A.A. and the Salvation Army Influence
on, and Relevance to, A.A.
By Dick B. and Ken B.
© 2013 Anonymous. All
rights reserved
A Word about the Salvation Army Founding
The Christian organization which came to be known as the
Salvation Army was founded in 1865 out of the pastoral work of a Methodist
Minister, William Booth. The organization was first called the Christian
Revival Association and rechristened the Salvation Army in 1878. In 1880,
General William Booth and a party of Salvationists officially began the work of
the Salvation Army in the United States.
General William Booth expressed the aim of the mission as
follows:
The object and work of this Mission
is to seek the conversion of the neglected crowds of people who are living
without God and without hope, and to gather those so converted into Christian
fellowship, in order that they may be instructed in Scriptural truth, trained
in habits of holiness and usefulness, and watched over and cared for in their
religious course. [Harold Begbie, The Life of General William Booth: The
Founder of The Salvation Army, vol. 1 (NY: Macmillan, 1920), p. 363:]
Among Booth’s Articles of Faith were these:
- We
believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by
inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the divine rule of
Christian faith and practice.
- We
believe there is only one God who is infinitely perfect, the Creator,
Preserver, and Governor of all things.
- We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an
atonement for the whole world, that whosoever will may be saved.
- We
believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and
regeneration by the Holy Spirit, are necessary to salvation.
- We
believe that we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ, and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself.
Descriptions of Salvation Army Principles and Practices
In “The Role of Religious Bodies in the Treatment of
Inebriety in the United States,” Rev. Francis W. McPeek--Executive Director of
the Department of Social Welfare of the Federation of Churches in Washington,
D.C.--said the following about the Salvation Army:
Much work was done in city missions
and particularly by the Salvation Army. The Army, however, has focused its
efforts on the conversion experience and has made use of its own general
facilities and of other community resources when these were needed in
aftercare. Those who wish to read a portrayal of the Salvation Army’s methods
and approach may consult Hall’s biography of Henry F. Milans (Out of the Depth).
Generally
speaking, the Salvationists have capitalized on the same techniques that have
made other reform programs work: (1) Insistence on total abstinence; (2)
reliance upon God; (3) the provision of new friendships among those who
understand; (4) the opportunity to work with those who suffer from the same
difficulty; and (5) unruffled patience and consistent faith in the ability of
the individual and in the power of God to accomplish the desired ends. [Lecture
26 in “Alcohol, Science and Society: Twenty-nine Lectures with Discussions as
given at the Yale Summer School of Alcohol Studies” (New Haven: Quarterly
Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 1945), 414-15.]
Interestingly, A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson gave Lecture 29 at
the Yale Summer School of Alcohol Studies in 1945. His lecture was titled “The
Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.” Bill was credited as “W. W.”
The William James
Study on “Vital Religious Experiences”
During his fourth and final stay at Towns Hospital, December
11-18, 1934, Bill Wilson was visited by his friend and “sponsor,” Ebby Thacher.
Bill states in his autobiography that Ebby gave him a copy of a book by
Professor William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience. Immediately
following his own blazing “indescribably white light” vital religious
experience, Bill wanted to know if the experience was real or if he had been
insane. Bill's doctor, psychiatrist William D. Silkworth, assured Bill that he
was not insane. Dr. Silkworth told Bill that he had had a conversion
experience. Bill spent almost a day reading the William James book to learn
about such experiences and to confirm the validity of his own. He spent long
hours in that study, as the book was voluminous. Bill mentions Professor James’
book in Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known within A.A. as the
“Big Book.”). A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob also owned and studied the book by James.
And in footnote one on page 190, it contains the following quote by Professor
James about William Booth:
General Booth, the founder of the
Salvation Army, considers that the first vital step in saving outcasts consists
in making them feel that some decent human being cares enough for them to take
an interest in the question whether they are to rise or sink. [(New York:
Vintage Books/The Library of America, 1990)]
The Important Salvation Army Data Writteb about Henry F.
Milans
Truly, Clarence W. Hall's Out of the Depths: The Life-Story of Henry F. Milans (Salem, OH:
The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, 1977) is a testimony to the
techniques of the Salvation Army in the Bowery—a haunt that Bill Wilson was
later to frequent. Out of the Depths
contains powerful stories of Milans, the bum in the Bowery in 1908. Milans the
newspaper man, pronounced hopelessly incurable by physicians at Bellevue
Hospital in New York. Milans, present at the “Boozer’s Convention” concurrent
with the dismissal of Milans from Bellevue Hospital. The biography states:
Briefly stated, a Boozer’s
Convention consisted of a whole regiment of Salvationists going out at one time
into the highways and byways of New York City and literally compelling all of
the bums, drunkards, ne’er-do-wells and broken pieces of nondescript humanity
who could be found to submit to being directed, led or carried to The Salvation
Army Memorial Hall on West Fourteenth Street for the purpose of being invited,
coaxed or jarred out of their hopelessness and worthlessness into conversion
and good citizenship.
