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EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO
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It is easy to understand your misconceptions about AA. We, in the program, see first hand what has happened to the original principles of AA and how they have been misinterpreted. What stands today as AA is a long way from the original. What we term as today's "mainstream" AA is but a shell of the original program. Yet, there is hope, with groups like ours and those like it around the country, which still hold to the original principles of the founders of AA. |
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AA's
HISTORY; "It was a spiritual movement that sought to recapture the power of first-century Christianity in the modern world."1 This group
was a Spirit filled group of people, who met to read the Bible and
uplift one another throughout open confessions, prayer, and meditation. ________________________
"of
their seeming poise, health and happiness."3
In fact,
Dr. Bob Successfully changed his life by holding on to the Christian
principles set forth in the New Testament. > Bill Wilson stayed in Akron for about six months and stopped drinking. Then Wilson returned to New York to start "fixing" drunks, first through a New York City Oxford Group meeting and then by branching out into AA meetings. It was here in New York City that resistance to Christ began almost immediately. Many of the New York City alcoholics were agnostic. The phrase in the third step, ". . . . God as we understood Him" became the initial point on which the program would begin to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. It has been all down hill from there. "Higher Powers" have become light bulbs, other human beings, the AA group's spirit and many other nonsensical things. Early AA had an almost 100% success rate. Today, the success rate is steadily declining. Many contemporary groups will not allow any "God talk" during a meeting.. Any "Higher Power" but the original, Christ, is discussed. Leaders are blindly leading others to programs of self-will and humanism. Many leaders have not even read AA's Big Book, in which the program can be found. Many of today's AAs would be astounded by what they would find in their own AA literature. ________________________ 3 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 55 THE
TRUTH: "Resentment. . . . . from it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.4 From AA's Big Book, p. 64, "Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and conditions." So it was a
spiritual
illness that they suffered from. These thoughts of the founders
parallel what Christ said in Mark 7:18-23, (para-phrased NIV), In fact, many of the AA principals come from the Bible. Again, lets look back into history to see what role the Bible played in early AA. "Dr. Bob, noting that there were no Twelve Steps at the time and, 'our stories didn't amount to anything to speak of,' later said 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 1st Corinthians, and the Book of James' he said."5 "We already had the basic ideas, (speaking of the twelve steps) though not in terse and tangible from. We got them . . . as a result of the study of the Good Book"6 'Faith without works is Dead'. This was a favorite quotation of Anne's much as the Book of James was a favorite with the early AAs - so much so that the 'James Club' was favored by some as a name for the fellowship."7 ___________________________ 4 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 64 5 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 96 If it had
been called "the James Club" a lot of doubt and misunderstanding would
have never happened. Besides the heavy use of the Bible, these quotations give us good insight into what took place during those early AA meetings. There's more! "there is no record of what happened at the first meeting, (after the Akron group split from the Oxford Group) except for a Grapevine account years later noting that it was led by Dr. Box, who 'put his foot on the rung of a diningroom chair, identified himself as an alcoholic, and began reading the Sermon on the Mount"10 "if someone would ask him (Dr. Bob) a question about the program, his usual response was: 'What does it say in the Good Book'11 ___________________________ 7 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 71 8 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 102 9 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 111 10 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 218 11 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 144 So,
from AA's own history we can see the importance of the Bible from the
very beginning. Yet, we face people daily in the AA arena, who tell us
we don't know what we are talking about. These are people who fail to
read the Big Book or other AA literature and them pass on the
misinformation. "Its (the Big Book) main objective is to enable you to find a power greater than yourself which will solve your problem. That means that we have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral." "This means, of course, that we are going to talk about God."13 The spiritual solution is hammered home time and time again in the Big Book: "When therefore we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet." (p25) "The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's universe." (p.25) "Then they outlined the spiritual answer and program of action which hundreds of them had followed successfully." (p. 42) "But after a while we had to face the fact that we much find a spiritual basis for life - or else." (p. 44) _______________________ 12 Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 151 13 AA's Big Book, p. 45 They knew that self-will was not the answer, "If a mere code of morals or better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly."14 Human resources and self-will were not the answers in 1935 and are not the answers today. If fact, about 2 1/2 years ago in California, a group of AA who were "tired of all the God talk in AA' formed their own group named, Rational Recovery (RR). This group's program was based on the inner being and self-will. Within a year and a half it failed utterly. The initial underlying philosophy of rational recovery was fatal. Think about it. If self-will or one's willpower was the answer, why would you need a group? "Moral growth without spiritual growth is doomed to failure."15 What was the underlying philosophy of the early AA? "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 AA."16 ___________________________ 14 Dr. Bob and the Good Old-timers, p 228 16Dr. Bob and the Good Old-timers, p. 228 Living
Christian principles daily is the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. "The
spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it."17
"He
went on talking and told me that he had found the plan has a basis
of love, and the practice of Christ's injunction, Love thy neighbor as
thy self."19
A spiritual
rebirth had to take place.
