The Original 1939 Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous to be Used in November Conferences

The First Edition to Which We Have Reference - for study at November A.A. History Cnferences being hosted by International Christian Recovery Coalition in San Jose, California; Cleveland, Ohio; Leesburgh, Florida; Suwanne Florida; and again at San Jose, California (Los Gatos Area) will be:

Alcoholics Anonymous: "The Big Book" The Original 1939 Edition Bill W. with a new Introduction by Dick B. (NY: Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc., 2011), ISBN-13:978-0-486-48059-6; ISBN-10: 0-486-48059-3.

This special emphasis on the 1939 First Edition has a specific purpose:

1. This is the manuscript which, despite many many changes, contained the personal stories of the original pioneers (most of which were later removed from A.A. editions) and explained how they had utilized the original Akron program, turned to God for help, and been cured. They fleshed out the later report of FrankAmos in Dr. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, at page 131, which summarized in A.A.'s own publication the seven elements of that original Christian Fellowship program.

2. This is the manuscript which showed the "new program" that Bill had devised primarily from the views and teachings of Dr. William D. Silkworth, Professor William James, and Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. It is the manuscript which, just prior to printing, mad a last-minute concession to atheits and agnostics by changing the language of Steps Two, Three, and Eleven in order to eliminate the unqualified word "God." It is also the manuscript which nonetheless retained dozens and dozens of specific references to God, the Creator, the Maker, the Father, the Heavenly Father, and the Father of Lights indicating exactly how to founders understood Almighty God from the writings in the Bible.

3. The "removed" stories were only recently combined into a new A.A. General Service Conference-approved book, titled "Experience, Strength, and Hope." And despite its deplorable caveats about the original writers as "mistaken," "uneducated," and "flying blind," nonetheless enables a read to decide for himself exactly what the personal stories were saying, declaring, and presenting as the belief of the pioneers.

All of our November Conferences will be focused on the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the origins, history, founding, original Christian fellowship program, astonishing successes, and even in the 12 Step Bible program fashioned as a "new program" by Bill Wilson in his 1939 original first edition. The focus will also be on how to apply the original program, its principles, and practices, in the 12 Step Bible scene today.

dickb@dickb.com