A.A., Dr. William D. Silkworth, and the
“Great Physician”
By Dick B.
© 2013 Anonymous. All
rights reserved
[This article updates and substantially enhances the
information and citations previously included in my article of several years
ago. For now, we know a great deal more about Bill Wilson’s own writings, the
talk of the Great Physician, and A.A.’s own early history.]
Researching A.A.
history and personalities often reminded me of hunting game birds with my dad.
First of all, you had to go to a place where the birds were likely to be
hanging out. Second, you had to work at your task and be patient. Third, if you
reached a fruitful spot, you needed to get those birds out of hiding and on the
wing. Finally, you needed to take good aim, be a good shot, and plan to bag one
provided all the factors had come together.
A.A. History: Hunting Down the Dr. William D. Silkworth Story
When and where I got sober in 1986, you could have taken a
survey among the Marin County, California A.A. Fellowship members; and I’ll bet
few of them knew much about “Silky”—the benign little doctor who loved drunks.
They might have known he was credited with writing the “Doctor’s Opinion” which
opened their Big Books. They might have gleaned from “Bill’s Story” (the first
chapter in the Big Book) that Silkworth had treated Bill Wilson for alcoholism
several times; that Bill’s hospital room had “blazed with indescribably white
light” during his final visit to Towns Hospital in December 1934; and that, as
a result of the profound “white light” experience in the hospital, Bill was never
to drink again. And perhaps that Bill W. had told Dr. Silkworth as he entered
Towns Hospital on December 11, 1934, that he (Bill) had “found something.” That
“something” turned out to be the New York/Big Book solution for alcoholism—a “vital
religious experience”—as it was originally called by Professor William James,
Reverend Samuel Shoemaker, and Dr. Carl Jung (and even Bill himself in the
earliest writings). This vital religious experience (as it was commonly called
by those who knew the real origin of the idea) was the transforming religious
experience later spoken of on page 25 of the fourth edition of the A.A. Big
Book. Some likened it to the conversion experience of the Apostle Paul on the
road to Damascus—something we will discuss here shortly. (See Bill W.’s own
mention of Paul’s experience in Bill W., My
First 40 Years, 152.)
Take it a little further. Some could and would read in the
Big Book that Dr. Silkworth had felt that something more than moral psychology
was needed to cure the drunk. And Silkworth often used the word “cure.” These readers
would see that Dr. Silkworth was credited with saying a “psychic change” was
required. And a few would read in “Pass
It On” and other A.A. writings that Silkworth probably authored the
“disease” theory within the fellowship—the theory that the alcoholic suffered
from an obsession of the mind that condemned him to drink and an allergy of the
body that condemned him to die or go insane once he began again.
But the A.A. history of the William D. Silkworth story has
been presented in many places, in many ways, in diverse terms, and by many
authors. In fact, there is an excellent website (
http://silkworth.net)
that assembles and offers many of the Silkworth subjects very well.
Recently, Hazelden published a biography of Silkworth: Dale
Mitchel, Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who
Loved Drunks (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2002). That book opened doors that
had long been closed. They were opened by an assiduous researcher named Dale
Mitchel, who had access to Silkworth’s papers and family’s recollections. There,
the extensive exchange between Dr. Silkworth and Bill Wilson on the subject of
Jesus Christ, the “Great Physician,” is well-documented on pages 44, 48, 49,
50, 51, and 225.
And it was that biography, and several of the snippets about
the good doctor and Bill W., that brought to my memory the comments of A.A.’s
good friend, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Peale’s story had to do with Dr. Silkworth,
one of Silkworth’s patients (not Bill W.), and the Great Physician.
Now, until fairly recently and after I had published the
Great Physician story in its relationship to A.A., the remaining facts were
still like the game birds. They had virtually been hidden, un-discovered, and
never flushed out or targeted for their important value. Some still need some
hunting and flushing.
