God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century [Paperback]

Dick B. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

God and Alcoholism presents a new challenge for the 21st Century. It is a study of the original and highly successful spiritual recovery program of early Alcoholics Anonymous and the changes that have occurred in the last six decades since the founding. It presents the seven specifics, the "musts," and the "not required" features of the pioneer program. It points to A.A.'s merits and accomplishments in the 20th Century, particularly its success through reliance on the Creator, its pride in producing "cures," and its challenges to finding definitions for "alcoholism." Next, the author describes the enormous emphasis early AAs placed on the power of Almighty God, the views of scholars about that, and the Biblical assurances of help from the "Heavenly Father." Then there is a review of the "nonsense gods" of recovery and the wide attraction they've had for therapists, 12 Steppers, clergy, psychologists, and others. The author concludes with a challenge to eliminate! the dismal recovery rate today by recalling, re-affirming, and reinstating the God-centered program of the Founders, Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Bibliography, index, and endorsements.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A must read book . . . for anyone in recovery. This man pulls no punches showing the connection of God and Alcoholism. -- Recovery for Today, Addictions Coalition of Delaware,September, 2002

Many thanks to Dick B., the leading historian of A.A., for this unique and valuable study. -- The Reverend Howard J. Clinebell, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology, Former Professor of Pastoral Psychology and Counseling, Claremont Graduate University; Author of 13 books, including

Professionals will welcome this important research and documentation. -- Mel Schulstad, Col., U.S.A.F. (Ret.) CCD (NCAC II) Counselor; Co-founder and past president NAADAC; Co-author,

This message by historian Dick B. about God and A.A. is long overdue -- Ozzie and Bonnie Lepper, Wilson House at East Dorset, VT

From the Publisher

Today's recovery literature is filled with questionable descriptions of the "Power" upon which early AAs relied and today supposedly rely for recovery; a very plain reluctance to concede the importance of God, the Bible, church or religion; and a variety of tailored descriptions of alcoholism and addictions that render them impervious to much but "treatment." The author's title is refreshing. It tackles God head on. God's power is identified. God's cures are identified. Alcoholism's curability is identified. And the nonsense radiators, lightbulbs, goddesses, and idols that have crept into the recovery movement are repudiated. Readers and suffering alcoholics, addicts, and dependents will find much encouragement from the refreshing documentation of what the Creator accomplished for alcoholics in the 1930's and can accomplish today--just as A.A.'s founders promised in their basic text in 1939.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Paradise Research Publications, Inc. (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885803346
• ISBN-13: 978-1885803344
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm an active, recovered member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I use the pen name Dick B. to conform to A.A. Traditions. I am also a writer, an historian, a Christian, a Bible student, a certified CDAAC, a retired attorney, and A.A. with over 25 years of continuous sobriety. As of October, 2011, I had, for more than 21 years, been researching the roots of early A.A. in the Bible, United Christian Endeavor, the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the Young Men's Christian Association, the evangelists of the 1800's, the life-changing program of the Oxford Group, the teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Quiet Time, the teachings of Anne Ripley Smith (Dr. Bob's wife), and the roles of William James, Carl Jung, Richard Peabody, New Thought writers, William D. Silkworth, Christian literature and devotionals of the day. And published 42 titles and over 675 articles on all aspects of A.A.'s spiritual history, biblical roots, and astonishing successes in the 1930's and very early 1940's. And why? Because many in the 12 Step Fellowships tire of hearing about a 'higher power' that can be a tree, a radiator, a lightbulb, the group, or Gertrude. And they tire of seeing Biblical expressions in A.A.'s basic text and early literature and yet hearing today's literature stating that A.A. is 'spiritual, but not religious' when outsiders and the courts readily see its religious character and many therefore believe they should be able to learn A.A. Christian roots. And they tire of the fatalism that abounds in recovery writings and talk today. So I decided to find out where A.A. came from, and then pass on to the 100 plus men I have sponsored, the truth about A.A.'s roots. Currently and still today, one history after another appears in print and purports to talk about A.A.'s beginnings. Yet there is little or no mention of the Bible, of God, of Jesus Christ, of Divine healing, of redemptive forgiveness, or of deliverance from the power of darkness. Nonetheless, these unmentioned or little mentioned Christian elements were relied upon by early AAs for their astonishing recoveries. The fact is that they declared they were cured by the power of God and had a documented 75 to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless, medically incurable, alcoholics who gave the program their best shot. So each of my 42 published titles and innumerable articles cover some aspect, and often more than one, of A.A.'s seven major Biblical and basic roots: (1) The Bible. (2) Quiet Time and the daily devotionals. (3) The teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Jr. (4) The life-changing program of the Oxford Group. (5) The details in the spiritual journal kept by Anne Ripley Smith (co-founder DR. Bob's wife) and shared with the pioneers and their families, but unmentioned today. (6) The extensive Christian literature ranging from St. Augustine to Brother Lawrence to Henry Drummond to John Mott to Harry Emerson Fosdick to Glenn Clark to Oswald Chambers, and a host of others. (7) One of the most recent finds has been the roots of Akron A.A. in the United Christian Endeavor Society. If one wants to understand the role, power, and love of God our Creator in A.A. today, that person will not accomplish much in the meetings, nor even in the "something" or "somebody" definitions that are pumped out today as a "power" to seek. Nonetheless, they can find accurate facts in my thoroughly researched and documented work of the past 21 years. For A.A. history abounds with truths from the Bible: how to come to God through His son Jesus Christ, how to be healed, how to comport yourself in accordance with Christian principles, how to pray, and how to receive guidance as one of God's kids. It's all there; and I welcome your comments and the many I receive each day. There's still plenty to learn and pass on. God Bless, Dick B. PS: Many of our latest findings are in The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010 www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml. Many are frequently posted on my blog www.mauihistorian.blogspot.com, as well as my facebook and twitter entries

