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The Good Book in early A.A. |
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Alcoholics Anonymous & Alcoholics Anonymous History (AA 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) Order Form for Dick B.'s 27 books, (4) Dick’s A.A. articles, audio talks, audio blogs, and radio presentations on A.A.'s spiritual sources, (5) Results of 18 years of research on 12 Step Christian origins, (6) Our A.A. History Sponsors: Treatment Centers and Recovery Books and Gifts. (7) Links. |
What Early A.A. Was Really Like
You
won't learn this in A.A.'s basic text today or in our meetings. But the
simplicity of early A.A. will really astound you! And we are here speaking to
the pioneer A.A. Christian Fellowship in Akron that developed our program and
was led by Dr. Bob. Abstinence was Number One. Usually there was
hospitalization or at least medical help to save the newcomer's life. At the
hospital, only the Bible was allowed in the room. Recovered drunks visited the
patient and told their success stories. The newcomer had to identify, admit that
he too was licked, and that he would do whatever it took. Dr. Bob visited daily.
Then, he would explain the “disease” as it was then understood; and, on the
final day, Dr. Bob asked two questions to which there was only one answer: (1)
Do you believe in God? (2) Are you willing to get down on your knees and pray?
Reliance on the Creator was Number Two. The newcomer then gave his life
to Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Many were too sick to venture
far; so they lived with the Smiths (and later others) in Akron homes. It is a
myth that they recovered 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. Obedience to God’s will was Number Three. They were expected
to walk in love and to eliminate sinful conduct from their lives. Growth in
Fellowship with their Heavenly Father was Number Four. At the homes, they
had daily Quiet Time (Bible study, prayer, asking guidance, reading a
devotional, and discussing 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 in their individual lives or at their home.
They had one meeting a week. No drunkalogs. No whining. No psychobabble. Just
prayer. Reading from Scripture. Quiet Time. Use of The Upper Room or
similar devotionals for discussion. Then surrender upstairs for the newcomer in
a prayer session resembling that in James 5:14-16. The newcomer confirmed his
decision for Christ. [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 that
time, the "elders" (usually Bob and T. Henry and one other) prayed with him that
alcohol be taken out of his life, and joined him in asking that he be guided to
live according to God's will. Intensive help for other alcoholics was the
Fifth element. Following the surrender upstairs, downstairs there were
announcements about newcomers at hospitals. Religious comradeship and attendance
at a church of choice were recommended but not required. Socializing. And it
started all over again. There were sessions with Dr. Bob involving a moral
inventory (as to adherence to the Four Absolutes—honest, purity, unselfishness,
and love), confession, prayer to have the sins removed, and plans for
restitution. Did it work? You bet it did. A documented 75% success rate among
the seemingly hopeless, “medically incurable” alcoholics who really tried. That
was primarily among Akron members. And the fact that they had been cured by the
power of God was widely publicized across America. Soon, a documented 93% in
Cleveland. That's why the principles and practices in early A.A.—the principles
that were already working in the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the YMCA,
and Christian Endeavor—need to be part and parcel of our own A.A. learning. A.A.
is certainly no longer a Christian fellowship; nor does it any longer require
belief in anything at all. But, for those who do believe in God’s healing power
today, a knowledge of the simple history is vital. As reported to John D.
Rockefeller, Jr., by Frank Amos: It took abstinence. It took God. It took the
Bible. It took a life-change decision. It took living consistent with the
decision. And it particularly emphasized witnessing to others. It took
fellowship. And it took time--lots of it. And it was all just that simple—no
steps and no text book. Just a Bible and several Oxford Group precepts. Just
abstaining from drink and avoiding temptation. Relying on the Creator and coming
to Him through His son. Obedience to His will—both in eliminating sin and in
living love and service. Growing in fellowship through Bible study, prayer,
asking wisdom, and study. And helping others without thought of pay. As they
often put it: “No pay for soul surgery!”