Though
at first only an experiment, the Boozers’ Convention proved such a tremendous
success that it was repeated for several succeeding years. [107]
.
. .
.
. . [I]t was announced [at the Hall] that food would be served in a lower hall.
In sections the bums filed downstairs, Milans with them. . . .
The
meeting proceeded, and when the invitation to test the power of God on broken
lives was given, Milans saw about three hundred respond. . . . [120]
.
. .
For
a week of nights Milans attended the Army’s meetings. . . . [124]
.
. .
Then
on a Thursday night, just one week after the Boozer’s Meeting where he had
first been touched, and convicted by the Holy Spirit, Milans surrendered.
Amid
the fervent “Hallelujahs” of every Christian in the hall, he stumbled forward
to the penitent-form, and there poured out his soul to God in an agony of
desire—not for whiskey this time, but for deliverance from its power.
No
more earnest behest ever ascended to the Throne of God from the breast of a
kneeling penitent than that prayer by Milans for release from his habit. He had
shaken off the hold-back straps of unbelief. He had made the plunge. . . .
.
. . [H]e continued to pray; the Salvationists sang softly an encouraging
refrain or two; others prayed. . . .
‘Twas
the Master, and down into the depths of hell there groped a Hand—a nail-pierced
Hand—which found the man it sought and lifted him out.
The
miracle was performed.
He
arose from his knees. . . . [125-26]
.
. .
[H]e
was going out to face a world of temptation and opposition. . . . [127]
.
. . There, in the solitudes of the great city, on a park bench, the Presence
seemed to whisper to him lovingly, “Fear
not, I will help thee: I will sustain thee, for I have redeemed thee. Thou art
mine!” And strength came to him.
. . .
. . . His inner man made no response to
the thought of drink. It dawned upon him them that he was free! [128]
.
. .
Listen
to his testimony, given nineteen years later: “From that moment to the present I have never been tempted to take a
drink of anything with alcohol in it.”
The
appetite was gone! [129]
Readers who are familiar with Bill W.’s similar march to the
altar and deliverance at Towns Hospital will recognize the similar elements in
the Milans and Wilson stories. As to Wilson, in brief: (1) Dr. Silkworth had told Bill the Great Physician
Jesus Christ could cure him of his alcoholism. (2) Almost immediately, Bill’s
old friend—a seemingly medically incurable alcoholic named Ebby Thacher—visited
Bill and told Bill that he had been staying at Calvary Mission, had gotten
religion (been saved at the altar), and had been freed right there. (3) Bill
decided that if the salvation ceremony at the Calvary Mission, plus Ebby’s own
rebirth, could heal Ebby, perhaps the Great Physician could do the same for
him. (4) After listening to Ebby’s testimony in Calvary Church, Bill went to
the altar at Calvary Mission, handed his life over to Jesus Christ, and soon
wrote “For sure I’d been born again.” (5) But Bill drank again, was fearful and
despondent and decided that if there were a Great Physician, this would be the
time to seek his help. (6) Bill checked into Towns Hospital. In his room he
decided to call on the Great Physician. Soon he cried out to God for help. Bill’s
room was blazing with an indescribably white light. Bill felt he was on a mountain
top and sensed a presence in the room. Bill describes his two thoughts: “Bill,
you are a free man. This is the God of the Scriptures.” (7) Bill stopped his
previous doubting about God, was cured, and never drank again. (8) It was then
that Bill studied the James accounts—many from Professor Starbuck’s studies—of healing
of alcoholism by similar vital religious experiences.
The Harold Begbie
Books
Perhaps the Salvation Army link with greatest impact on
Alcoholics Anonymous was Harold Begbie's book, Twice-Born Men: A Clinic in Regeneration: A Footnote in Narrative to
Professor William James's “The Varieties of Religious Experience” (New
York: Fleming H. Revell, 1909). The book was very much intertwined with the
thinking of William James and quoted his ideas quite often. It was immensely
popular in the Oxford Group-Shoemaker circles. [See Mel B., New Wine: The Spiritual Roots of the Twelve
Step Miracle (n.p.: Hazelden, 1991), 130-34.] It was recommended by Dr.
Bob’s wife in the journal she shared with early AAs and their families. [See
Dick B., Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939:
A.A.’s Principles of Success, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise
Research Publications, Inc., 1998), 83.] It was owned and circulated by Dr.
Bob. [See Dick B., Dr. Bob and His
Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI:
Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1998), 48.] And it certainly was among
the books early AAs read. [See Dick B., The
Books Early AAs Read for Spiritual Growth, 7th ed. (Kihei, HI:
Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1998), 31, 37, 58, 62.]