These pertain to Dr. Silkworth’s beliefs and comments about:
(1) Jesus Christ, the Great Physician. (2) Discussions Silky had with Wilson
about this subject. (3) Silkworth’s Christian and religious background as a
devoted physician who knew Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and actually attended
Calvary Episcopal Church in New York, where Reverend Samuel Shoemaker was Rector.
(4) Silkworth’s actual views, thoughts, and evaluation of “conversion,” about a
“higher power,” about a “psychic change,” and about “moral psychology.” (5) The
significance to Silkworth and Bill Wilson of the phrase “Great Physician.” (6)
The interrelationships of Silkworth, Bill Wilson, Rev. Sam Shoemaker, and Dr.
Norman Vincent Peale.
Now let’s turn the bird dogs loose and see how much game is
on the wing and how much is still in the reeds, the bushes, and the trees.
Dr. Silkworth, the “Great Physician,” and Bill Wilson
In the present-day secular/pluralistic climate in 12 Step
Fellowships, I don’t see great value in doing anyone’s homework for him when it
comes to phrases like the “Great Physician.” Nor in laying out a great quantity
of details as to the roots of that phrase. But it is clear that Jesus Christ
had long been referred to as “The Great Physician.” (See my documentation of
the comments of Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Boardman,
Worcester and McComb, Weatherhead, Maillard, Willitts, McIntyre, and Osborn in Dick
B.,
The Conversion of Bill W. www.dickb.com/conversion,
63-66. Also see Maria Woodworth-Etter,
Signs
and Wonders (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997), 124, 132, 324, 370;
Smith Wigglesworth,
Smith Wigglesworth on
Healing (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1999), 158; C.S. Lovett,
Jesus Wants You Well! (Baldwin Park, CA:
Personal Christianity, 1973), 27, 123;
John
G. Lake on Healing, comp. by Roberts Liardon (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker
House, 2009), 25; F.F. Bosworth,
Christ
the Healer (NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1973), 23, 77-78, 84.
Nor do I see any profit in this particular article in debating
or trying to “prove” the many things set forth here but virtually unknown about
Dr. Silkworth, his Christian beliefs, the Great Physician, or Jesus Christ. The
reader can review the statements, turn to the citations, and then add these
items to the many subjects on Alcoholics Anonymous history that still deserve further
research and publishing. But I will mention two or three good starting points
for those who are on the hunt. And in this article, primarily, I will focus on
some statements made by others who researched or knew Silkworth, or who have
looked into this subject extensively. And these include many who have studied
the Bible, Jesus Christ, healing, and the subjects in which Silkworth was
thoroughly versed.
First, let’s look at some things that Silkworth’s recent
biographer Dale Mitchel found and wrote in his biography, Silkworth: The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks (Center City, MN:
Hazelden, 2002). Mitchel wrote:
Silkworth’s family remembers him as
a deeply spiritual man, yet unsatisfied with any particular denomination. A devout
Christian, he initially fit well into the temperance mind-set developing across
the country. For years he attended a church that would also have an impact on
the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Calvary Christian (Episcopal) Church.
[pp. 11-12].
Though Mitchel doesn’t specifically say so, this Calvary Episcopal
Church was born on September 19, 1836. It was commonly called Calvary Church in
the City of New York in which Church, Congregation or Society, Divine Service
is celebrated according to the Protestant Episcopal Church of the State of New
York. [See Samuel M. Shoemaker. Calvary
Church Yesterday and Today (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1936), 15-16.]
And it was in 1925 that Samuel Moor Shoemaker, Jr., accepted the call to become
the 12th Rector of Calvary Church. (See Shoemaker, Calvary Church, 231-45.)
Incidentally, on this subject of Silkworth’s attendance at
Sam Shoemaker’s church, we could certainly use a lot more research and information
on Silkworth’s Christian upbringing, denominational background, and other churches,
if any, attended (just the type of research we did on Dr. Bob’s). Also, on the
years of Silkworth’s being a communicant at Calvary. Also on the nature and
extent of his interest, attendance, and activities there. And more on his
personal papers and his family’s observations—those that led them to say that
he was “a devout Christian.”