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overcoming Nonsense gods in recovery programs, November 19, 2006

By 

John Albert Hill Jr. "Bible student in recovery" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century (Paperback)

Dick B. dealt with this proliferating "goofy gods" recovery problem straight on. More and more therapists, counselors, rehabs, and even AAs are substituting absurd names for "god" in place on the one, true, living God who was the source of power relied on for recovery in A.A. Reverend Sam Shoemaker--dubbed a co-founder of A.A. by Bill W.--rejected such practices when he spoke to AAs at their International Convention. In this book, the author deals with the originating expressions--higher power, power greater than ourselves, and God as we understood Him--and shows how they were weak and compromising expressions that replaced the Heavenly Father, Creator, Maker, Father, God of our fathers, Father of Lights, and Spirit with plainly Biblical origins and meanings. In keeping with a belated deal made by three AAs--Bill W., Hank P., and Fitz M., the stage was set after the Big Book manuscript was readied for publication. Fitz protested that the change would obliterate the Christian and Biblical expressions which were part of the original program. Fitz lost. The Step language was changed. The original materials were simply tossed out and lost. And if all that merely involved a search for original meanings, the problem would be a tiny one. However, AAs, counselors, and those associated with recovery began calling their "higher power" a radiator, a light bulb, a tree, a table, a chair, Santa Claus, Ralph, Gertrude, a door knob, a rock, the goddess, and many many more idolatrous words and phrases. Such usage offends me because it deceives and misleads. It also clearly violates the Ten Commandments, which were revered in early A.A. And it is best answered, perhaps, by the explanation of such nonsense in Psalm 115. I am delighted that Dick looked at the Big Book titles, the Bible names and titles, and then documented all the places where the goofy god names replaced the Creator. I rejoice too in the careful studies by Stewart C., Dick B., and George T. over the years which showed that the word "God" and Biblical synonyms such as Creator, Maker, Father, as well as descriptive pronouns numbered over 400 in the Third Edition of the Big Book. By contrast, "higher power" is used twice--both times in the context of the word "God." I doubt that atheists and rim-runners will find much comfort in reading the facts as to how far the "God business" has gotten out of line; but I am sure that devout believers--Christians, Jews, Protestants, and Roman Catholics alike will welcome a book that tells it like it was instead of encouraging sick alcoholics to "find" and put other gods before Yahweh, the Creator. There's more to be read also in Dick's titles, Cured; When Early AAs Were Cured and Why; The Good Book and The Big Book; and The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The One true living God of early A.A., and the other stuff, April 17, 2008

By 

Daxton Lyon (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century (Paperback)

I like this book because it kind of follows a line Bill Wilson used to take. If Bill didn't like something like the Oxford Group or the Washingtonians, Bill would often say they taught us a little about what to do and a lot more about what not to do. Unfortunately the facts rarely squared with Bill's own life and actions and beliefs, but they served to mollify the critics. In this book, Dick B. has done a terrific job about contrasting the one, true, living God, Yahweh the Creator, with the "other" deities that we hear of more and more in A.A. Yes, absurd names for God, half-baked prayers, and self-made religion have crept into A.A. and into recovery chatter. That's dangerous. That's confusing. That's unfortunate because there are many like myself who are Christians, believers in God, and Bible students; and we are not keen about listening to people talk about their "higher power" who is a rock, a light bulb, the A.A. group, the Big Dipper, Ralph, Something, Somebody, or not-god.

I heard a number of people ask Dick B. to write about the nature and origin and roots of the "higher power" and "Power Greater than ourselves," and "God as we understand Him" stuff. And that is exactly what he does in this book; and he puts it in terms of his own admiration for, and experience in, A.A. It kind of reminds me of the old song: "Trusting in the saviour, I shall not be moved." Dick is not to be moved toward the silly gods or silly names. And he is not to be moved away from the Creator and His son Jesus Christ. From what I see in this book, neither was Dr. Bob. Especially when he wrote: "Your Heavenly Father will never let you down" (Big Book, p. 181). Here's one that helped me answer the "rock," "Somebody," "Great Pumpkin," and not-god stuff with A.A.'s own history and how revisionists have corrupted it. This book is for the sturdy who don't want to be moved from reliance on Almighty God no matter what some therapist, treatment center, or A.A. speaker may invent as a "higher power" to whom you can supposedly pray and from whom you can supposedly expect to receive healing. I think Psalm 115 said it all centuries and centuries ago.