A.A. Big Book/12 Step/Bible Study Groups:
Which Bible Version Should We Use?
By Dick B.
© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved
Part One
First, Which “Big Book” Should We
Use?
Until just recently,
if an A.A. group chose to use the first (1939) edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (“the Big Book”), it might encounter several objections: (1) The 1939 edition is
not copyrighted and is thus in the public domain; i.e., it is not/no longer
“owned” by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (2) The 1939 edition was
not “A.A. General Service Conference-approved” (as there was no “Conference” in
existence in 1939 to approve it!); and therefore, some asserted, neither
individuals nor groups should (be allowed to) use it. (3) Use of the 1939 edition, some asserted, was
(somehow) a violation of the Twelve Traditions because that edition was not A.A.
General Service Conference-approved literature. (4) Occasionally, groups have
been stricken, or barred, from A.A. office group listings if someone decided
that a particular piece of literature was not A.A. General Service Conference-approved, was
considered religious, or had not been approved by Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, Inc., in New York.
Next, though few
seemed to realize it, the personal testimonies in the “Personal Stories”
section of the A.A. Big Book--the largest portion of the book in all four of
its editions—were intentionally and systematically removed from editions of the
Big Book. Specifically, 22 of the original 29 personal testimonies in the first
edition’s “Personal Stories” section were not included in the second (1955),
third (1976), and fourth (2001) editions. And another four of the first
edition’s personal testimonies in that section were not included in the fourth
edition. Thus, all but three of the personal testimonies in the “Personal
Stories” section of the first edition of the Big Book were removed; and they
have seldom been seen or studied by any group or individual. A few years back,
the 26 first edition personal testimonies not in the fourth edition were
reprinted by A.A. itself—but with apologies and criticisms. In 2003, A.A.
published Experience, Strength and Hope:
Stories from the First Three Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous (New York, NY:
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2003). This book contains the
statement: “This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature.” This
volume also states:
The importance of these personal stories cannot be overstated. [p. ix]
Experience, Strength and Hope then quotes A.A. cofounder Bill W. as
follows from a 1954 letter he wrote “when he was immersed in collecting new
stories for the second edition . . .”:
“The story section of the Big Book is far more important than most of
us think. . . . [I]t is the written equivalent of hearing speakers at an A.A.
meeting; it is our show window of results.” [p. ix]
After quoting Bill
W. himself as to the importance of the personal testimonies of early AAs, the
book begins to bring into question both those A.A. pioneers and their personal
testimonies—particularly those stories found in the first edition:
Most of the A.A. writers got sober before the Twelve Traditions had
been adopted, many of them in that chaotic period when A.A. was “flying blind”
and learning from its many mistakes.” [p. xi]
A little further on,
Experience, Strength and Hope goes on
to say:
The stories that follow, reprinted from the first edition, take us back
to the “trial and error” days, . . . The A.A.s we meet here . . . were still a
little unsure and afraid of the “thing” they had found, still groping for clear
guidelines, still largely uneducated about their alcoholism. [p. 2]
The book continues:
Some of the rough edges found in the first edition stories (the use of
profanity, for example, references to specific religious beliefs, and several
rather disorganized stories) would be smoothed out in those chosen for later
editions. [pp. 2-3]
We encourage readers
carefully to note the following characterizations found spread over the three
statements quoted immediately above:
“before the Twelve Traditions had been adopted”;
“that chaotic period”;
“its many mistakes”;
“a little unsure and afraid”;
“still groping”
“largely uneducated about their alcoholism”; and
“rough edges . . . references to specific religious beliefs”
Such
characterizations do little but diminish the stature, reliability, and quality
of the personal testimonies of those A.A. pioneers for a sick, confused,
bewildered newcomer. They tend to discourage the newcomer from reading anything
but what today’s authorities deem to be above question. And these editorial
characterizations come only many years after Dr. Bob, Bill W., A.A. Number
Three Bill D., and the many other successful pioneers were no longer around to
respond.
