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The Astonishing Success of Early A.A.!
Early Alcoholics Anonymous had a clearly documented seventy-five to ninety-three percent success rate among those who really tried in the 1930's and early 1940's. Fellowships have changed, but the power of God has not! This site focuses on specific historical details and precise facts. Dick B. has spent ten years researching the roots of early A.A. Here you will find details on Dick's books and articles about Alcoholics Anonymous and the Bible; Quiet Time; the teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker of New York; the life-changing program of the Oxford Group; the contents of the spiritual journal assembled by Dr. Bob's wife, Anne Ripley Smith, and shared with AAs and their families; and the religious literature they all studied. There is no other historical material of this kind--not in A.A., not on the net, and not in the libraries or bookstores. An active, recovered A.A. himself, Dick B. tells it as it was, so you can be victorious and be delivered today with Alcoholics Anonymous as it is.
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 attract! Usually there was hospitalization or at least medical help to save the newcomer's life. 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 they then understood it; and on the final day, 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? The newcomer then gave his life to Jesus Christ as 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. And they were ashamed, insecure, and guilt-ridden. But they learned what a loving God had made available. 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 had similar Quiet Times in their personal 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 "elders" prayed with him that alcohol be taken out of his life and that he devote himself to living according to God's will. Following that, downstairs there were announcements about newcomers at hospitals. Socializing. And it started all over again. There were sessions with Dr. Bob involving a moral inventory (as to adherence to the Four Absolutes), confession, prayer to have the sins removed, and plans for restitution. Did it work? You bet it did. 75% recovered in Akron. Soon, 93% were recovering in Cleveland. That's why we need to know about early A.A.! It took surrender. It took God. It took the Bible, a life-change decision with attendant action, and witnessing to others. It took fellowship. And it took time--lots of it.
A.A.
co-founder Bill W. pointed out many times that Alcoholics Anonymous was
not invented (As Bill Sees It, p. 67). He said that every one of
its principles was borrowed (A.A. Comes of Age, pp. 231-32). And
it is quite clear today just where the principles came from; for there
were six major sources--all thoroughly documented as to their
contribution. The Bible. A.A.'s basic ideas came from the Bible (DR.
BOB and the Good Oldtimers, pp. 96-97). For details, see Dick
B., The Good Book and The Big Book:
A.A.'s Roots in the Bible.
Quiet Time and the daily devotionals--such as The Upper
Room (DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, pp. 71, 136,
139-40, 151, 178, 220, 310-11). For details, see Dick B., Good
Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A.
The teachings of the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Rector of Calvary
Episcopal Church in New York (The Language of the Heart, pp.
298, 177-178). For details, see Dick B., New Light
on Alcoholism: God,
Sam Shoemaker, and A.A.
The Life-changing program of the Oxford Group (A.A.
Comes of Age, p. 39; Pass It On, pp. 197, 169, 171-72; Bill
W., p. 239). For details, see Dick B., The
Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that
Works.
Anne Smith's Spiritual Journal--The journal kept and
shared from 1933 to 1939 by Dr. Bob's wife with alcoholics and their
families (The Language of the Heart, pp. 356-57; Pass It
On, p. 147). For details, see Dick B., Anne
Smith's Journal, 1933-1939.
The Christian literature early AAs read for spiritual
growth (DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, pp. 71, 96, 111, 131,
141, 144, 150-51, 178, 220, 309-11). 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.
Another A.A. influence. Several writers have concluded--and Dr. Bob's own library supports
the fact that--there was an early, though limited, pioneer A.A.
interest in works by William James (The Varieties of Religious
Experience), Ralph Waldo Trine (In Tune with the Infinite),
Emmet Fox (The Sermon on the Mount), Glenn Clark (I Will
Lift Up Mine Eyes), and other "new thought"
proponents. (Books by these and other authors can be found
mentioned or discussed in Dick B., The
Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth, 7th ed.; Dick B.,
Dr. Bob and His Library, 3rd ed.;
Bill Pittman, AA: The Way It Began; and DR. BOB and the Good
Oldtimers.)
For 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" and this excellent site:
Silkworth.net. |
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November 18, 1995
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