"As
we felt the new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we
discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of
His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow, or the
hereafter. We were reborn. "20 & (John
3:3)
The
search for God, is the beginning. The higher power, the power greater
than ourselves was the supernatural, God, our Creator, and nothing
less.
"Remember
that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it
is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that one is God.
May you find him now."21
"But He
has come to all who have honestly sought Him." "When we drew near Him
He disclosed Himself to us. " 22 ___________________________ 18 AA's Big Book, p. 85 19 AA's Big Book, third edition p. 236 20 AA's Big Book, p. 63 21AA's Big Book, p. 58 22AA's Big Book, p. 57 "I've seen this in the A.A. Grapevine alot of times, and I have had people say it to me personally, and I've heard people get up at meetings and make the same statement: The statement is, 'I came into A.A. solely for the purpose of sobriety, but it has been through A.A. that I have found God."23 "This
is the how and
why of it. First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn't work.
Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to
be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is the
Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this
concept was the keystone of the new triumphant arch through which we
passed to freedom."24
This, of
course, is the
true essence of AA's steps Two and Three. It is the belief that there
is a God and that that God can restore us. that a supernatural God can
influence our daily lives. That God is here for us not and we can have
a relationship with Him. That when we turn our wills and lives over to
the care of God, that this God is a living God. I honestly sought God
as the program suggests, I drew near to God as the program suggests,
and He did in fact disclose himself to me. I found God to be Jesus
Christ, the God of the founders' third step.
All the
steps are written in the past tense, chronicalizing what the
founders did to be released from the bondage of alcoholism. The Third
Step reads: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the
care of God as we understood Him."25 This is often misunderstood as
"you may turn your will and life over to God as you understand God".
The third step is merely a statement of fact that the authors turned
their wills and lives over to the care of God as they understood Him.
The importance of this statement is: who or what did they understand
God to be? The fifth
chapter of AA's Big Book begins, "Rarely have we seen a
person fail who has thoroughly followed our path."26 Now, if I want to
"thoroughly" follow their path, then I must understand God the way they
understood Him. Again, it is AA literature which provides this answer.
"Here
were these men who visited me and they like myself, had tried
everything and although it was plain to be seen none of them were
perfect, they were living proof that the sincere attempt to follow the
cardinal teaching of Jesus Christ was seeping them sober. If it could
do that for others, I was resolved to try it, believing it could do
something for me also."27
More
directly,
"One
evening I had gone out after dinner to take a couple of
double-headers and stayed a little later than usual, and when I came
home Clarence (Snyder) was sitting on the davenport with Will W.
(Wilson). I do not recollect the specific conversation that went on but
I believe I did challenge Bill to tell me something about A.A. and I do
recall one other thing: I wanted to know what this was that worked so
many wonders, and hanging over the mantel was a picture of Gethsemane
and Bill pointed to it and said, 'There it is'.28
Bill
Wilson, one of the founding fathers of AA, while answering the
question, "what is it that works so many wonders?", points to a picture
of Jesus kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane and says, "There it is".
The God of their understanding, to whom they turned their will and
their lives over to, was Jesus Christ! This is the most unpopular
historical fact of AA that you could ever bring up in discussion at an
AA meeting. However, it is the truth. It is the denial of this truth,
which has brought AA to the watered-down version it is today.
26 AA's Big
Book, p.59
There are
small pockets of
light within AA, which still carry the true early AA message. It is
important that people like yourself understand the truth about AA. It
is also important that you help spread the word. There are many of us
around the country who know the truth. Our testimonies are living proof
that a Christ centered AA group can successfully change the lives of
suffering alcoholics and drug addicts. You and your leadership can help
bring back the true program of Alcoholic Anonymous.
I hope
what we have provided in this paper, would at the least, peak your
interest t begin to read the Big Book and Dr. Bob and the Good
Old-timers.
Remember this if nothing else, nowhere in the "promises" 29 of A.A.
does it state that this program will keep you sober. What it does
promise, however, it a new way of life where alcohol has no place. You
attain the fruits of these promises through a spiritual relationship
with God. < 29 A.A.'s Big Book, ps. 83-84 Please
feel free to share this information with whomever you believe would
benefit from it. |
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