Begbie’s Twice-Born
Men was devoted almost exclusively to Salvation Army accounts. He
underlines conversions; frequent “Sinner’s Prayers”; outreach to drunks and
derelicts and outcasts; amends; and the “attraction” of others by successfully
reformed fighters, criminals, drunks, prisoners, and others who rose from the
slums of London. Great emphasis was laid on turning to God for help, making
Jesus Christ both Lord and Savior, hearing the Bible, praying, and altar calls
where the penitent knelt and often was “changed” or “transformed” or “reborn”
after crying out for help. And not only did early AAs read these stories; they
included the techniques in the early A.A.’s Christian Fellowship program
principles and practices. There is lots of comment about how the “incurable”
drunks were urged to seek the power of God and then “enlist” as soldiers in the
Salvation Army. On page 132 of New Wine,
Mel B. states of Begbie’s book: “An important point in Twice-Born Men was that only the conversion experience—being ‘born
again’—could have produced the dramatic recoveries described in the book.”
The word “Army” appears frequently in Begbie’s books,
particularly Twice-Born Men. Begbie described on pages
55-61 of Twice-Born Men the work of “The Puncher”—a reformed
prize-fighter—using the following language. “He [the Puncher] had said, 'I’m
going to join the Army.'” “The wonder of the Puncher is what Salvationists call
his 'love for souls'. . . which means 'the intense and concentrated passion for
the unhappiness which visits a man who has discovered the only means of
obtaining happiness.'” “The Puncher was not content with the joy of having his
own soul saved; he wanted to save others.” “The Puncher has spent hours and
pounds trying to reach his old companions.”
“He receives no pay from the Army. He is not an officer, he is a
soldier—a volunteer.”
Harold Begbie was also the author of a two-volume biography
of General William Booth titled: The Life
of General William Booth: The Founder of
The Salvation Army. (London: Macmillan, 1920).
The Research of, and
appraisal by, the Rev.Dr. Howard Clinebell, Claremont professor of theology who
did an extensive survey of A.A. and of healings by the power of God. Dr.
Clinebell asked Dick B. to review the book manuscript for accuracy as to A.A.
and then further asked Dick to endorse the book itself
There is an important study of the effectiveness of the
Salvation Army in the field of overcoming alcoholism and addictions. The
Reverend Howard J. Clinebell, Ph.D. (now deceased), was a highly-regarded
Professor Emeritus at the School of Theology in Claremont, California. [See
Howard Clinebell, Understanding and
Counseling Persons with Alcohol, Drug, and Behavioral Addictions, Revised
and Enlarged Edition (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1998).] Dr. Clinebell asked me
(Dick B.) to review his preparation of the Alcoholics Anonymous portion and
then to endorse the book itself. On page 189 of Understanding and Counseling
Persons with Alcohol, Drug, and Behavioral Addictions, Clinebell had this
to say about the Salvation Army:
In my judgment, the Salvation Army,
together with some more enlightened rescue missions, represent evangelistic
addiction therapy at its best. . . . There is convincing evidence that some
facilities have remarkable success in getting and keeping countless formerly
homeless, low-bottom addicts sober and living constructive lives.
Clinebell points out on pages 188-89 of his book that in the
early 1940’s, the Salvation Army put its recovery principles into the following
series of nine Christian-oriented steps paralleling some of the important
Twelve Steps of A.A.-modeled recovery programs:
- The
alcoholic must realize that he is unable to control his addiction and that
his life is completely disorganized.
- He
must acknowledge that only God, his Creator, can re-create him as a decent
man.
- He
must let God through Jesus Christ rule his life and resolve to live
according to His will.
- He
must realize that alcohol addiction is only a symptom of basic defects in
his thinking and living, and that the proper use of every talent he
possesses is impaired by his enslavement.
- He should
make public confession to God and man of past wrong-doing and be willing
to ask God for guidance in the future.
- He
should make restitution to all whom he has willfully and knowingly
wronged.
- He
should realize that he is human and subject to error, and that no advance
is made by covering up a mistake; he should admit failure and profit by
experience.
- Since,
through prayer and forgiveness, he has found God, he must continue
prayerful contact with God and seek constantly to know His will.
- Because
The Salvation Army believes that the personal touch and example are the
most vital forces in applying the principles of Christianity, he should be
made to work continuously not only for his own salvation but to effect the
salvation of others like himself.