We would also like to have much more information on whether
and how well Silkworth knew Rev. Sam Shoemaker, the Calvary Church Rector. Such
information might tell us much about Silkworth’s actual discussions with Bill
Wilson, his views on conversion, and his understanding of faith cures and
divine healing. Also, if there were further exploration into Silkworth’s
membership and activities in Norman Vincent Peale’s church in New York, this
too could bring some important A.A. roots to light.
Now let’s return to an extremely interesting, though
inadequately detailed, account that Dale Mitchel wrote about several
discussions between Bill Wilson and Dr. Silkworth:
The Actual Conversations Silkworth Had with Bill Wilson on Jesus Christ
During his third visit to Towns Hospital in September 1934,
Bill had a discussion with Dr. Silkworth on the subject of the “Great
Physician.” Many theorists mistakenly believe this discussion occurred on his
last and successful visit. In fact, Bill Wilson himself wrote that he had
thought about this earlier discussion before he decided to check himself into
Towns for the last time, at the urging of his wife and his brother-in-law
(Mitchel, Silkworth, 44).
The stated A.A. publications position on Bill’s experiences
at Towns Hospital includes little mention of the amount of time he had already
spent with Dr. Silkworth during Bill’s final hospitalization. And particularly with
Silkworth during his prior third visit to Towns in September 1934. But
Silkworth’s biographer tells us that long before he had experienced his
“enlightenment,” Bill Wilson had grown to trust the compassion offered by Dr.
Silkworth. They would spend hours talking in Dr. Silkworth’s little office.
(Mitchel, Silkworth, 44-45).
In his autobiography, Bill wrote of the darkness that had
descended upon him before his hospitalization for the last time, and said:
But what of the Great Physician?
For a brief moment, I suppose, the last trace of my obstinacy was crushed out
as the abyss yawned. [See Bill W.: My
First 40 Years (Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2000), p. 145.] Later, according
to Mitchel, Bill Wilson wrote in Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age: A Brief History of A.A., “Alcoholism took longer to
kill, but the result was the same. Yes, if there was any Great Physician that
could cure the alcohol sickness, I’d better find Him at once.” [Mitchel, Silkworth, 44.]
Furthermore, in his autobiography, Bill wrote that, just
before he had his hot extraordinary white light experience at Towns Hospital,
the following occurred:
I remember saying to myself, ‘I’ll
do anything, anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I’ll call on him.’
Then, with neither faith nor hope I cried out, ‘If there be a God, let him show
himself.’ The effect was instant, electric. Suddenly my room blazed with an
indescribably white light.” [Bill W., My
First 40 Years, 145].
Mitchell fails to mention that, after Bill W.’s “Great Physician”
discussion with Silkworth (during Bill’s third hospitalization), and before
Bill’s finally checking in at Towns Hospital on December 11, 1934, Ebby T. had
come to Bill’s home at 182 Clinton Street in New York City in late November
1934 to discuss his (Ebby’s) “surrender” at Calvary Rescue Mission on November
1, 1934, in which he (Ebby) had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Ebby
told Bill that he (Ebby) had been to Calvary Rescue Mission (also operated by
Shoemaker’s Calvary Church); that he there had “found religion;” and that God
had done for him what he could not do for himself. Wilson himself made off for the
Calvary rescue mission about December 7, 1934. He related that he wanted what
Ebby had received there. And Bill then went to the altar at the mission; he
knelt in prayer; and he gave his life to God, accepting Jesus Christ as his
Lord and Savior.
I personally talked with Mrs. Samuel Shoemaker on the phone,
and she told me she was there when Bill made that decision for Christ. Mrs.
Shoemaker used those very words. Many years later, Lois Wilson herself stated,
in a recorded address, that Bill had there sincerely handed his life to Christ.
See Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W., 59-63,
88-115.
