Alcoholics Anonymous History
Alcoholics Anonymous History:
Alcoholics Anonymous History -- the origins, the roots, and the early tools can be your special, simple, inexpensive way of reading, studying, learning, and applying three of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship program's absolute essentials--as Dr. Bob called them. The three, in the order of your holiday study of A.A, can be (1) The Book of James in the Bible. (2) Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in the Bible, and (3) 1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible--the so-called chapter on love.
Studying Each Chapter in the Bible along with A.A. Literature - one portion at a time
Your study can be easy. You can take one Bible chapter at a time. You can use one of Dick B.'s commentaries on the segment and the chapter. And you can have the Big Book and Steps at your side.
Asking Guidance from God, and Learning A.A.'s Roots in the Bible
The starting place, of course, is seeking God's guidance as to what He wants you to read, absorb, and apply from the particular chapter of what Dr. Bob called "the Good Book." See: Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml. You can order it online..
Alcoholics Anonymous and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
Bill W. and Dr. Bob—both cofounders of Alcoholics Anonymous—each said that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapters 5, 6, and 7) contained the underlying spiritual philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous. And there is much much more to the link than that.
Relevant Items to Look for:
These three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew (5, 6, and 7) form the foundation for many specific expressions and also many of the words in the A.A. Big Book and program. One can start with “Thy will be” done which is found in the Big Book and Matthew 6:10 where Jesus used those words in what some call the “Lord’s Prayer. And in the beginning of A.A. and for many years thereafter, the Lord’s Prayer closed each meeting of the fellowship.
Sermon ideas can be found in Jesus’ Sermon as well as Big Book-Step ideas such as the Third Step “decision,” the Fourth Step Inventory where one is called on to look for his part or wrong in a resentment or harm situation. Also in Steps 8 and 9 where one is called on to agree with his adversary and to settle up any wrongs (make amends) before he goes to the altar to worship. Step 10, of course, is a repeat of many of the ideas in 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9. Dr. Bob’s frequently used “Heavenly Father” language comes from this and other Gospel segments. “Practicing the principles” in Step 12 originally encompassed obeying the Ten Commandments (of which Jesus spoke when he talked of loving God and your neighbor), the Beatitudes which Dr. Bob’s wife called “Christ-like virtues to be cultivated,” and the so-called “Golden Rule” embodied in so many of the suggestions for kind, loving, patient, and forgiving nature.
Holiday Study Groups incorporating Jesus’ Sermon
Since we first featured this piece of history, many AAs, Christian and otherwise, have formed Big Book/Bible Study groups. Some called "James Clubs."
Your Specific A.A. Guide: The James Club and the Original A.A. Program's Absolute Essentials:
Use this all-important guide by Dick B., The James Club and the Original A.A. Program's Absolute Essentials. www.dickb.com/JamesClub.shtml. This guide book covers each of the three “essential” Bible segments considered absolutely essential. And therefore it is a great guide to A.A. and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. You can order this online.
You'll find a chapter by chapter, verse by verse, comparison of portions of Matthew 5, 6, and 7 (the entire sermon) with significant Big Book and other A.A. literature.
Three Suggested Study Tools:
Again, your study tools: The Book of James, The James Club and the Original A.A. Program's Absolute Essentials, and The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible. All available to you on line.
dickb@dickb.com, 808 874 4876.
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