Alcoholics Anonymous & History of AA

Bill W.
of
Alcoholics Anonymous
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Alcoholics Anonymous - The Conversion of Bill W. Bill Wilson
Cofounder of A.A.
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of
Alcoholics Anonymous
 
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous Dr. Bob Smith
Cofounder of A.A.

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A.A.s Roots in The Bible
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Book of James, Sermon on Mount, 
			1 Corinthians 13
Book of James,
Sermon on Mount,
1 Corinthians 13


Bill W., Rev. Shoemaker, A.A. Steps & Ideas
Bill W.,
Rev. Shoemaker,
A.A. Steps & Ideas


 A New Way Out

Explanation of the Path and of the Objective

Our mission, beginning in 1991, has been to find out what role, if any, God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible had in early Alcoholics Anonymous. Having completed more than 18 years of research, our objective now is to show people the power and love of God present in the early A.A. Christian Fellowship program in Akron, Ohio; and to report the astonishing success rate in pioneer A.A. among seemingly-hopeless, medically-incurable, real alcoholics who went to any lengths to establish (or reestablish) their relationship with God and to be healed. Finally, our present desire is to bring that same power and love of God to those who still suffer from life-controlling problems and self-destructive behaviors, and to those who have the heart to serve and help those still in need.

Purposes of Our Forthcoming Guide and May Conference in Irvine, California

To provide Christian recovery leaders and Christian recovery fellowship members, groups, and agencies with a guide in the recovery field that enables them to learn, utilize, add, and incorporate a history element in their particular endeavors. To facilitate their own growth in fellowship with their Heavenly Father. To enable them to help the afflicted receive healing and deliverance from the one, true, living God by coming to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. And to assure that Christian recovery leaders and other Christians active in the recovery arena know, are fortified with, are guided by, and are emboldened in their witnessing through, the accurate historical details as to effective Christian approaches to recovery in the past. Approaches such as those of the YMCA, Christian Endeavor, the Salvation Army, Gospel Rescue Missions, the Oxford Group, evangelists, and early Akron A.A. pioneers themselves. Approaches that employed Christian techniques of personal work to offer a way out of the power of darkness through salvation and coming unto the knowledge of the truth.

The Core Ideas in Our Guidebook That Will Provide the Full and Accurate Roots and Historical Sources of Effective Recovery You Need to Know

  • The Religious Training and Background of A.A. Cofounders Robert Holbrook Smith and William Griffith Wilson as Youngsters in Vermont
  • The Christian Organizations and Leaders That Contributed to the Original Pioneer Program of A.A. in Akron
  • The Basic Ideas from the Bible That Were Translated to Akron A.A.
  • The Early A.A. Christian Fellowship Founded in Akron on June 10, 1935, and the
    Exact Program of Recovery Its Members Followed
  • The Documented, 75% Success Rate That Was Achieved in Akron by Following That Pioneer Program
  • The Actual Cures and Recoveries the Early A.A. Members Achieved

A Birdseye Summary of the Original A.A. Program Founded on June 10, 1935

  • Abstinence
  • Reliance on the Creator and coming to Him through Jesus Christ.
  • Obeying God’s will and eliminating sinful conduct
  • Growing in fellowship with God, His Son, and other believers through Bible study, prayer meetings, Quiet Time, and reading Christian literature
  • Helping other alcoholics get straightened out by these same means
  • Recommended social and religious fellowship with other believers
  • Recommended attendance at a religious service of choice each week
     

 A.A.
The Four Absolutes The Facts One More Time

Dick B.
© Dick B. 2009.
All rights reserved

Summary

The so-called “Four Absolutes” of A.A. were cherished “yardsticks” in earliest A.A.—standards for determining right behavior as measured through God’s eyes. And A.A.’s Cofounder Dr. Bob made that clear. The Four Absolutes were Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love.