The Vital Religious Experience Element in Early A.A. Cures
In Dick B., Real Twelve Step
Fellowship History (http://dickb.com/realhistory.shtml),
I have summarized the early Akron A.A. requirement of a “real surrender.” One
that confirmed acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as an essential
part of the Akron recovery program:
In order to
belong to the Akron fellowship, newcomers had to make a “real surrender.” This
was akin to the altar call at rescue missions [and at the Salvation Army
Halls], or the confession of Christ with other believers in churches [and
revival gatherings]. But it was a very small, private ceremony which took place
upstairs in the home of T. Henry and Clarace Williams, and away from the
regular meeting. Four A.A. old-timers (Ed Andy from Lorain, Ohio; J.D. Holmes
from Indiana; Clarence Snyder from Cleveland; and Larry Bauer from Akron) have
all independently verified orally and/or in writing that the Akron surrenders
required acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Those conversions took
place at the regular, weekly, Wednesday meeting in a manner similar to that
described in James 5:15-16. Kneeling, with “elders” at his side, the newcomer
accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior; and, with the prayer partners,
asked God to take alcohol out of his life and to help, guide, and strengthen
him to live by cardinal Christian teachings such as those in the Oxford Group’s
Four Absolutes—Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love.
The Sanctification Element for Which the Salvation Army Drew Praise
There is no need here to discuss the difference between
conversion, salvation, and sanctification. But see Stanford Professor Edwin
Diller Starbuck’s The Psychology of
Religion: An Empirical Study of the Growth of Religious Consciousness
(London: The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd., n.d.), for which William James
wrote the Preface. Starbuck shows why the Salvation Army’s continuity of the
new life program drew praise. William James often quoted Starbuck in The
Varieties of Religious Experience, a book that Bill Wilson avidly read
immediately following his conversion experience at Towns Hospital.
Starbuck wrote about “The Line of Growth Following
Conversion.” This “sanctification” element is something that both the Salvation
Army program and the Alcoholics Anonymous “continuance” or “maintenance” Steps
stressed. Neither organization considered the life change complete simply
because there had been a “surrender” or a “conversion” or a “life change.” Thus
a conversion might be said to have existed at the conclusion of A.A.’s Step
Three decision or its Step Seven
“removal of shortcomings.” Look at First Century Christianity in the Book of
Acts. Look at the Oxford Group life-changing program and the Oxford Group’s
early and long-standing name for itself (A First Century Christian Fellowship).
Look at Rev. Shoemaker’s definition of a spiritual awakening. Shoemaker said a
spiritual awakening had four elements--prayer, conversion, fellowship, and
witness. In Acts, the Salvation Army, the Oxford Group, and Shoemaker’s
spiritual awakening, there remained the daily need for continued fellowship, continued prayer, continued Scripture work,
continued removal of evil conduct, continued contact with God, and continued
witnessing to others.
Of these, Professor
Starbuck said:
. . . [I]n regard to the
post-conversion period . . . [t]he nerve tracts involved in the old life are
perhaps structurally as much a part
of the person’s make-up just after conversion as are his arms or legs. . . .
[T]he old neural channels are there to assume their former functions the moment
the new are off guard. The old may cease, but only by becoming hopelessly
enslaved and subordinated to the new, or by withering up and dying for want of
exercise. [p. 362]
The futility of expecting a new
insight to become permanent, however genuine it may be, without following it up
with conduct that works the new life over into neural habit is apparent on the
face of it. The new must be drilled in as indelibly as was the old. The
Salvation Army has caught the secret of it. They set the convert by every means
available to the task of cultivating nervous discharges in the brain areas
connected with the spiritual life. He is to make the higher life habitual. [pp.
362-63]
Compare 2 Corinthians 5:17—the new man in Christ; and James
2:20—faith without works is dead. Then James 1:12, 22—Blessed is the man that
endureth temptation. . . . [B]e ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves.
A Synopsis of Salvation Army Contributions to Christian Recovery and
A.A.
As with many of the other successful Christian recovery
approaches, the Salvation Army practices can be summarized as follows:
·
As to alcoholism and addiction: Recognize,
Concede, Decide
·
Establish a relationship with God through Jesus
Christ and then rely on the power of
God
·
Obey God’s will--walk in love and eliminate
sinful conduct
·
Grow in one's relationship with God through the
Bible study and prayer
·
Once reformed, help others still afflicted
·
Fellowship with like-minded believers
·
Witness as to the effectiveness of salvation and
the new life in Christ
Elements of Applying the Salvation Army Origins in Recovery Today
·
For Christians in the recovery movement today,
stress the importance of God, a relationship
with Him through His Son Jesus Christ, the Bible as an absolutely essential guide, and working with
others as a mission.
·
Point out the five elements described in Rev.
McPeek’s Yale lecture
·
Share the recovery principles set forth by Dr.
Clinebell
·
Make
known the advice physician William D. Silkworth gave to his patient Bill Wilson that Jesus Christ, the “Great
Physician” could cure Bill’s alcoholism, that a
relationship with God through Jesus Christ was necessary, and that a ”vital
religious experience could bring about
the healing.
·
Highlight the seven-point summary of the early
A.A. program set forth by Frank Amos
and published in A.A.’s own DR. BOB and
the Good Oldtimers on page 131.
Gloria
Deo
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