Alcoholics Anonymous History
AA Basics: A StudyBasic Ideas from the Good Book That Dr. Bob Considered "Absolutely Essential"
By Dick
B.
A Study of Basics in Jesus’s Sermon on
the Mount, the Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13 that appear to be directly
related to the essentials in A.A.’s spiritual program of recovery developed in
Akron between 1935 and 1938
Both of A.A.’s founders said that the
Sermon on the Mount – (found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7) – contained the underlying
philosophy of A.A. Moreover, Dr. Bob stated many times that A.A.’s basic ideas
came from their study of the Bible and that the Sermon on the Mount, the Book of
James, and 1 Corinthians 13 were "absolutely essential" to the early A.A.
spiritual program of recovery.
In the years since A.A.’s founding in
1935, there have been endless attempts to compare A.A.’s Twelve Steps with any
number of verses in the Bible—often verses that were neither mentioned nor
studied by the Pioneer AAs. Yet, while he said he did not write the 12 Steps and
had nothing to do with writing them, Dr. Bob said the basic ideas came from the
Bible. And again and again, Dr. Bob mentioned James, Corinthians, and the Sermon
as containing the heart of the A.A. program. Despite these statements, I have
seen no study of the principles or basic ideas in the three mentioned segments
of the Bible that attempts to correlate them with the Twelve Steps
themselves.
For me, as one who has poured over
A.A. history dozens of times in the past fourteen years, who has studied and
practiced the Twelve Steps, and who has taught the Big Book Step instructions to
at least 100 men, the parallels with the Big Book fairly leap from the Bible to
the Big Book. I can’t say that the following verses were ever quoted in one
place by either founder in connection with all the Steps; but I can say that the
verses were quoted many many times by those pioneers and later AAs who mentioned
the Bible in connection with the Steps and, with Dr. Bob, declared the verses to
be "absolutely essential" to the pioneer A.A. program.
I believe you can get the real
Biblical flavor of the Twelve Steps as they originally flowed from the
Bible-studying Christians in Akron and from the lips of Reverend Sam Shoemaker,
Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in New York. I also believe the verses will
put to rest much of the private interpretation and speculation as to what the
Steps really mean.
[Because the following verse
quotations were prepared for, and used by some authors who wished me to present
the verses from the New American Standard Version of the Bible, the
language is that of the NAV, except where otherwise indicated. This is
done even though the King James Version was used almost universally in
early A.A.]
The Twelve Steps and the Correlative Bible Verses
from James, Corinthians, and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount
Step One – Temptation
(the problem); Defeat (the cry for help); Resistence (the solution); and
Abstinence (the "must")
From the Book of
James:
James
1:12-16:
"Blessed is a
man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive
the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one
say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted
by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he
is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not
be deceived, my beloved brethren."
James
4:7-8:
"Submit therefore to God. Resist the
devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded."
[See also 1 Peter
5:8-10: "Be of
sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around
like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your
faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being
accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for
a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in
Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish
you"]
- An Early A.A. Description of Defeat by Bill Wilson:
"No words can tell of the loneliness
and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. Quicksand
stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been
overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master. Trembling, I stepped from the
hospital a broken man. Fear sobered me for a bit. Then came the insidious
insanity of that first drink, and on Armistice Day 1934, I was off
again" (Big Book, 1st ed., p.17)
Step
Two – Believing in, asking of, and receiving from, our Creator: His Help and
Healing!
James
1:5-8:
"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be
given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who
doubts, is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man
ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
James
5:14-16:
"Is any among you sick? Then he must
call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore
the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed
sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins one to another,
and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a
righteous man can accomplish much."
Matthew 7:7-8, 11 – (a
part of the Sermon on the Mount):
"Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
. . . If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to
those who ask Him!"
- Bill Wilson (who began as a self-described conservative atheist) describing his willingness to believe and his own "leap of faith."
"Upon a foundation of complete
willingness I might build what I saw in my friend [Bill’s friend Ebby Thacher,
glowingly sober, ‘made the point blank declaration to Bill that God had done for
him what he could not do for himself.’ His human will had failed. Doctors had
pronounced him incurable. Society was about to lock him up. Like myself
he had admitted complete defeat]. Would I have it? Of course I would! Thus was I
convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want him enough. At long
last I saw, I felt, I believed. . . . How blind I had been" (Big Book,
1st ed., pp. 20-22).