For all these
reasons, we recommend the following publication:
Alcoholics Anonymous: “The Big Book”: The
Original 1939 Edition, with
a New Introduction by Dick B. (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2011)
The A.A. General
Service Conference-approved book Experience,
Strength and Hope has now essentially given “Conference-approved
literature” status “retroactively” to the personal testimonies in the “Personal
Stories” section of the first edition. And the 23-page Introduction in the
Dover Publications reprint of the first edition provides the best historical
backdrop for those who want to know what early AAs did before there was a Big
Book, before there were any “Steps” or “Traditions,” and before there were any “drunkalogs”
or meetings of the kinds we know today. More and more AAs, members of other 12
Step Fellowships and groups, and other students of A.A. history are using this
Dover Publications reprint of the first edition for their study sessions. The
book is available on Amazon.com for under $15.00:
“The Big Book Has Never Been Changed!”--???
By the way, have you
ever heard the following claim?
“The Big Book has never changed!”
The assertion above
is another one of the major, destructive “myths”
that have circulated within the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous because so few
have done the “careful reading”
spoken of on page 567 of “Appendix II: Spiritual Experience” in the fourth
edition. Please note the following phrases used in the Preface of the fourth
edition:
“strong sentiment against any radical changes” [p. xi];
“the first portion of this volume, . . . has been left largely
untouched” [p. xi];
“revisions made for the second, third, and fourth editions” [p. xi]’
“The second edition added . . .” [p. xi];
“Upon careful
reading”—to use again the language of the Big Book—wouldn’t you agree that most
reasonable people would already conclude that the Big Book hand been “changed?”
And there is much
more.
“But the chief change [in
the second edition] was in the section
of personal stories, which was expanded to reflect the Fellowship’s growth.
“Bill’s Story,” “Doctor Bob’s Nightmare,” and one other personal history from
the first edition were retained intact; three were edited and one of these was
retitled; new versions of two stories were written, with new titles; thirty
completely new stories were added; and the
story section was divided into three parts, under the same headings that
are used now. [pp. xi-xii; bolding added]
There is a significant
inaccuracy in the section of text quoted immediately above: “Bill’s Story” was
not included in “the section of personal stories” in any of the four editions
of the Alcoholics Anonymous. “Bill’s
Story” is found on pages 10-26 of the first edition; and is found on pages 1-16
of the second, third, and fourth editions. The “Personal Stories” section
begins on unnumbered page 181 of the first edition; and it begins on unnumbered
page 165 of the second, third, and fourth editions.
In addition--and
very significant to our discussion of “changes” in the Big Book—there is what
might be generously described as a “misimpression” left by the section of text
quoted above from pages xi-xii of the fourth edition. What is not stated
clearly in the section of text just quoted is that 22 of the original 29 personal testimonies found in the “Personal
Stories” section of the first edition were not included in the second edition.
(See page ix of Experience, Strength and Hope;
and note that Experience, Strength and
Hope states on page 221 that the story titled “The Car Smasher” in the
first edition was retitled as “He Had to Be Shown” and was completely rewritten
for the second edition.) Those 22 personal stories were also not included in
the third and fourth editions.
At least the
discussion in the fourth edition’s Preface of changes made in the fourth
edition —including the exclusion of personal testimonies found in the “Personal
Stories” section of earlier editions--is clearer:
This fourth edition . . . revises the three sections of personal
stories as follows. . . .
Part I . . . six stories have been deleted. . . .
Part II . . . eleven [stories have been] . . . taken out. . .
Part III . . . eight [stories] . . . were removed . . .
Among those 25
personal stories from earlier editions that were “deleted”/”taken
out”/”removed” from the fourth edition, four
were from the first edition:
1. “He Had to Be Shown” (which was titled “The
Car Smasher” in the first edition, and was retitled and completely rewritten
for the second edition—see Experience,
Strength and Hope, 221 note);
2. “The European Drinker”;
3. “The News Hawk” (which was titled “Traveler,
Editor, Scholar” in the first edition, and was retitled and edited for the
second edition—see Experience, Strength
and Hope, 268 note); and
4. “Home Brewmeister.”
In other words,
A.A.’s today who read the current (2001) edition of Alcoholics Anonymous are only seeing three of the original 29
personal testimonies found in the “Personal Stories” section of the first
(1939) edition of the Big Book. That is, in part, why the fourth edition’s
Preface speaks of:
All changes made over the years in the Big Book . . .
Hopefully, from now
on, you will reject the “myth” that “the Big Book has never changed.”