Robert E. Speer:  The time-line for the recovery origins of these principles begins with Presbyterian missionary leader Robert E. Speer. In 1902, Speer published The Principles of Jesus. Chapter 6 was titled “Jesus and Standards.” And Speer there spelled out “some” moral principles that could be applied to determine and practice what was “right or wrong.” Speer said the teachings of Jesus set up absolute principles which didn’t allow men to measure their conduct by what they “thought” was right or wrong. Jesus, he said, enabled men to have absolute standards of conduct by which they were able to “know whether it is right or wrong, drag it into Jesus’ presence, and see how He looks at it, and how it looks to Him.” Some have erroneously stated that Speer fashioned the four standards from the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 to 7). But his citations were much more broad. Speer said that Jesus taught in a practical way in order to make people understand, and the illustrations Jesus used were themselves such as to make some principle perfectly clear. The teachings set up standards (Mark 9:33; Matt. 5:34, 37; 6:16; Mark 7:15; Luke 9:60). Perfection was his standard (Matt. 5:48). He had attained it (John 8:29). He demanded it. Right is to be right. Thinking it right or thinking it wrong does not make a thing right or wrong. Jesus, said Speer, set up an absolute standard of truth. He said, if God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (John 8:42-44). Jesus set up an absolute standard of unselfishness. Speer pointed to Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus set up an absolute standard or purity. He tolerated no uncleanness whatsoever. . . . A hand or an eye, outer or inner sin, must be sacrificed to the claims of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:29, 30). Jesus set up an absolute standard of love. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13:34). . . .

A.A. – The Four Absolutes –The Facts One More Time (read more)


 Alcohol – Foe or Fodder?
Alcoholic and Addictions Problems – An Issue of “More” Gone Riot

Dick B.
© Dick B. 2009.
All rights reserved

How to Help the Alcoholic

Usually I am writing about helping the alcoholic defeat his alcohol problem by joining Alcoholics Anonymous, relying on the Creator for the solution, and moving toward the new alcoholic offering him the same spiritual solution. That solution is as much available to the addict and any person with life-controlling problems, as to the alcoholic himself.

But I also write extensively about the history of Alcoholics Anonymous. And that is the history of how the original Alcoholics Anonymous program in Akron achieved a documented 75% success rate the offered a long-sought solution for alcoholics and those having problems with their drinking . . .

Alcohol – Foe or Fodder? (read more)

Alcoholics Anonymous

 

The Good Book in Early A.A.

 

Alcoholics Anonymous & Alcoholics Anonymous History (A.A. History): Titles and Articles by Dick B. The site includes: (1) Alcoholics Anonymous History (A.A. History); (2) Early A.A.'s biblical roots and successes; (3) List for Dick B.'s 29 books; (4) Dick B.’s A.A. articles, audio talks, audio blogs, and radio presentations on A.A.'s spiritual sources; (5) Results of 19 years of research on 12 Step Christian origins; (6) Our Sponsors: Treatment Centers and Recovery Books and Gifts; and (7) Links, Archives, and Resources.

 


What Early A.A. Was Really Like

Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous History, Bill W., and Dr. Bob. This A.A. history web site focuses particularly on the roles God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible had in early A.A.’s astonishing, documented, 75% and 93% success rates (in Akron and Cleveland, respectively) among “seemingly-hopeless,” “medically-incurable,” alcoholics who really tried to establish or re-establish their relationship with the God of the Bible through His Son Jesus Christ.

A.A. Cofounder Bill W.'s Helpful Quotes

"I'll do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I'll call on him." [Bill W., My First 40 Years: An Autobiography by the Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous (Center City, Minn.: Hazelden, 2000), 145.]

"For sure I'd been born again." [Bill W., My First 40 Years, 147.]

"Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me [Bill W.], curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people." [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), 191.]

"I [Abby G.] wanted to know what this was that worked so many wonders, and hanging over the mantel was a picture of Gethsemane and Bill [W.] pointed to it and said, 'There it is,' . . ." [Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1975), 216-17.]

