitchel states further:
In the formation of AA, Wilson initially insisted on references to God and Jesus, as well as the Great Physician. [See Mitchel, Silkworth, 50.]
Wilson’s fervor as to the power of Jesus Christ is evidenced by his statement on page 191 of Alcoholics Anonymous (4th ed., 2001): “The Lord has cured me of this terrible disease and I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.”
dickb@dickb.com; http://dickb.com
Gloria Deo
4.11.2009
Alcoholics Anonymous and the Lord Jesus Christ
A.A. History Fragment No. Four
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
In 1934, just before he entered Towns Hospital for the last time as a patient, Alcoholics Anonymous Founder Bill Wilson went to the altar at Calvary Rescue Mission in New York. And, in the words of his wife Lois Wilson, “And he went up, and really, in very great sincerity, did hand over his life to Christ.” (“Lois Remembers: Searcy, Ebby, Bill & Early Days.” Recorded in Dallas, Texas, June 29 1973, Moore, OK: Sooner Cassette, Side One). In the earliest Akron A.A. days, Bill Wilson stated: “Henrietta [Dotson, wife of A.A. Number Three], 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, 4th ed., 191. On pages 216-217 of Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., a Cleveland A.A. newcomer asked Bill Wilson what it was “that worked so many wonders” and said, “hanging over the mantel was a picture of Gethsemane and Bill pointed to it and said, ‘There it is’.” The picture was a painting of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-39). In the pioneer A.A. Akron Fellowship, every member was required to accept Jesus Christ as his personal lord and saviour. This has been personally verified to me by the wife and writings of Clarence H. Snyder; the recorded remarks of oldtimer J. D. Holmes, and my telephone conversations with oldtimers Ed Andy and Larry Bauer. For many of the specific details about early Alcoholics Anonymous and the Lord Jesus Christ, see Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator’s Role in Early A.A. http://dickb.com/conversion.shtml, and Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont
http://dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
In 1934, just before he entered Towns Hospital for the last time as a patient, Alcoholics Anonymous Founder Bill Wilson went to the altar at Calvary Rescue Mission in New York. And, in the words of his wife Lois Wilson, “And he went up, and really, in very great sincerity, did hand over his life to Christ.” (“Lois Remembers: Searcy, Ebby, Bill & Early Days.” Recorded in Dallas, Texas, June 29 1973, Moore, OK: Sooner Cassette, Side One). In the earliest Akron A.A. days, Bill Wilson stated: “Henrietta [Dotson, wife of A.A. Number Three], 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, 4th ed., 191. On pages 216-217 of Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed., a Cleveland A.A. newcomer asked Bill Wilson what it was “that worked so many wonders” and said, “hanging over the mantel was a picture of Gethsemane and Bill pointed to it and said, ‘There it is’.” The picture was a painting of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-39). In the pioneer A.A. Akron Fellowship, every member was required to accept Jesus Christ as his personal lord and saviour. This has been personally verified to me by the wife and writings of Clarence H. Snyder; the recorded remarks of oldtimer J. D. Holmes, and my telephone conversations with oldtimers Ed Andy and Larry Bauer. For many of the specific details about early Alcoholics Anonymous and the Lord Jesus Christ, see Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator’s Role in Early A.A. http://dickb.com/conversion.shtml, and Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont
http://dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml
4.08.2009
Alcoholics Anonymous and the Creator Yahweh
A.A. History Fragment No. Three
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
In A.A.’s basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder referred to Yahweh’s title as “Creator” twelve times. 4th ed., 13, 25, 28, 56, 68, 72, 75, 76, 80, 83, 158, 161. Bill spoke frequently about establishing a relationship with the Creator and even addressed his suggested Seventh Step prayer to “My Creator.” King James Version biblical references to Yahweh, the Creator can be found in Genesis 1:1; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Isaiah 43:15; Romans 1:24; and 1 Peter 4:19. For further study of the subject, see Dick B., Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.’s Spiritual Roots and Successes, 157-159.
http://dickb.com/Turning.shml
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
In A.A.’s basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder referred to Yahweh’s title as “Creator” twelve times. 4th ed., 13, 25, 28, 56, 68, 72, 75, 76, 80, 83, 158, 161. Bill spoke frequently about establishing a relationship with the Creator and even addressed his suggested Seventh Step prayer to “My Creator.” King James Version biblical references to Yahweh, the Creator can be found in Genesis 1:1; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Isaiah 43:15; Romans 1:24; and 1 Peter 4:19. For further study of the subject, see Dick B., Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.’s Spiritual Roots and Successes, 157-159.
http://dickb.com/Turning.shml
4.05.2009
Alcoholics Anonymous and the Bible
A.A. History Fragment No. Two
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson wrote of early A.A.: “Each morning, there was a devotion. . . . Anne would read from the Bible. James was our favorite. . . the Book of James was a favorite with early A.A.’s—so much so that ‘The James Club’ was favored by some as a name for the Fellowship.” Dr. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 1980, 71. Dr. Bob stated: “they were convinced that the answer to their 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 13th chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James.” DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 96. Dr. Bob also stated: “I didn’t write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them. . . . 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. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 96-97. For a careful review of the basic ideas that Alcoholics Anonymous got from the Bible (which they called the “Good Book”), see Dick B., The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible.
http://dickb.com/goodbook.shtml
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson wrote of early A.A.: “Each morning, there was a devotion. . . . Anne would read from the Bible. James was our favorite. . . the Book of James was a favorite with early A.A.’s—so much so that ‘The James Club’ was favored by some as a name for the Fellowship.” Dr. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 1980, 71. Dr. Bob stated: “they were convinced that the answer to their 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 13th chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James.” DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 96. Dr. Bob also stated: “I didn’t write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them. . . . 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. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, 96-97. For a careful review of the basic ideas that Alcoholics Anonymous got from the Bible (which they called the “Good Book”), see Dick B., The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible.
http://dickb.com/goodbook.shtml
4.01.2009
Alcoholics Anonymous and God
A.A. History Fragment No. One
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson wrote in the A.A. basic text: “we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be?” (4th ed., 53). Dr. Bob’s story in the Alcoholics Anonymous basic text concludes with this statement: “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!: (4th ed., 181). Typically, Dr. Bob asked a newcomer, “Do you believe in God, young fella?” When the response was, “What does that have to do with it,?” Dr. Bob answered: “Everything.” (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980, 144). The basic idea from the King James Version of the Bible that early AAs studied is found in Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” For details on Alcoholics Anonymous and God, see Dick B., Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.’s Spiritual Roots and Successes, 1997, 157-188.
http://www.dickb.com/turning.shtml
Dick B.
© 2009 Dick B. All rights reserved
Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson wrote in the A.A. basic text: “we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be?” (4th ed., 53). Dr. Bob’s story in the Alcoholics Anonymous basic text concludes with this statement: “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!: (4th ed., 181). Typically, Dr. Bob asked a newcomer, “Do you believe in God, young fella?” When the response was, “What does that have to do with it,?” Dr. Bob answered: “Everything.” (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980, 144). The basic idea from the King James Version of the Bible that early AAs studied is found in Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” For details on Alcoholics Anonymous and God, see Dick B., Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.’s Spiritual Roots and Successes, 1997, 157-188.
http://www.dickb.com/turning.shtml
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