And that is why we
recommend, for your study and recovery, that you select Alcoholics Anonymous: “The Big Book”: The Original 1939 Edition,
Dover Publications’ reprint of the first edition, the Big Book whose contents
were printed before the many changes that were made in “the Basic Text”—i.e.,
the whole book Alcoholics Anonymous
(see page ix of the fourth edition’s Preface: “. . . this book has become the basic
text for our Society.”)--and before so many of the first edition’s personal
testimonies were removed from sight for dozens of years.
Part Two
Now, Which Bible Should We Use?
Two Suggested Biblical Pieces Used by Early
AAs
in Their “Christian Fellowship” Program
Which Bible should
we use? The most appropriate answer is “the Holy Bible”—in this case, the King James Version--which was the
English Bible Version used, studied, and quoted by the early A.A. pioneers, and
which provided the basic ideas for their program of recovery.
The next answer can
properly be: The Runner’s Bible:
Spiritual Guidance for People on the Run, compiled and annotated by Nora
Holm, with an Introduction by Polly Berrien Berends (Lakewood, CO: I Level, Acropolis Books, 1998). This
book is a reprint of The Runner’s Bible
prepared in 1910 by Nora Holm. I found a copy of the earlier book among the
books of Dr. Bob that were shown to me by Dr. Bob’s son and daughter. And Dr.
Bob’s son, Robert R. Smith, told me that this was a favorite devotional his
father used. And a statement of the Table of Contents may well show why:
“In the Morning Will I Order My
Prayer to Thee”
The Godhead
God the Father
The Christ of God
Him That Filleth All in All
His Image and Likeness
Walk in Love
Rejoice Always
In Everything Give Thanks
Fear Not, Only Believe
Get Wisdom, Get Understanding
Ask and Ye Shall Receive
He That is The Greatest Among You
Shall Be Your Servant
Forgive and Ye Shall Be Forgiven
Be of Good Cheer, Thy Sins Be
Forgiven Thee
I Will Help Thee
Behold, I Will Heal Thee
For Thine Is The Power
The Lord Shall Guide Thee
Continually
Thou Shalt Walk In Thy Way Safely
All Things Are Yours
Peace Be Unto You
Happy Shalt Thou Be
The Lord Will Lighten My Darkness
Those familiar with
the Bible will quickly recognize the biblical references in the subjects. They
will also see biblical expressions applied in early A.A. And they will be
seeing, in the many verses under each subject, just what “basic ideas” Dr. Bob
stated the early AAs began studying, exerting themselves to learn, and
teaching.
Four Well-Known, Relatively-New “Recovery” Bibles
The next four
choices of a Bible for study are those that arose long, long after A.A. was
founded in 1935. And here are they are:
1. Serenity:
A Companion for Twelve Step Recovery. Complete with New Testament,
Psalms & Proverbs by Dr.
Robert Hemfelt and Dr. Bernard Fowler (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1990). Hemfelt is a psychologist who is said to have specialties in the
treatment of codependency, addictions, and adult-children-of-abuse issues.
Fowler is said to have a background in education, counseling, and
administration; and, at the time Serenity
was published, he was serving as the director of a Christian counseling clinic
in Dallas, Texas. The New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs used in Serenity come from the New King James
Version.
Neither A.A.’s founders nor its other pioneers limited their Bible
study in the way Serenity does. The
authors state that the Twelve Steps are printed but adapted for use with all
dependencies. There is extensive psychological talk about addictions and the
like. The authors err in emphasizing the significance of the Oxford Group; while,
at the same time, omitting: (a) the Christian predecessors of A.A., (b) the
Christian upbringing of A.A.’s cofounders—which included intensive Bible study
by both Bill W. and Dr. Bob as young men, (c) the fact that early A.A. in Akron
called itself a “Christian fellowship,” and (d) the important statements by Dr.
Bob that the earlier AAs felt the answer to their problems was in the Bible,
and that the parts they considered absolutely essential were Jesus’ Sermon on
the Mount, the Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13. Missing too is the original
Akron A.A. program which is stated in summary form in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers at page 131; and missing in addition
are the 16 practices of the early A.A. Christians which implemented the
seven-point program as summarized.