The Success of Early A.A. as Reported in
Alcoholics Anonymous

“Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement.” [Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism, 4th ed. (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), page xx.]

The Alcoholics Anonymous Original “Program”
as Was Reported by Frank Amos in
DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers

·        An alcoholic must realize that he is an alcoholic, incurable from a medical viewpoint, and that he must never drink anything with alcohol in it.

·         He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope.

·       Not only must he want to stop drinking permanently, he must remove from his life other sins such as hatred, adultery, and others which frequently accompany alcoholism. Unless he will do this absolutely, Smith and his associates refuse to work with him.

·        He must have devotions every morning–a “quiet time” of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious literature. Unless this is faithfully followed, there is grave danger of backsliding.

·         He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out. This throws up a protective barrier and strengthens his own willpower and convictions.

·        It is important, but not vital, that he meet frequently with other reformed alcoholics and form both a social and a religious comradeship.

·      Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly. [DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc, 1980), 131.]

Much of this information you won't find in A.A.'s basic text (Alcoholics Anonymous) today or in our Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. But the simplicity of the original, early Alcoholics Anonymous Society (A.A.) will really astound you! And we are here speaking about the pioneer A.A. Christian Fellowship in Akron that--at the hands of Bill W. and Dr. Bob--developed A.A.’s spiritual program of recovery and was led by Akron physician Dr. Bob by common consent. This Akron “Program”—with its five required elements and two optional ones--was thoroughly investigated, and reported on to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., by Rockefeller’s agent, Frank Amos, who soon became one of A.A.’s first nonalcoholic trustees. [See DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (New York, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980), 128-36—especially 131.]

 How It Worked

Abstinence was Number One. Usually there was hospitalization or at least medical help to save the newcomer's life. At the hospital, the only reading material allowed in the room was the Bible. Recovered Alcoholics Anonymous drunks visited the patient and told their success stories. Dr. Bob visited daily. And he would explain the “disease” or “illness,” as it was then understood. The newcomer had to identify as an alcoholic, admit that he too was licked, and declare that he would do whatever it took to recover.

Reliance on the Creator was Number Two. DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers records on page 144 the statement of Clarence S. (who brought A.A. to Cleveland) as to how A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob talked with him about God while he (Clarence) was still in the hospital:

“Then he [Dr. Bob] asked, ‘Do you believe in God, young fella?’ (He always called me ‘young fella.’ When he called me Clarence, I knew I was in trouble.)

“‘What does that have to do with it?’

“‘Everything,’ he said.

“‘I guess I do.’

 “‘Guess, nothing! Either you do or you don’t.’

“‘Yes, I do.’

“‘That’s fine,’ Dr. Bob replied. ‘Now we’re getting someplace. All right, get out of bed and on your knees. We’re going to pray.’

“‘I don’t know how to pray.’

“‘I guess you don’t, but that’s all right. Just follow what I say, and that will do for now.

“‘I did what I was ordered to do,” Clarence said. “There was no suggestion.”

The Alcoholics Anonymous newcomer would very soon be given the opportunity to “surrender” upstairs in the home of an Akron AA. This “surrender” involved the newcomer’s confessing Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior in a prayer session resembling what is described in James 5:14-16. (This confession of Christ by which the newcomer became born again has been confirmed as a “must” by four different and well-known A.A. old-timers—J. D. Holmes, Clarence Snyder, Larry Bauer, and Ed Andy.) At the time of the newcomer’s “surrender,” the "elders" (usually Dr. Bob, T. Henry Williams, and one other person) prayed with the newcomer that God would take alcohol out of his life, and joined him in asking God that he (God) would guide the newcomer so that he might live according to God's will.

