Dear Tom: I make a point of answering all courteous communications, and
yours is such.
Let me, however, point out a couple of facts that have nothing to do
with Holbrook and Buchman
First, the Washingtonians did not believe in God—they simply signed
pledges; and they were long gone by the time Frank Buchman was peeping over the
horizon.
Second, the “Oxford Group” had this chronology. It did not exist until
at least 1919—and even then was spawned by the joint efforts of Buchman’s
mentor at Yale, the author of Soul Surgery in India, and Buchman himself.
Shortly Buchman gathered about him a small—very small—group of Christian
friends—Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Rev. Sherry Day, a Brit and one or two others. They
called themselves “A First Century Christian Fellowship.” And this was the
first name for Buchman’s followers. Next came the phrase “the Groups.” The name
A First Century Christian Fellowship continued to be the predominant name until
the late 1920’s; and then, because a group from Oxford were traveling as a team
to Africa and they were all in the same train car, the press called the group “the
Oxford Group.”
I saw that almost immediately thereafter, invitations to Houseparties
and other such events went out as “The Oxford Group—A First Century Christian
Fellowship” invites….. Thereafter, Rev. Sam Shoemaker frequently wrote of A
First Century Christian Fellowship in the 1930’s. In fact, he authored a long
pamphlet defending “Buchmanism” as “A First Century Christian Fellowship.”
Later in the decade, war clouds were looming in Europe. Pacifists at Oxford
University (nothing to do with Buchman or the “Groups”) began chanting that
they would not die for King or for Country, Buchman decided upon a new name as the war came closer. The name
was “Moral Re-Armament.” The other names were still used in various places; and
Shoemaker completely detached his church from Buchman in 1941. Many years
later, as Buchman had his stroke and “Moral Re-Armament” began disintegrating,
the name was changed in America to “Initiatives for Change” and became much
more concerned with “forgiveness” and “reconciliation” among races and
businesses than anything Buchman himself had authored. You would never see significant mention of the
Oxford Group’s 5 C’s, 4 Absolutes, Surrenders, Restitution, Jesus Christ, the
Bible, and the old Buchman saw (Sin is the problem. Jesus Christ is the Cure.
The result is a miracle).Today, the group is virtually non-existent; and I
personally was able to meet, read the literature of, and interview most of the
Oxford Group activists who were active from the 1920’s. forward—James Draper
Newton, Eleanor Forde Newton, L. Parks Shipley, Sr., Garth Lean, Michael
Hutchinson, Kenneth Belden, Harry Almond, Buchman’s chief lieutenant Morris
Martin, T. Willard Hunter, George Vondermuhll, Jr. Most of these never heard of Dr. Bob
because their focus was never on Akron after the 1933—34 events involving the Firestones.
Second, do I see any connection between Holbrook and the Oxford Group? I have no information that would answer the
issue. Do you? My son Ken and I traveled throughout Vermont digging up all the
many Vermont—Oxford Group—Wilson and Smith connections. And our comprehensive
work is Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous:
His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont. And we
are in the process of publishing Bill W.
and Dr. Bob: The Green Mountain Men of Vermont. Both involve careful,
documented scrutiny of the real source of early A.A. – the Bible, as well as
the Christian organizations and individuals which contributed to the Christian
upbringing of both Bob and Bill as youngsters: (1) Young Men’s Christian
Association. (2) Evangelists like Moody, Sankey, Meyer, Clark, and Folger. (3)
Gospel Rescue Missions. (4) The Great Awakening of 1875 in St. Johnsbury
Vermont. (5) Congregationalism. (6) Salvation Army. (7) Young People’s Society
of Christian Endeavor. But these were concerned with helping drunks instead of
condemning them. The Oxford Group and Buchman had no part in this period. Nor
did the Washingtonians. Do you know any documented facts that would show
otherwise?
Two of my authoritative books that hone in on the Oxford Group role in
A.A. are The Oxford Group &
Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living That Works www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml, and New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker,
and A.A. www.dickb.com/newlight.shtml.
And I hope you will purchase these two books through Amazon.com and get up to
speed on the difference between old school A.A.—which was founded on the Bible
(and the Book of James, 1 Corinthians 13, and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount)—and what
Bill Wilson called his “new version” of the
program—the “Twelve Steps” which were not even published until four
years after A.A. was founded in 1935.
Thank you for writing, and don’t hesitate to give me a phone call .
God bless,
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