Dick B. Radio
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A.A. History: Seven Major Spiritual Sources
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The Bible. A.A.'s basic ideas came from the Bible. For details, see Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible.
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Quiet Time and the daily devotionals--such as The Upper Room. For details, see Dick B., Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A.
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The teachings of the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in New York. For details, see Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A.
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The Life-changing program of the Oxford Group. For details, see Dick B., The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that Works.
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Anne Smith's Spiritual Journal--The journal kept and shared from 1933 to 1939 by Dr. Bob's wife with alcoholics and their families. For details, see Dick B., Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939.
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The Christian literature early AAs read for spiritual growth. For details, see Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library, Anne Smith's Journal, The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth; and Bill Pittman, AA: The Way It Began.
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The United Christian Endeavor Society - a worldwide organization, numbering 3,500,000 members at its peak, consisting primarily of young people supporting their particular church. Espoused most of the principles and practices that characterized the unique Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship program. For details, see Dick B., When Early AAs Were Cured. And Why; The James Club.
Additional Big Book and 12 Step Sources
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William Duncan Silkworth, M.D. See the new biography of his life.
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Carl Gustav Jung. See The Conversion of Bill W.
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William James, M.D. See The Varieties of Religious Experience.
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Richard Peabody, lay-therapist. See The Common Sense of Drinking.
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The New Thought Movement. See Mel B.’s New Wine.
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.
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A Very Special New Offer
From Dick B.
Buy Dick B.’s Entire Reference Set
27 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
Contact Dick B at
dickb@dickb.com
to
Acquire a set for a lifetime
For
Individuals, Groups, Study Meetings, Treatment, Fellowships, and Sponsors
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Dr. Bob |
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Robert Holbrook Smith, M.D. |
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Featuring |
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A)
Free Articles:
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New Articles |
| Healing the Alcoholic: The Creator, A.A., Believers, and Richard Peabody’s Erroneous, “No-Cure” Hypothesis |
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Dick B.
© 2008 by Anonymous. All rights reserved Bill Wilson stated plainly enough: “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”[1] Dr. Robert H. Smith (Dr. Bob) stated plainly enough: “But this was a man [Bill Wilson] who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard’s experiences known to man, but who had been cured by the very means I had been trying to employ, that is to say the spiritual approach.”[2] “One day Dr. Bob said to me, ‘Don’t you think we’d better scare up some drunks to work on?’ He phoned the nurse in charge of admissions at Akron City Hospital and told her how he and another drunk from New York had a cure for alcoholism.”[3] A.A. Number Three, attorney Bill Dotson, echoed Bill Wilson’s cure statement, and stated very plainly: “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 golden text for the A.A. program and for me.”[4] |
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Success Rates.
Success Rates. A.A. Statistics Enough Already? |
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Dick B.
© 2008 by Anonymous. All rights reserved The hills are alive with the sound of statistics. Statistics on A.A. success rates. Statistics on A.A. relapses. Statistics on recovery rates. Statistics on early A.A. cures. And surveys of A.A. and 12-Step populations, and other groups. Have we had enough? The search engines and the web sites might suggest a continued interest, but they don’t prove the value or need. As one who has written his share on successes, failures, and cures, I’m not prepared to discard the work already in place, whether mine or that of someone else. But I do think it’s appropriate to suggest some conditions for evaluation. The conditions:
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A.A.’s Spiritual Program, Co-founder Dr. Bob, and the A.A. Christian Endeavor Society Factor from
Dr. Bob’s Youth |
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Dick B.