Obedience to God’s will was Number Three. Successful Alcoholics Anonymous members in Akron during the early years were expected to walk in love and to eliminate sinful conduct from their lives. Many newcomers were too sick to venture far from Akron; so they lived with the Smiths (and later others) in Akron homes. Early A.A. members who recovered from alcoholism with the help of Dr. Bob and other Akron AAs did not do so in an afternoon or in four easy lessons. They shook. They shivered. They fidgeted. They forgot. They were ashamed, insecure, and guilt-ridden. But they learned from the Good Book what a loving God had made available to them and that obedience to God’s will was the key to receiving it.

Growth in Fellowship with their Heavenly Father was Number Four. At the homes in Akron, AAs had daily Quiet Time. This included Bible study, prayer, asking guidance from God, reading a devotional, and discussing selections from Anne Smith’s journal. They shared their woes and problems with Dr. Bob, with Anne (his wife), and with Henrietta Seiberling. They also had personal Quiet Times at their homes and elsewhere when they were not together with other AAs. Alcoholics Anonymous members had one meeting a week. There were no “drunkalogs.” There was no “whining.” There was no “psychobabble.” They prayed, read from the Bible, and had Quiet Time. They used The Upper Room or similar devotionals for discussion.

Intensive help for other alcoholics was the Fifth element. Following the surrender of newcomers upstairs at the weekly meetings, announcements were made downstairs about Alcoholics Anonymous newcomers who had been placed at hospitals. Religious comradeship and attendance at a church of choice were the two recommended, but not required, elements of the Akron program. Socializing followed an A.A. meeting. And it started all over again. There were sessions with Dr. Bob involving doing a moral inventory (which related to adhering to the Four Absolutes—honest, purity, unselfishness, and love), confession, prayer to have the sins removed, and plans for restitution.

What Happened?

Did the Akron program work? You bet it did. Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron achieved a documented, 75% success rate among the "seemingly-hopeless," “medically-incurable” alcoholics who really tried. That success was primarily among Akron A.A. members. And the fact that they had been cured by the power of God was widely publicized across America. Soon, Dr. Bob’s sponsee, Clarence S., brought the Akron program to Cleveland and achieved a documented, 93% success rate in Cleveland.

The same God (the Creator of the heavens and the earth), the same Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Son of the living God), and the same Bible (the Word of God) that helped early AAs in Akron and Cleveland recover from and be cured of alcoholism are still available today to help alcoholics and others suffering with “life-controlling” problems. The principles and practices of the early A.A. program in Akron and Cleveland were very similar to the basic principles that had also been working in the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the YMCA, and Christian Endeavor. And they can and should be made available again today to those who still suffer.

And It Will Work Today!

Alcoholics Anonymous is certainly no longer a Christian fellowship (as it was in Akron); nor does it any longer require belief in God or even in anything at all. But, for those who do believe that the Creator of the heavens and the earth still can, and wants to, heal those suffering today, an accurate knowledge of A.A. history can help. That knowledge is vital too if the healing power of God is to be passed along to those in Alcoholics Anonymous who want it and who choose to receive it. As future A.A. nonalcoholic trustee Frank Amos reported to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the early Akron A.A. program took abstinence, God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, a life-change decision, living consistent with that decision, witnessing to others, fellowship with others, and time--lots of it. It was that simple. There were no “Steps,” and there was no “textbook.” The early AAs in Akron had Bibles. They had several Oxford Group precepts. They abstained from drinking and worked hard to avoid temptation. They relied on the Creator and His Son Jesus Christ. They endeavored to obey to God’s will—both through eliminating sin and by living a life of love and service. They sought to grow in fellowship with the Father, with His Son Jesus Christ, and with each other through Bible study, prayer, asking God for wisdom, and studying devotionals and other Christian literature. That was the program that Bill W., Dr. Bob and his wife Anne, and the other early A.A. pioneers founded in Akron during the summer of 1935. And the principles of that program can still help, and are helping, those still suffering today. As Dr. Bob—whom A.A. cofounder Bill W. called “the prince of all twelfth steppers” because he had personally helped more than 5,000 alcoholics to recover—stated in the last line of his personal story on page 181 of the Fourth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous:

             Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!