Serenity’s commentaries do not cover the important early A.A. requirements of
belief in the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Hebrews 11:6); conversion
to God through His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9); the significance in James
4:7 of submitting to God; the many phrases, verses, and concepts in Matthew 5,
6, and 7 from which Step ideas come; and the high regard in which early AAs held
1 Corinthians 13 and the importance of love.
2. Recovery Devotional Bible New International
Version: With 365 Daily Readings (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1993). Verne Becker is the General Editor. This Bible contains a great
many tools to aid study. The Bible’s front matter, for example, includes the
following items: (a) Alphabetical Order of the Books of the Bible; (b) Acknowledgements;
(c) Introduction to the Recovery
Devotional Bible; (d) The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous; (e) The
Bible Step by Step; (f) Spiritual Roots of the Twelve Steps; (g) Working
Together – The Bible and the Twelve Steps; (h) The Recovery Family; and (i) Preface
to the New International Version.
In
one sense, this version attempts to be all things to all studies. It takes on
the role of a daily devotional. It covers a bit of A.A. history. It is filled
with opinions as to how this or that verse can be applied to some Step or A.A.
language.
And, except for a well-known article by Tim Stafford, there is no
adequate presentation of early A.A., or of the all-important Sermon on the
Mount, Book of James, and 1 Corinthians 13.
As an NIV, the book is perhaps more easily understood, yet open to
private interpretation that may or may not square with the idea that the Word
of God is God-inspired. The more one attempts to mix the secular with the
biblical, the more the biblical end suffers from man-made reasoning instead of
being the product of a renewed mind, coming from the transformation discussed
in Romans 10:9, 12:1-3, and 2 Corinthian 5:7. There is no adequate recognition
of the healing or cure that Bill Wilson claimed when he wrote “The Lord has
cured me of this terrible disease.”
3. The Life Recovery Bible: The Living Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., 1992). The Executive Editors are David Stoop and Stephen Arterburn. This
Bible is filled with footnotes explaining verses. It is filled with “The Big
Picture” and “The Bottom Line” statements for each book of the Bible. It
contains “Reflections” and “Insights.” Sprinkled through the various books of
the Bible are large column references to a Step, and then to the authors’
attempt to relate the Step idea to a particular part of a particular book of
the Bible. There is an Index to Twelve Step Devotionals, an Index to Recovery
Principle Devotionals, an Index to Serenity Prayer Devotionals, and an Index to
Recovery Reflections.
As my son Ken and I have traveled all over the United States speaking
at conferences; meeting with Christian treatment leaders, counselors, recovery
pastors, doctors, and clergy;
researching with teams of AAs and other 12 Step people; and attending Christian
recovery fellowships, we have seen this Bible in wide use.
As with the other three “recovery” Bibles, there are several problems
that make them difficult for both the newcomer and/or the sponsor to master and
utilize. First, they don’t discuss “old-school” A.A. adequately or accurately. Second,
their histories are skewed to Bill Wilson’s “new version of the program”
represented by the Twelve Steps. Third, they tend to excuse or try to explain
how A.A. is “spiritual but not religious;” and how it is open to all, including
atheists. Fourth, they strive and strain to make Bible verses fit into and with
twelve little “Steps.” Finally, they use the Bible in a way that neither early
AAs nor most present-day AAs can find focused on their own life-problems,
disasters, and legal and other difficulties—all events common in the
alcoholic’s life and as to which God can provide guidance, forgiveness, and
deliverance. In that respect, they also fail to emphasize “cure” and “healing,”
though early AAs spoke repeatedly of this. They fail to point much to the role
that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the the Christian Recovery
Movement. And they certainly fail to report adequately or accurately the real
Christian origins of A.A. ideas from about 1850 forward—efforts or people and
organizations that helped rather than condemned alcoholics. These included the
Young Men’s Christian Association, the Salvation Army, Gospel Rescue Missions,
Congregationalists, the great evangelists, and the United Society of Christian
Endeavor.
If simplicity of presentation and simplicity of spiritual understanding
are essential to an AAs’ being lifted out of the hole by the power, love, forgiveness,
healing, and guidance of Almighty God, then this simplicity is missing in every
one of the Bibles that try to present something other than God’s Word alone.