"I remember saying to myself,
‘I’ll do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I’ll call on
him.’ Then, with neither faith nor hope, I cried out, ‘If there be a God, let
him show himself.’ The effect was instant, electric" (Bill W. My First Forty
Years, Hazelden, p. 145).
Step
Three – The Decision to Entrust your life to God’s care
Matthew 6:9-13 – (part
of the Sermon on the Mount):
"Pray, then, in this way: Our Father
who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our
debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever. Amen."
Matthew 6:25, 31-33 –
(part of the Sermon on the Mount):
"For this reason I say to you, do not
be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor
for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the
body more than clothing? . . . . Do not worry then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’ or "What shall we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles
eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you."
James
4:10:
"Humble
yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt
you."
- Bill Wilson’s "surrender" to God as Bill understood Him:
"There I humbly offered myself to God,
as I then understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself
unreservedly under His care and direction" (Big Book, 1st ed., p
22).
"There was utter confidence. I
felt lifted up, as though the great clean wind of a mountain top blew through
and through. God comes to most men gradually, but His impact on me was sudden
and profound" (Big Book, 1st ed., pp. 23-24).
"I’d been incapable of faith
and so, God’s help. . . out of no faith, faith had suddenly appeared. No blind
faith either, for it was fortified by the consciousness of the presence of God.
Despair had turned into utter security. Darkness was banished by cosmic light.
For sure I’d been born again" (Bill W. My First 40 Years, supra,
p. 147).
Step Four – Examining
Yourselves for Sins Committed (Where did you fall
short?)
Matthew
6:43-48 (Love even your enemies – from the Sermon on the
Mount):
"You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your
Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who
love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not
even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly
Father is perfect."
Matthew
7:3-5 (Look for your own faults first – from the Sermon on the
Mount):
"Why do you look at the speck that is
in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own
eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your
eye,’ and behold, the log is in your eye. You hypocrite, first take the log out
of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your
brother’s eye."
James
4:11-12 (God is the lawmaker and is the only judge of conduct, not
you):
"Do not speak against one another,
brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against
the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the
law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able
to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your
neighbor?"
James
5:9-11 (Bear no grudges):
"Do not complain, brethren, against
one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is
standing right at the door. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience,
take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who
endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the
Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is
merciful."
- Description of the moral inventory taken by Earl T. with sponsor Dr. Bob:
"Dr. Bob led
me through all of these steps. At the moral inventory, he brought up several of
my bad personality traits or character defects, such as selfishness, conceit,
jealousy, carelessness, intolerance, ill-temper, sarcasm, and resentments. We
went over these at great length."(Big Book, 4th ed., p.
263).
Step Five
– Admitting your sins to God, Yourself, and Another Person
James 5:16
(Getting your sins on the table and praying for forgiveness and
healing):
"Therefore, confess yours sins to one
another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective
prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
- Wilson’s description of the Oxford Group/Book of James source of this step:
"Agreeing with James in the New
Testament, they thought people ought to confess their sins "one to another."
Heavily emphasizing this wholesale sort of personal housecleaning, they
called the process ‘sharing.’ No only were things to be confessed; something was
to be done about them" (Bill W. My First Forty Years, supra, p.
127).
Step Six –
Declaring your willingness to have God’s Help in abandoning sins you have
confessed.
James 4:8
(Draw near to God, clean house, and purify your hearts):
"Draw near to
God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify
your hearts, you double minded."
James
2:14-17 (Accompany your faith with deeds-"faith without works is
dead"):
"What use is it, my brethren, if
someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a
brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you
says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ and yet you do not give them
what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no
works, is dead, being by itself."
James
1:22-25 (To be blessed, when you "hear" God’s Word, "do
it!"):
"But prove yourselves doers of the
word, and no merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of
the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a
mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately
forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the
perfect law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer
but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he
does."
- Wilson’s parallel language about "conviction" of sins and having them purged:
"Burn the idea into the
consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only
condition is that he trust in God and clean house" (Big Book, 4th
ed., p. 98).
"Circumstances made him
willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to His Maker-then he knew. Even so
has God restored us to our right minds. To this man, the revelation was sudden.
