Do any early Alcoholics Anonymous Writings Mention Jesus?



Posted: Saturday, November 07, 2009

by Richard Burns, J.D.
Dick B.

[Recently a man named Paul wrote me to ask the foregoing question about mention of Jesus Christ in early A.A. My reply that follows may answer the question for many today]

Dear Paul: Thank you very much for writing. Yours is an important question, and it will probably surprise you to know that there were many many references to Jesus. So many, in fact, that I will only list some categories and then suggest you use the google materials on my site to move further. For example: (1) In his own biography, Bill Wilson spoke of the Great Physician-a metaphor used for Jesus Christ and often expressed by Dr. Silkworth. (2) Anne Smith mentioned Christ in her journal. (3) Rev. Sam Shoemaker-who was called a cofounder of A.A. by Bill-started writing about Jesus Christ in his very first book-Realizing Religion, and continued to do so throughout his long career. (4) Shoemaker pointed out that Calvary Mission-where Bill made his decision for Christ-was the place where Jesus Christ changes lives. (5) Bill marched in a processional from Calvary Church to Madison Square to witness-the group carried the sign, "Jesus Christ changes lives." (6) Endless Oxford Group writings were read by early AAs and frequently mentioned Jesus Christ. (6) Dr. Bob mentioned many times that early AAs considered the Book of James, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 were "absolutely essential to the early program;" and, of course, it was Jesus that delivered the sermon (see Matthews 5, 6, 7). In the Third edition of the Big Book is the account of where a man asked what was responsible for the miracles; and Bill pointed to a picture of Jesus at Gethsemane, saying, "There is is.' (7) On page 191 of the Big Book, both Bill Wilson and Bill Dotson said that the Lord had cured them. (8) Early AAs called the Akron group a Christian fellowship. (8) All AAs were required to profess belief in God and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. (8) The Four Absolutes that were so popular in Akron and Cleveland clearly came from Robert E. Speer's book "The Principles of Jesus." (9) Early AAs studied all kinds of books about Jesus Christ-those of Toyohiko Kagawa, E. Stanley Jones, Oswald Chambers, Nora Smith Holm, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Norman Vincent Peale, Glenn Clark, Donald Carruthers, and even Emmet Fox-who was not a Christian though many thought he was. (10) The Cleveland Central Bulletin was filled with quotations from the Bible and carried the Four Absolutes on its masthead. (10) Clarence Snyder frequently quoted the Bible and mentioned Jesus. (11) Dr. Bob commissioned the four AA of Akron pamphlets, and you can find many references there.

You can find excellent and thoroughly documented materials in such of my titles as Good Morning: Quiet Time, Meditation, and Early A.A.;; The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible; New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A.; The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous; Dr. Bob and His Library; Anne Smith's Journal 1933-1939; The Conversion of Bill W.; Real Twelve Step Fellowship History; The James Club and the Original A.A. Program's Absolute Essentials.

If this is your area of interest, and I certainly hope it is, I'd suggest you obtain one or more of my titles mentioned above. They will supply you with accurate and full details. Please keep in touch. Also, please favor me with your name, mail address, phone, and a few details about yourself.

God Bless, Dick B.

Richard G. Burns, J.D., uses the pen name Dick B.; he is a writer, historian, retired attorney, Bible student, CDAAC, and recovered AA. He has published 39 titles on the biblical roots and Christian Fellowship of early A.A.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Richard G. Burns
from Kihei, Hawaii 1 year 342 days ago.
The more we look at Bill Wilson's early comments and writings, the more we see Jesus mentioned. Thus Bill's letter in 1940 is reproduced in As Bill Sees It on page 114. Check it out. Also, Bill wrote a clergman and signed his letter to the clergyman "In Christ." The foregoing list of items is just one among many. Bill Wilson was or became a Christian at the altar at Calvary Rescue Mission and joined Dr. Bob in insisting that early A.A. members accept Jesus as Lord. That doesn't make A.A. Christian today. It simply reports what early A.A. was like. God Bless, Dick B. \
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