Bill then made an important statement. I cannot be sure that
the statement referred to his decision at the Calvary Mission altar or to his blazing
indescribably white light experience at Towns Hospital. But Bill stated in his
autobiography that he (Bill Wilson) had concluded, “For sure I’d been born
again” [See Bill W., My First 40 Years (Center
City, MN: Hazelden, 2000), 147.] Bill also wrote this a second time. [See Dick
B., Turning Point: A History of Early
A.A.’s Spiritual Roots and Successes (San Rafael, CA: Paradise Research
Publications, 1997), 94-98.] In addition, I personally found at Stepping Stones
a letter that Bill had written in which he also stated that he [like Ebby] had
“found religion.”
As to Bill Wilson’s transforming, “white light experience”
at Towns Hospital, Mitchel wrote:
What is not known is on what day of
this eleven-day stay at Towns Hospital the now famous “white light
transformation” occurred. Most believe it occurred on the third day of his
belladonna treatment and also after possible use of Phenobarbital. While lying
in bed, suicidal, depressed, and hopeless, Wilson would accept anything to help
him quit drinking. He had tried everything he knew. He had reached a bottom
that he had never experienced. Just prior to his experience with “the veritable
sea of living spirit” Wilson often later talked about, he chastised God and
said to himself “I’ll do anything at all. If there be a Great Physician, I’ll
call on him!” Again referring to his prior discussions with Silkworth. Then,
according to Wilson, he cried out, “If there be a God, let him show himself.” .
. . Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. . . . All about me and
through me there was a wonderful feeling of Presence, and I thought to myself,
‘So this is the God of the preachers!’ A great peace stole over me and I
thought, ‘No matter how wrong things seem to be, they are all right. Things are
all right with God and His world.’” [Mitchel, Silkworth, 47].
The “Great Physician” for Bill Was Jesus Christ
In the days of Silkworth, Shoemaker, Bill Wilson, and Dr.
Bob, there were a number of expressions which may not be familiar in usage
within A.A. today. But in A.A.’s founding period, when someone spoke of the
Good Book, that person meant the Holy Bible. Also, when someone spoke of the
Great Physician, that person meant Jesus Christ.
Let’s look again at a few of the hundreds of writings about
the Jesus, the “Great Physician,” that make this usage well-known:
William Boardman, The
Great Physician (Jehovah Rophi). (Boston, MA: Willard Tract Repository,
1881).
Ethel B. Willitts, Healing
in Jesus Name (Crawfordsville, IN: published by the author, 1931). This
Willitts title was owned, studied, and circulated by Dr. Bob; and Ethel
Willitts repeatedly referred to Jesus as the Great Physician. (See, for example,
pp. 66, 104, 151, 209, cf. 95.)
Joe Mcintyre, E. W.
Kenyon and His Message of Faith. (Orlando, FL: Creation House,
1997), 79.
T.L. Osborn, Healing the
Sick (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, Inc., 1992). At pages 18, 55, Osborn
referred to Jesus as “Christ the Healer” and the “High Priest of our
confession.”
David Fedder, Back to
God: The Great Physician (n.p.: n.p., Oct.10, 1999).
Dr. Silkworth’s Specific Referral of a Patient to the Great Physician
Author Mitchel made a correct statement about the Silkworth
episode, but erroneously attributed to me a supposed statement about my (Dick
B.’s) research:
According to AA historian Dick B.,
in a conversation with Peale [Dr. Norman Vincent Peale] shortly before his
death, Peale discussed the following account of a hopeless alcoholic named
Charles. After Silkworth told Charles that his treatment was over and that, as
a doctor, he had done everything he could, Silkworth told him there was an area
in his brain about which he still held a reservation and that could be the
cause of his return to drinking after he left the hospital. [Mitchel, Silkworth, 50].
[Then, at pages 50-51, Mitchel quotes a supposed
conversation I—Dick B.—had with Peale. But no such conversation ever took
place.]
I did, however, have an hour interview with Dr. Peale at
Pawling, New York. It took place not long before his death. We prayed together,
and I also communicated with him before and after by mail.
