Paradise Research Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

Ph/fax: 808 874 4876; Email: dickb@dickb.com

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This material is Copyright 2003 by Anonymous.
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Permission to reprint in  whole or in part is confined to  www.aabibliography.com site.

[Part Four]

We want to cover three features of the actual program before we hear from Smitty (Dr. Bob’s son) about living with his Dad: (1) A brief overview of exactly what the pioneers did as they fashioned their program in Akron between June 10, 1935 and the publication of the Big Book in the Spring of 1939. (2) A summary by Frank Amos of the results of his thorough investigation of the Akron successes, his report to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and what that actual program was. (3) A synopsis of the six basic Biblical sources of that program.

Hospitalization for about seven days: Only a Bible in the room, medications, daily visits and lengthy talks by Dr. Bob, visits by recovered pioneers, belief in God, surrender to Christ, and prayer. Then release.

Recovery in the homes: (1) Daily get-togethers, (2) Bible study and reading, (3) Individual quiet times, (4) Quiet Times in the morning with Anne Smith, discussions with Bob and Henrietta and Anne, (5) the regular Wednesday meeting, with "real" surrenders upstairs (James 5:15-16: Elders and prayer), acceptance of Jesus Christ, asking God to take alcohol out of their lives, and asking Him to help them abide by the Four Absolutes. (6) Some individual Oxford Group elements such as Inventory, Confession, Conviction, and Restitution. (7) Visiting newcomers at the hospital. (8) Church attendance by most. (9) Social and family fellowship.

Regular Wednesday Meetings: Prayer, Scripture, Group Prayer and Guidance, Discussion, Surrender, appeal for helping newcomers, Lord’s Prayer, socializing, and exchange of literature. No drunkalogs. No steps. No Big Book. Just Bible and devotionals like the Upper Room

Quiet Time (with Anne, with Group, or individual): Based on having accepted Jesus Christ; Bible reading; prayer and seeking guidance; use of devotionals; use of Anne Smith’s Journal; reading of Christian literature.

If you read the statements of Bill and Bob together at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1943. There were some 4500 present. Bill spoke about Divine Aid, the religious element, and prayer. Dr. Bob spoke about cultivating the habit of prayer and reading the Bible. Both men were warmly received.

"All considered practically incurable by physicians." They had "been reformed and so far have remained teetotalers." Stories were remarkably alike in "the technique used and the system followed." Mr. Amos described their seven-point "Program" as follows:

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

[Absolute reliance on the Creator] He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope.

[Removal of sins from his life] 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.

[Daily Quiet Time with Bible study and prayer] 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.

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

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

[Religious affiliation] Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly.

See Dick B. God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21^st Century (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2002); DR. BOB, supra, p. 131.

Dr. Bob said quite plainly that A.A.’s basic ideas came from the Bible. Bill said the Steps came primarily from the Oxford Group principles as taught by Reverend Sam. Shoemaker of New York. The Oxford Group said plainly that its principles were the principles of the Bible. Both Dr. Bob and Bill said that Jesus’s sermon on the mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7) contained the underlying A.A. philosophy. The six major spiritual roots of Alcoholics Anonymous are Biblical in origin and form.

The Bible. See Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible. Over and over the Bible was stressed as the basic source of our ideas: The focus of reading was the Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, and the Book of James. See the detailed review of these three segments in Dick B., Why Early A.A. Succeeded (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2001). In addition, plenty was taught about the Ten Commandments, Jesus’s Two Great Commandments, the need for a new birth by receiving from above God’s spirit in Christ, prayer, healing, repentance, guidance, forgiveness, and so on.

Quiet Time. The born-again newcomer was to grow in knowledge, principles, and practices from the Bible. He was to study the Bible. He was to cultivate the habit of prayer. He was to seek guidance from Yahweh, the Creator. He was advised to read religious books and use daily devotionals. This was done individually, with Dr. Bob’s wife, Anne, and at meetings. See Dick B., Good Morning!, supra; Anne Smith’s Journal, 1933-1939, supra.

Anne Smith’s Journal. The most-forgotten and ignored source of A.A. ideas. Anne says it all. She was "it" as far as recording the real early A.A. program ideas in detail. She wrote them down in organized fashion in 64 pages from 1933 to 1939. And she shared abundantly from that journal with AAs and their families. See Dick B., Anne Smith’s Journal, 1933-1939, supra.

The teachings of Reverend Sam Shoemaker. Bill attributed practically all the Steps and ideas to Sam and called him a co-founder of A.A. Bill even asked Sam to write the Twelve Steps. Sam reviewed Bill’s first Big Book manuscripts before they were published. And Sam’s words, language, and ideas can be found in the Steps and in the Big Book. See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A., 2d ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1999).

The life-changing program of the Oxford Group. No matter how hard he tried to distance himself and AA from the Oxford Group, the simple fact is that Bill’s whole program is Oxford Group in character, principles, and practices. Bill worked closely with Sam Shoemaker. While Dr. Bob really had little to do with Shoemaker, he and Anne, Henrietta, and the Williams couple were thorough readers of Oxford Group literature and were thoroughly conversant with its ideas. See Dick B., The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous, supra; By the Power of God, supra..

The books early AAs read for spiritual growth. The pioneers in Akron were readers. They were spurred on by Dr. Bob, Anne, and Henrietta. They read the Bible. The read the devotionals - The Runner’s Bible, The Upper Room, My Utmost for His Highest. They read commentaries like As a Man Thinketh, The Greatest Thing in the World, Fox’s The Sermon on the Mount, and books by the great religious leaders and writers - Glenn Clark, E. Stanley Jones, Oswald Chambers, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Norman Vincent Peale, Henry Drummond, and many many others. They read the Shoemaker books and the Oxford Group books, of which there were more than 500 in all. You could see references in the Cleveland Central Bulletin, in the AA Grapevine, and in the Akron AA pamphlets. See Dick B., The Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth, 7^th ed., supra; Dr. Bob and His Library, 3^rd ed., supra; and Making Known the Biblical Roots of Early A.A.., supra.

Other sources, though unusual in content and character, came from new thought writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Phineas P. Quimby, Mary Baker Eddy, Ralph Waldo Trine, James Allen, Emmet Fox, Charles Fillmore, Horatio W. Dresser, F. L. Rawson, Thomas Troward, and William James. And almost all of these quoted Scripture at some length. See Dick B., Cured!, supra; God and Alcoholism, supra, pp. 77-118; and Making Known the Biblical Roots of A.A., supra.

This material is Copyright 2003 by Anonymous.
Printed in USA. All rights reserved.
Permission to reprint in  whole or in part is confined to  www.aabibliography.com site.