Help Support Our Work

 

[Your gifts, contributions, patronizing Google advertisers, and buying recommended books on our Amazon.com Associates page enable us to distribute history materials free; help fund research trips to resource sites as East Dorset, Vermont (Bill W.’s birthplace), St. Johnsbury, Vermont (Dr. Bob’s birthplace), and the Dr. Bob Core Library in St. Johnsbury, Vermont; and help us acquire the books and documents for the Wilson House and Dr. Bob’s Core Library; and to publish our findings as well as to post them on web sites of ours and of those who welcome history materials.]

 

Here are four ways you can help right now:


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WHAT'S NEW
IN A.A. HISTORY
(Previous Features)

 

Four new titles that give you an accurate, different, and full view of the real A.A. as it was:

 

Real Twelve Step Fellowship History;

 

The Conversion of Bill W .;

 

Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous; and

 

Introduction to the Sources and Founding of Alcoholics Anonymous

 

See also our new title, The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook. a Christian guidebook for Recovery Program Segments. It tells you exactly how to conduct and proceed with a recovery supplement in your program.
 

Our just-released titles, A New Way Out  and A New Way In, are a “must” for overcoming prejudice against religion and prejudice against self-help groups.
 

The James Club and the Original A.A. Program's Absolute Essentials lays out the Book of James, Jesus' Sermon on the mount, and 1 Cor. 13 which were considered essential by A.A. old-timers.
 

 

Our Pages on Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous 

“The Prince of all Twelfth Steppers”
Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous

Dick B.

© 2008 Anonymous. All rights reserved.

Summary of Contents

(May 15, 2008)

  • Picture of Robert H. Smith, M.D. (A.A.’s Dr. Bob)
  • Books about Dr. Bob and Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Photograph Pages
  • Biographical Data
  • The Dr. Bob Core Library at North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
  • Eulogy for Dr. Bob delivered by Dr. Walter Tunks, Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio

Alcoholics Anonymous - Dr. Bob

  Books about Dr. Bob and Alcoholics Anonymous

DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers
(NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980)

RHS: Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Our Beloved Dr. Bob (New York: The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., 1951, 1979)

The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (New York:
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975)

Bob Smith and Sue Smith Windows, Children of the Healer:
The Story of Dr. Bob’s Kids
(Center City, MN:
Hazelden, 1994)

Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual
Source
, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research
Publications, Inc., 1998)

URL: http://dickb.com/drbob.shtml

Dick B., The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, 2d ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1998). 

URL: http://dickb.com/Akron.shtml

Dick B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book As a Youngster in Vermont (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2008)

URL: http://dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml

Dick B., Dr. Bob’s Days in St. Johnsbury,
Vermont
–working title of work in progress.

Dick B., The Prince of All Twelfth Steppers: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous’ Cofounder Robert Holbrook Smith, M.D. (Dr. Bob)–work in progress.

(click here to read more)

  A.A. History: Seven Major Spiritual Sources

Additional Big Book and 12 Step Sources:

  • William Duncan Silkworth, M.D.  See the new biography of his life, Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks: The Biography of William Duncan Silkworth, M.D. by Dale Mitchel

  • Carl Gustav Jung. See The Conversion of Bill W. by Dick B.

  • William James, M.D. See The Varieties of Religious Experience.

  • Richard Peabody, lay-therapist. See The Common Sense of Drinking.

  • The New Thought Movement. See Mel B.’s New Wine: The Spiritual Roots of the Twelve Step Miracle.

For more information about the role of William D. Silkworth, M.D., in early A.A., please see Dick B.'s article " Dr. Silkworth on Jesus Christ;" the new Silkworth biography from Hazelden; and this excellent site: Silkworth.net.


A.A. History on Audio with Dick B.


Dick B. offers these insights “live” on audio:

The Dick B. Story
The Heart of A.A.


Alcoholics Anonymous History


An Important Lifetime Value
from Dick B.