The interview itself did concern two subjects:
(1) Whether Peale knew who Wilson was speaking of when
Wilson used the phrase “higher power;” and Peale replied that he had never met
anyone, including Wilson, who thought the “higher power” was any god other than
Almighty God. Dr. Peale told me he had written that in his book The Power of Positive Thinking; and sure
enough, you can find a lengthy discussion of Almighty God as the “Higher Power”
in that book.
(2) What Peale knew about Wilson’s “spiritual experience.”
Peale replied that Wilson had told him of two different experiences, both similar
in form and content. Later, I discovered that Wilson’s paternal grandfather,
William C. (“Willy”) Wilson, had had such an experience in East Dorset, Vermont,
and described it in terms almost identical to those used by Wilson of Wilson’s
own Towns Hospital blazing “indescribably white light” experience.
On the other hand, my interview with Peale never involved
the topic of the “Great Physician.”
What did occur in the course of my own historical research
is that my attention was called to Peale by a person attending a conference at
which I was a speaker. The person showed me Peale’s The Positive Power of Jesus Christ. And in that book is Peale’s own
written account (set forth below in a moment)—an account which I have since
often quoted—but not in company with any claim that Peale and I ever discussed
it.
Mitchel went on to make the following important comments
about Silkworth, Peale, Shoemaker, Ebby, Rowland, Jung, James, and Wilson:
Over time, Silkworth and Norman
Vincent Peale became very good friends. Dr. Silkworth and his wife once held
their church membership at Marble Collegiate Church in New York where Peale was
the lead pastor. Much later, during the Alcoholics Anonymous continued
discussion on the validity of the Carl Jung theories on spiritual conversion,
Peale held his stance in support of Dr. Carl Jung’s belief that far too many
men turn to physicians rather than to the minister for spiritual healing.
Silkworth furthered this declaration in his own early writings, presented later
in this book. A student of Sigmund Freud, Jung was instrumental in convincing
Rowland H., Ebby’s Oxford Group friend, and later Bill Wilson of the importance
of ego. An avid reader, Silkworth followed the principles of Jung and William
James as they pertained to deflation of depth and the usual requirement of
reaching a “bottom” to enable the alcoholic to first feel the despair of
crisis, then accept the possibility of a Supreme Being as the answer. Silkworth
referred to Jung in his speeches and saved a private letter from him. It was
Carl Jung who impressed upon AA through his conversations with Rowland and Bill
there existed an opportunity of a spiritual (“religious”) conversion as a last
chance from chronic alcoholics. [Mitchel, Silkworth,
51].
Whether or not Mitchel is correct in his assumptions about
Dr. Silkworth’s alleged agreement with the principle of “deflation of depth,”
Mitchel’s point about Silkworth’s interest in a religious conversion of the
type to which Carl Jung referred is particularly interesting when you compare
it to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s account of Dr. Silkworth and his patient Charles
K., a businessman in Virginia, who had become a full-fledged alcoholic; so much
so that Charles had to have help, and fast, for his life was cracking up. Peale
then relates the following:
He [Charles K., the alcoholic] made
an appointment with the late Dr. William Duncan Silkworth, one of the nation’s
greatest experts on alcoholism, who worked in a New York City hospital.
Receiving Charles into his clinic as a patient, the doctor gave him treatment
for some days, than called him into his office. “Charles,” he said, “I have
done everything that I can do for you. At this moment you are free of your
trouble. But there is an area in your brain where you may hold a reservation
and that could, in all likelihood, cause you to return to your drinking. I wish
that I might reach this place in your consciousness, but alas, I do not have
the skill.” “But, doctor,” exclaimed Charles, “you are the most skilled
physician in this field. When I came to you it was to the greatest. If you cannot
heal me, then who can possibly do so?” The doctor hesitated, then said
thoughtfully, “There is another Doctor who can complete this healing, but he is
very expensive.”
“That’s all right,” cried Charles.