A Look at the Early A.A. Program that When Bill Wilson met Dr. Bob Smith at Henrietta Seiberling's Gate Lodge Home in Akron on Mother's Day of 1935, each man had some strong alcoholism recovery factors stored away in his mind. Bill Wilson brought to the table three major spiritual ideas that Dr. Bob had simply not implemented in his previous Christian walk. (1) Because of the deadly, downward spiral of drunkenness, relief could not come by willpower or human aid alone. (2) The experience of Dr. Carl Gustav Jung as to the efficacy of conversion as a cure, and the experience of Dr. William D. Silkworth as to the efficacy of relying on the Great Physician (Jesus Christ) for complete cure. (3) The vital importance of telling others still suffering about the healing that could be achieved through the power of God. |
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A.A.’s Dr. Bob |
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Dick B.
When I first arrived in A.A. in the spring of 1986, if anyone had mentioned the name “Dr. Bob,” the remark would either have passed me by. Or I would have asked, “Who is he?” I didn’t know, and I hadn’t heard—and not for quite some time thereafter. Then the young man, now dead of alcoholism, asked me if I knew A.A. had come from the Bible. When I answered, “No.” He suggested I read DR. BOB and the Good Old Timers and also remarked that the A.A. pioneers had been so interested in studying the Bible that they wanted to call A.A. “The James Club.” And I won’t repeat what I’ve since written about The Akron Genesis of A.A., The Good Book and The Big Book, Dr. Bob and His Library, The James Club, the AA of Akron pamphlets, and all the rest. But there was still a gaping hole in my knowledge of what Dr. Bob himself had meant when he said he had “refreshed” his memory of the Bible and had received “excellent training” in that as a youngster. He had also spoken of his four-times-a-week attendance at church, and also of his participation in Christian Endeavor. |
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Shortly after I got sober 21 years ago, I began hearing in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings the words “higher power.” Hearing them as if the speakers were referring to Almighty God. And, in the Big Book, Fourth Edition, for example, Bill Wilson actually did continue to refer to Almighty God when he twice and only twice used the expression “higher power.” You will see that when you read pages 43, 45, 46, and 100 of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4 th ed. You can also count the number of times Bill specifically referred to Almighty God with a capital “G.” There were over 400 references to “God” including capitalized pronouns and Biblical references like Creater, Maker, Father, Spirit, etc. In Bill’s early writings, the “higher power” words referring to the Creator were undiluted with “choose your own conception” (not in the original manuscripts). Undiluted with “God as we understood Him” (which appears to have come from the many Oxford Group and Anne Smith references to “as much of God as you know” and Shoemaker’s “God as you understand Him”). |
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Early in its founding years, A.A.’s co-founder Bill Wilson put the torch to the idea that A.A. sprang from just one source. He said frankly that nobody invented A.A. He said all its ideas were borrowed. And Dr. Bob broadened the source picture by pointing out that all the basic ideas came from the Pioneers’ study of the Bible. Unfortunately, neither co-founder put in writing in one place all the well-springs that produced the streams in A.A. Consequently commentators, both favorable to and critical of A.A., have had a field day with discussions of our roots. Most of them have a number of erroneous concepts so embedded in their historical approaches that they just never tell it like it is or like it was. Those who don’t like the Bible say that we left it behind in Akron. Those who don’t like the Oxford Group say that it taught us more about what not to do than what to do. And those who don’t like either the Bible or the Oxford Group have tried to quiet the waters by diverting the stream. They say A.A. is “spiritual, but not religious” even though any well-informed historian, scholar, clergyman, and semanticist would probably ask: “And what’s the difference?” Nobody really knows, but the distinction without a difference leaves many in a peaceful atheistic no man’s land. |
| Put A.A.-12 Step Speakers, Sponsors, and Counselors To Work! |
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| Passing On an Empty Message |
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Neither A.A.’s Big Book, nor any A.A. literature
we’ve found contains any of the details about Anne Smith’s Journal, 1933-1939,
which Dr. Bob’s wife shared with AAs and their families every single morning at
the Smith Home in Akron. |
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In God We Still Trust |
Contacting Dick B.
Phone: 808 874 4876
Email: dickb@dickb.com
Mail: PO Box 837
Kihei, HI 96753-0837
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