Buy Dick B.’s Entire Reference Set
29 titles in all; updated, revised
 

This one-of-a-kind early A.A. History reference set provides a book to study and learn at leisure
on
Every A.A. Subject from Anne Smith, to Bible, to Bill W., to
Carl Jung, to Wm. James to Quiet Time Devotionals to
Books Pioneers Read to Salvation Army to Silkworth

 

You receive a large discount

Contact Dick B at dickb@dickb.com to
Acquire a set for a lifetime
for
Individuals, Groups, Study Meetings, Treatment,
Fellowships, and Sponsors
 

+ Last updated:
 May 29, 2009

Bill W.
of
Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous - Bill W.


Click Here

Dr. Bob
of
Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous - Dr. Bob


Click Here

Alcoholics Anonymous
Merchandise

&
Alcoholics Anonymous
Gifts


View Alcoholics Anonymous Merchandise here
 

Contact Dick B.

Many members of the pioneer Akron A.A. fellowship overcame their problems by (establishing or) deepening their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you want help following in their footsteps, please contact me:

dickb@dickb.com

Dick B.
PO Box 837
Kihei, HI 96753

(808) 874-4876

We strongly recommend that you acquire and study the A.A. General Service Conference-approved pamphlet, The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975).

The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet sources
 

Featured
New Article

The Holy Bible
of, and Its Importance to, A.A.’s Clarence Henry Snyder

By Dick B.

 © 2008 Anonymous.
All rights reserved

 

[Preliminary acknowledgement and comments about the source of this Bible: First, my son Ken and I have been working with Ken R., an AA from Alabama, in reviewing and editing the introduction to his forthcoming “Holy Grail”—the actual Printers Manuscript of the Big Book which Ken purchased at auction for almost a million dollars. Second, during our editing work, Ken purchased the Clarence Snyder Bible from a dealer; and the dealer had acquired it from Ohio Old-timer Ed Andy who had the Bible in his museum in Lorain, Ohio. Ed Andy was a good friend of Clarence’s, one of the early AAs, and established what Ed called “the first” A.A. museum. I personally participated in a phone conversation with Ed in which he confirmed that early AAs were required to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour before they could belong to the pioneer Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship founded on June 10, 1935. We were told Ed served as a consultant in the filming of the Lost Weekend story a few years ago. We were also told the Bible was given to Ed at the time of Clarence’s death. Finally, learning of my own extensive involvement with the history, activities, papers, and retreats of the venerable A.A. old-timer Clarence H. Snyder, Ken graciously sent to the Bible to me for review and such purpose as I might see fit. Now, that review has been completed in this draft form; and the Bible is being returned to Ken, its rightful owner. This preliminary note expresses great appreciation to Ken for acquiring the Bible, sending it to professionals for preservation work, and then allowing us to have it in our possession for this work of review. His generous sharing will come as a boon to hundreds, if not thousands, who want to know more about Clarence H. Snyder, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio. Also about Clarence’s being a Christian from birth, being a long-time Bible student, and one who used the Bible, the Oxford Group 4 Absolutes, the Big Book, and the Twelve Steps to make early A.A. sing and grow in Cleveland beginning in May, 1939 just after the Big Book was published.]

The Role of Clarence and Grace S. in Alcoholics Anonymous
(read more)
 

A.A.’s Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Sharing by Christians

 

By Dick B.

 © 2009 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

The Approach

Today, I received an email (part of which is set forth in this article) which asks my view on how a Christian can share his faith in an A.A. or N.A. meeting without violating the “Traditions.”