“I can get the money. I can pay his fees. I cannot go back home until I am
healed. Who is this doctor and where is he?”
“Oh, but this Physician is not at
all moderate as to expense,” persisted Dr. Silkworth. “He wants everything
you’ve got. He wants you, all of you. Then He gives the healing. His price is
your entire self.” Then he added slowly and impressively, “His name is Jesus
Christ and He keeps office in the New Testament and is available whenever you
need Him.”
“I need Him now,” said Charles
softly, “right now, I need Him, and I will give Him myself.”
“Great,” remarked the doctor. “You
will find healing and you will never need to come back to me as a patient, only
as a friend. God Bless you, and,” he concluded, “He will do just that.” [Peale
then tells how Charles came to Peale’s church and found the doors locked. But,
said Peale, Charles seemed to feel a Presence, a strong Presence in which was
wondrous power and love. Peale then continues:]
Reaching for his wallet, [Charles]
drew out his business card. Taking out his pen, he wrote on the reverse side of
the card, “Dear Dr. Jesus, this is Your unworthy servant Charles. Dr. Silkworth
says that only You can completely heal me. I hereby now and with all my heart
give myself to You. Please touch me in my brain and in my heart with your
healing grace. I love You, dear Jesus.” He signed it “Charles” and dropped the
card in the mail slot.
HEALING COMES. Charles stood quite
still, unconscious of either rain or snow. Suddenly he sensed light and a pervasive
warmth spread throughout his entire being, beginning at the head and running
down to his feet. It was as if a great big hand touched his head in
loving-kindness. He had the same feeling that a person has when after a long
illness comes a sense of well-being. He knew for sure that he had been healed.
There was no doubt of it at all. He felt clean with a cleanness never before
experienced, and with it an awareness of newness. He had been reborn. He was a
new man in Christ. Old things long held in his nature were passed away. We
became acquainted through his card dropped in the church mail slot, and I met
him later while on a speaking engagement in Virginia. . . . Charles never
returned to his old life. He had many problems subsequently, but the power held
firm. It never weakened. His healing, which came so dramatically, was
permanent. He paid the full price, as the doctor had said he must. He gave
himself, all of himself, with nothing held back; and he received the power, the
full power, with none of it held back. [See Norman Vincent Peale, The Positive Power of Jesus Christ:
Life-changing Adventures in Faith (Carmel, NY: Guideposts, 1980), 60- 62.]
Remaining Facts about Dr. Silkworth That Need to Be Hunted Down
Mitchel’s biography leaves us with the following questions
about Silkworth:
First, using his own subjective terminology (“Higher
Power”), Mitchel says of Silkworth:
He believed quite early that a
sound personal relationship with a Higher Power was paramount to the spiritual
healing that went hand in hand with the physical healing of the addict and
alcoholic. Many of the letters he had received from patients mention Silkworth’s
description of a spiritual journey; the patients also thank him for introducing
them to a spiritually based lifestyle.” [Mitchel, Silkworth, 34.]
Unfortunately, Mitchel reveals his bias and revisionist
thinking about God—to Whom he ascribes the title “Higher Power.” The questions
he leaves unanswered are whether Silkworth talked to these “many” patients—as
he did to Charles K.—about the Great Physician, and thus about Jesus Christ.
This information would be very important. For Wilson had pointed out that
“Silkworth was deeply involved ‘in the midst of them,’ not just at Towns
Hospital but with AA as a whole.”
Bill also said Silkworth was “very much a founder of AA.”
Finally, that “Dr. Silkworth ‘twelfth-stepped’ 40,000 alcoholics.” (Mitchel, Silkworth, 107, 109.)
The “Acknowledgments” portion of Mitchel’s book (clearly not
written by Silkworth) mentions a bevy of folks interested in A.A. history
[White, Kurtz, Pittman, Whaley, O’Neill, La Croix]. However, it is astonishing
that none of these folks has made any mark in researching and publishing about
Silkworth’s Christian background and his advice to Bill and others on the
importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. (Mitchel, Silkworth, xxiii-iv.).
