Customer Reviews

Practice These Principles And What Is The Oxford Group

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This book shows where Bill W.and DR.Bob got much of the program that became AA.I believe that The Oxford Group gave us the Spiritual part of the program and DR. Silkworth explained why we react to alcohol differently then regular drinkers.I don't think Buchman's comments about Hitler should have been criticized so harshly because a lot of world leaders in the mid 30's were being mis-led by Hitler including Churchill and some others in the U.S.I also think that Oxford Group were tolerant of others.Noboby was forced to believe anything.We must remember they were basically helping people to enlarge their Spiritual lives.They were teaching First Century Christianity.Most early AA's in the Akron area were Christians.
We must also remember that Roland Hazard,Ebbi,Bill w. and many others got sober in the Oxford Group.Others like Victor Kitchen and James Houck stayed sober for long periods of time.James Houck actually stayed sober for 71 years!!!He got sober one day after Bill W. And lived until 2004!!!

If you will read this book carefully you may grasp just how much the absolutes of the Oxford Group influenced Bill W and his understanding of how spiritual principles might impact alcoholism. However unlike the previous two reviewers, I find this book neither inspiring nor a cover up of Frank Buchman's supposed infatuation with Nazi Germany. The book is scholarly in content and presentation but is not - in this reviewer's opinion only - material that would have contributed to this writer's entering recovery and coming to understand the principles as outlined in the Big Book and the 12 and 12. For this writer, the Oxford Group material conveys a distinctly christian perspective and one that is not in keeping with this writer's understanding of the open and tolerant spirit of Alcoholics Anonymous. Perhaps this genuine sense of tolerance towards a variety of spiritual perspectives is the very thing which makes AA function. That tolerance is not easily found within the material of the Oxford Group. If you are interested in the history of the AA this book is a place to start.