"We Never Apologize to Anyone for Depending upon Our Creator." ["Alcoholics Anonymous," 4th ed., 68]

 

By Ken B.

Copyright 2015 Anonymous. All rights reserved.

 

I recently published an article titled "Christ, the Cross, and the Holy Ghost in the Big Book? Yep." In that article, I presented a portion of what may be one of the earliest--if not the earliest--versions of "Bill's Story," chapter one in "Alcoholics Anonymous" ("the Big Book.") My publication of that article upset a man named "John," and he posted on Facebook a "critique" of my article. I responded. Then he responded. Here is my reply to his second post about my article. (And yes, I did first post my reply directly on the Facebook thread where the interaction has been going on.)

 

"John, in my response to your comments about the article I wrote recently, "Christ, the Cross, and the Holy Ghost in the Big Book? Yep" (http://mauihistorian.blogspot.com/.../christ-cross-and...), I quoted from or referenced the following pieces of A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature: (1) "Alcoholics Anonymous," 4th ed., four times (A.A.'s proposed solution to overcoming the problem of alcoholism, 25; the front cover of the dust jacket of the hardback; the Preface; the Foreword to Fourth Edition); (2) "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" (Foreword); (3) "DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers" (131); (4) 'PASS IT ON' (171); and (5) "The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous" (Item # P-53), twice (13, 14). You, on the other hand, made one reference to "The program of Alcoholics Anonymous as contained in the first 164 pages," and quoted the five words "'God as we understood Him'" found in Steps 3 and 11 once. You: (1) characterized the nine specific references I made to A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature as "item[s] of minutiae" and as "peripheral information surrounding the fellowship;" and (2) implied that my quotations and references were "obscure reference[s];" and that I was one of the "you people" whom you accused of "introducing at meetings a revisionist version of the A.A. program that features Jesus Christ as its driving force." You stated: "Mr. [B.], I do not choose to respond to each item of minutiae that you crammed into your 1000 word rebuttal paragraph." In fact, you answered none of the points I made and offered zero evidence for your assertions. I'm focused on carrying the message to alcoholics and addicts who still suffer by sharing with them the roles played by God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible in early A.A.'s astonishing success--as recorded in A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature and other authoritative sources, and by providing the publication data for those sources so that people can verify what I am sharing for themselves, if they so choose. Ken B. :)"

 

The Big Book, 4th ed., also states on page 68: "We never apologize for God." I didn't, and I won't. In GOD's love, Ken B. :)