Furthermore, Hazelden no longer publishes this Mitchel book.
And we are left with the usual “higher power,” “spirituality,” and “not-god-ness”
that has substantially obscured the Creator, His Son Jesus Christ, the gift of
the Holy Spirit, and the Bible in many contemporary A.A. history writings.
Personally, I have been much rewarded by the material that
Dale Mitchel did hunt down and reproduce—however out of step it may be with the
secular and universalization ideas which have left treatment programs, twelve
step fellowships, and the public in general without a founding influence that
focused on what the Great Physician could do, did do, and is reported to have
done.
Second, when Silkworth and Wilson had their discussions
about the “Great Physician” at Towns Hospital, was Jesus Christ (the actual
name “Jesus Christ”) also specifically mentioned to Bill and then to Dr.
Silkworth by Bill himself? Moreover, did Wilson ever discuss with Silkworth
Bill’s own altar call and decision for Jesus Christ at Calvary Rescue Mission?
That altar call with Bill’s declared “born again” comment
has all but disappeared from current history accounts—including the Silkworth
advice to Bill about Jesus. So too, Ebby Thacher’s rebirth details that were recounted
to Bill about Ebby’s surrender to Christ at Calvary Mission. There is therefore
a gaping hole left in A.A. history writings detailing the exact picture as to
how much the Akron Number One group’s principles and practices were really oriented
to First Century Christianity ideas. [My son Ken and I have begun to address
this gaping hole in our recent publications. See, for example: Dick B. and Ken
B.,
Stick with the Winners! http://mcaf.ee/s50mq;
and Dick B. and Ken B.,
Pioneer Stories
in Alcoholics Anonymous: God’s Role in Recovery Confirmed! http://mcaf.ee/gj7iw.]
Third, Mitchel swiftly covers and then dodges the heated arguments
which involved John Henry Fitzhugh M.’s (“Fitz’s”) insistence on the Big Book’s
being a Christian book. Similarly, Mitchel fails to take into account the “Pass It On” statement that 400 manuscript
pages were tossed out before publication, and that the secretary (Ruth Hock)
specifically told Hazelden’s Director of Historical Information Bill Pittman
that these discarded pages contained Christian and Bible materials.
Mitchel himself wrote:
In the formation of AA Wilson
initially insisted on references to God and Jesus as well as the Great
Physician. As the fellowship grew, however, other members persuaded Bill that a
purely Christian format would alienate many, keeping potential members away
from joining the group. Silkworth challenged the alcoholic with an ultimatum.
Once hopeless, the alcoholic would grasp hold of any chance of sobriety.
Silkworth, a medical doctor, challenged the alcoholic with a spiritual
conversion and a relationship with God as part of a program of recovery. His
approach with Bill Wilson was no different. Mitchel, Silkworth, 50.
As he sometimes did, Mitchel makes this statement without
citing references to authenticate his assertion. But his statement leaves a strong
suggestion that the original, and now missing, manuscript pages of the Big Book
specifically referred to God, to His Son Jesus Christ, and to the Great
Physician. And wouldn’t you like to know Mitchel’s authority for that claim! I
would, and I’ve been hunting for that bird for many years.
As a matter of fact, after Dr. Bob was dead, and 20 years
after the founding of A.A., Bill himself did make this important disclosure:
Alcoholism, not cancer, was my
illness, but what was the difference? Alcoholism took longer to do its killing,
but the result was the same. So if there was
a great Physician who could cure the alcoholic sickness, I had better seek Him
now, at once. I had better find what my friend [Ebby Thacher] had found. [Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, 61].
This “great Physician” story by Bill in the A.A. General
Service Conference-approved Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age item seems to have been left on the shelf in A.A.’s “basic
text,” the Big Book. Moreover, Bill’s phrase did not capitalize the word
“great.” Yet note how Bill’s statement about the “Great Physician” Jesus Christ
squares with the statements in Bill’s autobiography—statements by Bill not actually
published until the next century. (See Bill W., My First 40 Years.).
