The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that Works [Paperback]

Dick B. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

A comprehensive history of the origins, principles, practices, and contributions to Alcoholics Anonymous of "A First Century Christian Fellowship" (also known as the Oxford Group) of which A.A. was an integral part in the developmental period between 1931 and 1939.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most complete research and reporting of all this history has been done by Dick B." Hunter wrote the Foreword. -- T. Willard Hunter. How Can We Lose When We're So Sincere, 2005, p.6

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Paradise Research Publications, Inc.; 2 edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885803192
• ISBN-13: 978-1885803191
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #947,963 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

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Helpful work on the Oxford Group & A.A., December 5, 2000

By 

John Hill IV (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that Works (Paperback)

There is so much talk in and out of A.A. today about what's wrong with the Oxford Group and what A.A. supposedly learned "not" to do from the Oxford Group that you seldom hear just how closely today's A.A. parallels the principles and practices of the Oxford Group. This is particularly true of the Akron pioneers. The first group there was called "an old fashioned prayer group." The Bible was the main focus in the one weekly meeting, also prayer, and "listening" (which was an Oxford Group idea). Dick's book lays it out in detail. Just as important, he makes it clear that A.A. has six roots---not just one, consisting of the Oxford Group. The Bible, he says, is the major source. And the Oxford Group is another. The whole thing begins to fit together and enable understanding of A.A. as it was. Good for reading. Good Book. Good for Christians like me. I recommend it for history buffs and Christians who want the scoop on A.A. as it was when God was the "power"

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TAKE WHAT YOU NEED AND LEAVE THE REST ...., August 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that Works (Paperback)

... As another reviewer correctly notes, the early recovery rates were nothing like 75 percent from initial contact. At the time of the writing of the Big Book, only a handful of alcoholics were solidly sober in New York, despite Bill's efforts of several years, and at least two of them were of an agnostic bent ... Hank and Jim B. In Akron, where they number 80 or so -- still less than 100, virtually all Protestant, virtually all men -- they were still putting the newbies in the hospital and then visiting them continuously for days before offering the message. It just could be that that sort of personal, intensive attention and identification had more to do with the better results in Ohio than the explicitly Christian message of the still-extant Oxford Group ``drunk squad.'' While much of value was retained from the Oxford Group, much else was quickly jettisoned with the formation of the first independent AA group in Cleveland. And it is from those roots that AA really took off, with the Plain Dealer articles, etc. I have heard a number of tapes (and a few talks in person) from alcoholics of that era. Clearly, the emphasis was more ``religious'' than today; Christian devotionals were widely used; in Ohio, the Absolutes and a respectful nod toward the Bible remained. But the evangelical Protestant tone of the Oxford Groups did not survive. Catholics and Jews were among the early second wave ... according to Clarence S., about whom Dick has written a book. I am in much agreement with much of what Dick has to say ... such attitudes as ``take what you need and leave the rest'' :) and explicitly virulent attacks on religion do not help alcoholics get and stay sober. Nothing in the program is a bar to the practice of religion and the book suggests consulting with our priest, rabbi or minister (not many Christians have a rabbi!) about our spiritual life. But it's hard to imagine something more divisive than evangelical Christian prosthelytizing in the context of an AA meeting. It's a message that can be carried ... outside those walls.

Again, I admire Dick's homework. There is lots of useful information here and in his other books that simply is readily not available elsewhere. Some of his premises are off-base, and hence some of his conclusions -- based on the sort of evidence that you get if you're hoping to build a case -- are equally off-base.

I have found the insights on such matters as morning meditation to be life-changing. Life-changing ... that's what it's all about. Not so much your mind ... or even your heart ... but your life.

Thank God for AA. And best wishes to Dick B.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AA & the Oxford Group after 17 years of continued research, November 29, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living that Works (Paperback)

The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anoymous is one of the early books Dick B. wrote. It has had several publishers, several reprints, and two editions. Since the original publication in the early 1990's, Dick has continued his Oxford Group and Oxford Group related research. And certainly one of the most important and developing truths he discovered is the number of wellsprings (other than the OG) which provided the complete A.A. picture - 14 elements by last count. They include Dr. Carl Jung and conversion; United Christian Endeavor and the practices of conversion, Bible study, prayer meetings, Quiet Hour, love and service; the Salvation Army with abstinence, salvation, and service; the Rescue Missions with altar call conversions, Bible reading, hymns, prayers, and testimonies; the writings of William James on conversions and the rescue mission testimonies; input from Rowland Hazard as to conversion and Oxford Group ideas; Dr. William D. Silkworth's ideas on alcoholism and on Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, as the cure; the Oxford Group and its 28 point life-changing program that wound up as the basis for Wilson's New York program and Big Book; the teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker which were virtually copied into the Twelve Steps; the teachings of Dr. Bob's wife before and after A.A. was founded and covering the Bible, the literature, the devotionals, most of the OG life-changing ideas, and practical advice for alkies and their families; the twisting into the A.A. story Richard Peabody's "no cure" ideas several years later; Quiet Time and its call for rebirth, Bible study, prayer, use of devotionals, and seeking God's guidance; the immense amount of Christian literature AAs read, including the many books read and circulated by Dr. Bob; the New Thought Movement's "higher power" theories coupled with bits of its universalim language; the Bible with the particular emphasis on the Book of James, Jesus's sermon on the mount, and 1 Corinthians 13; and the original program of the Akron Christian Fellowship that produced the great 75% success rate and was reported to AAs by Rockefeller's agent Frank Amos. And 17 years after Dick began his work, each one of the well-springs called for further exploration of each particular element. The Oxford Group history in A.A. was no exception. Not only did Dick revise the book and publish his second edition; he also wrote a dozen articles about Oxford Group literature, the four absolutes, the series of "Letters," the special role of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, the real source of God "as we understood Him" in Shoemaker's writings and experiment of faith, details on the Morning Watch and Meditation, and a new title: "Making Known the History of Early A.A.'s Biblical Roots"--which told of the 29,300 historical items, hundreds of Oxford Group books, and wide variety of sources and source information that needed to be factored in by those who choose to investigate and truthfully report or summarize the real A.A. program. You will find The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous, 2d edition, just as fundamental to understanding A.A. as the original edition. However, as Dick's research grew, the Oxford Group began to fit more softly, surely, and precisely in the Akron program, the New York conversion genesis, the relation to other wellsprings in existence before and at the time OG ws founded, and the particularly interesting fact that though the Akron program bore little resemblance to the Oxford Group program, its charismatic leadership, its houseparties, its huge meetings, its political outreach, and its often agnostic flavors, Bill chose to veer away from the Group, from the Bible, from Jesus Christ, from the Salvation Army and the Missions, cease talking about the Oxford Group, start working with Sam Shoemaker on an actual Oxford Group approach, and then incorporate those ideas in the language and "result" from "taking" Bill's Twelve Steps. Put the Oxford Group book at the top of your A.A. history reading, and be sure to look for its context as part of the other sources contributing to A.A.'s early years, and spiritual program of recovery.