Some of us grow into it more slowly. But He has come to all who have honestly
sought Him. When we drew near to Him, He disclosed Himself to us!" (Big Book,
4th ed., p. 57).
Step Seven
– The conversion process of rebirth and establishment of a new relationship with
God, as one of His children
Matthew
6:10 (It is God’s will that marks the starting point – from the Sermon on the
Mount):
"Your kingdom come. Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew
7:21 (Jesus taught that only those who did the will of his Father would enter
the kingdom of heaven – from the Sermon on the Mount):
"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
:Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father
who is in heaven will enter."
1
Corinthians 13:1-2 (Faith and works must be accompanied by
love):
"If I speak with the tongues of men
and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all
knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have
love, I am nothing."
James
1:17-21 (By grace, souls are saved as a gift—when you receive God’s word of
truth):
"Every good thing given and every
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom
there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will he brought
us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among
His creatures. This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to
hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve
the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that
remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to
save your souls."
[1 Peter 1:17-23 show
the nature of a rebirth where you may become God’s child by believing what the
word of God tells you about Christ’s paying for your sins in giving His life for
you:
"If you
address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work,
conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing
that you were not redeemed with the perishable things like silver or gold from
your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious
blood of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was
foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last
times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him
from the dead and gave Him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. Since
you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the
brethren, fervently love one another from the heart for you have been born again
not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living
and enduring word of God."
Romans 10:6-14, 17 show
exactly what to do: You hear the word; you confess and believe what it says; and
you are "saved," made "righteous," and you are thereby born again—this birth
being a birth that comes from receiving the spirit of God:
"But the
righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: ‘Do not say in your heart, who
will ascend to heaven’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘who will descend
into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it
say" ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’-that is the word of
faith which we are preaching. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes,resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. . . . for ‘whoever will
call on the name of the Lord will be saved,; How then will they call on Him in
whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not
heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?. . . . So faith comes from
hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."]
- Three early AAs attest to the conversion to Christ that was required of them:
Clarence Snyder—who was sponsored by
Dr. Bob, was one of the 40 pioneers, and got sober in February, 1938—described
in detail the "surrender process" by which he accepted Jesus Christ as
his Lord and Saviour (Dick B., The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous,
pp. 193-196).
Larry Bauer of Cleveland—who told the
author that he was in and out of A.A. between 1939 and 1944—said, in a
telephone call and in correspondence of his surrender, "They took me and
that man upstairs to be a born again human being and be God’s helper to
alcoholics" (Dick B., The Akron Genesis, supra, p.
196).
Old-timer Ed Andy of Lorain,
Ohio told the author in a telephone conversation: "They would not let you in
unless you surrendered to Jesus Christ on your knees" (Dick B., The Golden
Text of A.A., p. 31).
Step Eight – Becoming willing to
reconcile with those you’ve hurt and restore to them what you’ve wrongfully
taken
Matthew
6:25-26 (Agree with your adversary quickly – from the Sermon on the
Mount):
"Make friends quickly with your
opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not
hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into
prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid
up the last cent."
Step Nine
– Then Make an Amend and Also Make Any Needed Restitution
Matthew 6:23-24 (Before you worship,
remember your uncompleted amends, and make them – from the Sermon on the
Mount):
"Therefore if you are presenting your
offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first
be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your
offering."
- This quotation from the Sermon on the Mount was so commonly used that it was included in A.A.’s own Grapevine Memorial pamphlet published at the time of Dr. Bob’s death.
Step Ten – Loving and serving God and
your neighbor are a continuing obligation of the changed life [A.A.’s Big Book
declares that Love and Tolerance are its Code]
Matthew 7:12 (The "Golden Rule" – Do
unto others – from the Sermon on the Mount):
"In everything, therefore, treat
people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the
Prophets."
James
2:8-10 (The "Royal Law" – Love thy neighbor):
"If, however, you are fulfilling the
royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are
committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps
the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of
all."
Matthew
5:43-44 (Love even your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you – from the
Sermon on the Mount):
"You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
James
3:13-18 (The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who
make peace):
"Who among you is wise and
understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of
wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do
not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which
comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and
selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonably, full of mercy and
good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is
righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
1
Corinthians 13:2, 4-8 (I am nothing without love. Love is defined, and it never
fails):
"If I have the gift of prophecy, and
know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have faith, so as to
remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. . . . Love is
patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not
arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, endures all things. Love never fails. . . ."