Of course, I can’t and don’t speak either for A.A. or N.A. Nor can I or do I purport to be an interpreter of what is right or wrong, consistent or inconsistent, permissible or “forbidden” by the Twelve Traditions or in precisely how one should “take” the Twelve Steps.. Preliminarily, I do say that I can share my experience. I do say that the “Traditions” are neither laws nor rules nor governing edicts. They are simply suggestions that arose when, just before Dr. Bob’s death, Bill Wilson proposed as “traditions” some ideas from his own experience that he felt would help maintain the unity of his 12 Step fellowship program and its groups. There are no A.A. police. A.A. leaders do not govern. There is no power to “enforce” the ideas of Bill Wilson, Dr. Robert Smith, A.A. General Services, the Traditions, some A.A. leader, some A.A. group, and even some individual member. There is no index of forbidden books, and fellowship members can do or say or read or write what they like, whatever the clamor the remarks might cause. In fact, retiring A.A. “senior” advisor, former General Manager, and former Trustee Bob P. spoke specifically to this problem and the growing rigidity he had observed in his years of service.

Twelve Steps For You
(read more)
 

Can God Help Me? I’m an Alcoholic!

Let’s Keep it Simple, and see what God has to say—Looking in the King James Version of the Bible where early AAs looked for answers

By Dick B.

 © 2008 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

He will heal all that obey His commandments: (Exodus 15:26—[the LORD]  . . said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”). (Psalm 103:2-3—“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases”).

God’s commandments and love summarized: (1) 1 Timothy 2:3-4—“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of  God our Saviour. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (2) John 3:16-17—“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (3) Matthew 22:36-40—Master, which is the great commandment in the law. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (4) 1 John 5:3—“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

Can God Help Me? I’m an Alcoholic! (read more)
 

Is Alcoholics Anonymous Effective?

A.A. Success Rates to Consider

By Dick B.

 © 2008 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 
Is Alcoholics Anonymous Effective? There is no simple answer to that question relative to today’s A.A. In fact, several problems immediately pop up. The first concerns the question whether conventional and present-day surveys of the Alcoholics Anonymous Society can or do establish whether the A.A. Program of recovery itself effectively offers permanent sobriety to those alcoholics who still suffer and enter the A.A. rooms. The second concerns the critical issue as to whether, like A.A. cofounder Robert H. Smith, M.D. (“Dr. Bob”), the present-day survey has asked the afflicted person, “Do you believe in God, young fella?” The third asks the further question of the surveyor as to just which program, which belief system, and which A.A. era is involved in the path that has been followed by the new person being surveyed.

Is Alcoholics Anonymous Effective? (read more)
 

200 Plus A.A. History Books and Pamphlets
 

The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth, 7th ed., 1998, lists and discusses over 200 books and pamphlets that cover the materials early AAs read. They were largely recommended and read by Dr. Bob, Anne Smith, Henrietta Seiberling, T. Henry Williams, Oxford Group lists, books of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, and members using daily devotionals and observing Quiet Time. The categories were: The Bible, Christian Endeavor, Books on Jesus Christ, Christian classics, Bible devotionals, Books on Prayer, Books on Healing, Books on the Sermon on the Mount, Books on Christian Love, Oxford Group books, Writings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., William James and Carl Jung books, Books by Christian writers popular in the 1930’s, Books on religion and the mind, Books about the Bible and Church Fathers, Books by modern Roman Catholic authors, Books about Quiet Time, and books recalled by Lois Wilson, Nell Wing, Clarence Snyder, as well as the many pamphlets then written and read.

 

 

Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Sixteen-Year Research, Writing, Publishing, and Fact Dissemination Project, 3rd ed., 2006. After many years of research and collecting historical materials, I drew together the hundreds of books, articles, pamphlets, and newspapers that furnished a complete bibliography and background of sources for A.A. history scholars, students, members, and history lovers. Most of these books are not only listed but have now been donated to, and are open for free visitation at the Griffith Library (Wilson House) in East Dorset, Vermont; the Dr. Bob Core Library at North Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, Vermont; the Shoemaker Room archives at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio.

 

 

A Great Song!

"In God We Still Trust"

(Click Here to Listen)
 


Contacting Dick B.

Phone: (808) 874 4876
Email: dickb@dickb.com
Mail: PO Box 837
Kihei, HI 96753-0837

 


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