4. Celebrate Recovery Bible: New International
Version (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2007). Pastor John Baker is the founder of Celebrate Recovery, a
ministry of Saddleback Church in California. The book is huge. It grew out of a
resentment which Baker expressed as follows:
Finally convinced my life had to
change, I began to attend AA meetings without Cheryl’s knowledge. . . . However,
at my AA meetings I was mocked when I talked about my Higher Power—the only
true Higher Power, Jesus Christ. [Celebrate
Recovery Bible, “Celebrate Recovery: A Brief History,” page ix]
And
Baker changed the course of recovery for thousands of people and churches
across the country.
As Baker explains in an introductory section called “About the Celebrate Recovery Bible”:
The Celebrate Recovery Bible
provides special features highlighting aspects of Scripture that speak directly
to our need to break free from life’s hurts, hang-ups and habits. [unnumbered
page xi]
Baker goes on to list a number of features present in the Celebrate Recovery Bible, introducing
them by stating:
. . . [T]he familiar twelve steps remain intact under the Celebrate
Recovery model, except that the vague language about a Higher Power gets
specific, focusing on the one and only
true Higher Power, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Celebrate Recovery is
built on the eight proven Biblical principles based on the well-loved
Beatitudes from Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount . . . The Christ-centered
twelve steps fit neatly and naturally underneath the umbrella of the eight
principles . . . [unnumbered page xi].
He then lists the following features of the Celebrate Recovery Bible: (a) Book Introductions; (b) Character
Studies; (c) Recovery Stories; (d) Lesson Studies; (e) Recovery-related
Scripture Ties; (f) Thirty Days of Devotions; (g) Index to Subjects; (h) Index
to Features; and (i) Indexes to Character Sketches and Recovery Stories.
I will let this Bible speak for itself and be explained at a Celebrate
Recovery meeting to those who have chosen to go the Celebrate Recovery route.
And there are many! Once again, the sheer volume of Bible, explanations,
mixture of Beatitudes and Steps, along with devotionals and the like, would
seem to challenge a newcomer, a sponsor, and/or a group leader in a way that
A.A. does not do—at least not in voluminous writing.
But it is fair to say that this is the newest, and possibly the
most-widely-used, “recovery Bible” today. And omitting a discussion here would
be wrong.
Consider This Simple, Christian Choice That Is
Available
Most A.A. newcomers
are sick, bewildered, confused, in endless troubles, frightened, and timid in
their approach to recovery.
“Keep it simple” is
a common piece of wisdom of the rooms that is frequently suggested; and, if of
value, is tailored to moving the alcoholic out of acute and delayed withdrawal,
brain damage, confusion, and fear.
In the early days,
A.A. had qualified teachers. Among the lay teachers were:
·
Dr.
Bob’s wife—an ardent Bible student and former teacher;
·
Henrietta
Seiberling—a devoted Christian and Vassar graduate; and
·
T. Henry
Williams—a famous inventor and former Sunday school teacher.
Then there were the
clergy on the East Coast—led by Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. And there was the
highly-respected physician William D. Silkworth, M.D.—specialist in treating
thousands of alcoholics.
Each, in his own
way, spoon-fed newcomers. With prayer. With Quiet Time. With three rather-brief
segments of the Bible—Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the Book of James, and 1
Corinthians 13. With surrender to God. With Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
With much-needed hospitalization. With living or meeting in the homes as the
early First Century Christians did. And with simply helping others not so far
along in recovery—all the while fellowshipping, witnessing, and converting.
How about the
following choice when it comes to the Bible, the Big Book, and Study Groups?
1. Select a Bible version of choice--used if
desired, from a thrift shop.
2. Think about the King James Version since that was used by A.A. pioneers and quoted
in later A.A. literature.
3. Read and teach from the Book of James, Jesus’
Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and 1 Corinthians 13.
4. Bring in a pastor or Bible teacher to conduct
study of those three books.
5. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
6. Discuss. Discuss. Discuss.
7. Accompany all this with prayer, use of a
devotional like The Runner’s Bible,
and simple literature like Henry Drummond’s The
Greatest Thing in the World (about 1 Cor 13).
8. Graduate into the books early AAs read for
spiritual growth.
9. Have a Christian A.A. teach simple A.A.
history.
10. Have a Christian A.A. who is Big Book-oriented
teach how the historical approach and the Bible can be applied in A.A. today.
11. Witness!