Step
Eleven – Prayer, Seeking God’s Guidance, Studying and Applying God’s Word, and
Overcoming anxiety by turning first to God
James
5:13-16 (Pray and give thanks, praying to overcome suffering and sickness, and
to receive forgiveness):
"Is anyone among you suffering? Then
he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you
sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered
in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and
if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. . . . The effective prayer
of a righteous man can accomplish much."
James
2:21-24 (Believe Scripture, and also perfect that believing by obedient
action):
"Was not Abraham our father
justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You
see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works,
faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham
believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called a
friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith
alone."
James 1:22
(Thus be a doer of the Word, and not just a hearer):
"But prove yourselves doers of the
word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."
James
1:5-6 (If you need wisdom, ask of God, believing, without
doubting):
"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be
given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who
doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man
ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the
Lord."
Matthew 6:24-25, 31-34 (God knows your
needs, seek Him first and you will receive; so there is no need to worry – from
the Sermon on the Mount):
"No one can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to
you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will
drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than
food, and the body more than clothing. . . . Do not worry then, saying, ‘what
will we eat?’ or "What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for
clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly
Father knows you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about
tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its
own."
Step Twelve – Experiencing a Changed
Life in Christ. Carrying a Message that demonstrates the fruits of Obeying God’s
Will. And Practicing an obedient life founded on God’s Word and perfected by
acting on Christ’s teachings of love and service.
The Awakening
Matthew 7:13-14, 18-21, 24-25 (The
wise man experiences the fruitful life—based on hearing Christ’s words and
acting in obedience to God’s will; for that man’s life is founded on the "Rock"
– from the Sermon on the Mount):
"Enter through the narrow gate; for
the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are
many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that
leads to life, and there are few who find it.
"A good tree cannot produce bad fruit,
nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their
fruits.
"Therefore everyone who hears
these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built
his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been
founded on a rock."
[2 Corinthians 5:17 was
one of the most frequently quoted verses by pioneer AAs and was intended to
describe the end result of the conversion process:
"Therefore if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold,
new things have come."]
The Witness
James
1:26-27 (Describing the real witness of one who is "doing" the
word):
"If anyone
thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in
the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
James
2:15-17 (An illustration of "giving it away to keep it"):
"If a brother or sister is without
clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace,
be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for
their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being
by itself."
Fellowship with God and Other
Believers
1
Corinthians 13:3-6 (Practicing the principles in love and
service):
"And if I give all my
possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do
not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not
jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it
does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong
suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the
truth."
Other "principles" from the Bible that are mentioned
throughout Early AA Literature:
The "Ten Commandments"
(See Exodus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 5:7-21)
The two "Great"
Commandments as taught by Jesus (See Matthew 22:36-40)
The "Beatitudes"
taught by Jesus in his "Sermon on the Mount" (See Matthew 5:3-12—Dr. Bob’s wife,
Anne Ripley Smith, recorded in her journal and shared with AAs and their
families that these beatitudes were Christian virtues to be cultivated. For
example, see "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" – Matthew
5:8; and "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God"
– Matthew 5:9)
The "Four Absolutes" –
Absolute Honesty, Absolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, Absolute Love -
extracted from the teachings of Jesus, by Dr. Robert E. Speer; published in his
title: The Principles of Jesus; and adopted as the four "standards" of
the Oxford Group and the four "yardsticks" for measuring moral behavior in early
AA.
There are
many other verses which impacted on A.A. and which are covered in my titles
The Good Book and The Big Book (http://www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml);
The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous (http://www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml);
New Light
on Alcoholism
(http://www.dickb.com/newlight.shtml);
Good
Morning: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early
A.A. (http://www.dickb.com/goodmorn.shtml);
and
Turning
Point: A History of Early A.A.s Spiritual Roots and
Successes (http://www.dickb.com/turning.shtml).
In addition
to the specific verses mentioned in the foregoing titles in connection with A.A.
itself, there certainly are the four sets of verses which Dr. Robert E. Speer
believed were representative of the absolute moral standards and teachings of
Jesus Christ.
You may
contact Dick B. by writing to PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837; phone/fax: 808 874 4876
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