In his autobiography, Bill mentions the “great physician
that could cure the alcohol sickness.” (Bill W., My First 40 Years, 139). And Bill then capitalizes the phrase
“Great Physician” which is used twice
on page 145 in his autobiography. Next, Bill also makes the following statement
about his vital religious experience: “Then the transforming experience would
set in—sometimes like a thundercloud, as with St. Paul on the road to Damascus.”
(Bill W., My First 40 Years, 145).
And compare the following repeated accounts in the Book of
Acts—which was recommended biblical reading by Dr. Bob’s wife Anne in her personal
journal (
www.dickb.com/annesm.shtml):
And as he [Saul—later changed to
Paul] journeyed, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shined round about
him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying
unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me. And he said, Who art thou, Lord?
And the Lord said: I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to
kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city,
and it shall be told thee what thou must do. [Acts 9:3-6 KJV].
. . . I received letters unto the brethren,
and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem for
to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come
nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light
about me. And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me/? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said
unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with
me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him
that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me,
Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all the things
which are appointed for thee so to do. And when I could not see for the glory
of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into
Damascus. [Acts 22:5-11 KJV]
At midday, O King, I saw in the way
a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining about me and them
which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a
voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why
persecutes thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said,
Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise,
and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose: to
make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen,
and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee. Delivering thee from
the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee. To open their
eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was
not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. But shewed first unto them of
Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout the coasts of Judaea, and then to
the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for
repentance. [Acts 26:13-20 KV]
Fourth, it would appear that Searcy Whaley (now deceased)
disclosed a number of facts to author Mitchel and that these could have been
useful in my hunt for the truth. Mitchel contends that Searcy informed him that,
during the initial manuscript work for the Big Book, Bill confided regularly
with Dr. Silkworth on the wording and on the Steps. Without citations, Mitchel
then says that “When the first members of AA were discussing the many possible
names for their new book, Silkworth and Dr. Bob first supported the name “The
James Club,” based upon the principles of the book of James in the Bible.”
Mitchel adds, “During the writing of the Big Book, there were often heated
discussions about using more Christian-specific language rather than the term
Higher Power.” (See Mitchel,
Silkworth,
64-65.) I believe from most of my research that Mitchel may have been correct,
but I’d certainly like to see his authority for the assertions. (Compare my
title,
The James Club and The Original
A.A. Program’s Absolute Essentials http://dickb.com/JamesClub.shtml).
Fifth, Mitchel presents us with another flock of un-flushed
game birds when he speaks of Dr. Bob’s introducing Silkworth to the term
“treatment” rather than “cure.” Mitchel claims that Sister Ignatia had
persuaded Dr. Bob that an alcoholic was never cured and insisted that the word
“cure” should be entirely removed from the recovery text. (Mitchel, Silkworth, p. 71.) Once again, Mitchel
fails to authenticate his assertion. My own research demonstrates quite clearly
that Dr. Bob, Bill W., AA Number Three Bill D., Clarence S., and almost every other
early A.A. made it clear that they had a “cure” for alcoholism and had
themselves been “cured.” AA Number Three, in his personal story in the Big
Book, quotes A.A. cofounder Bill W. himself as follows:
“Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible
disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.” [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th
ed., 191—bolding added]
A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob made the following statement about
Bill W. in his (Dr. Bob’s) personal story in the Big Book:
But this was a man who had
experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all of the
drunkard’s experiences known to man, but who
had been cured by the very means I had been trying to employ, that is to
say, the spiritual approach. [Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th ed., 180—bolding added]
AA Number Three Bill D. also stated in personal story in the
Big Book:
That sentence, “The Lord has been so wonderful to me,
curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep telling people
about it,” has been a sort of a golden text for the A.A. program and for me. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th
ed., 191—bolding added]
I don’t doubt that Bill W. changed that tune later on. But
I’d sure like to see the evidence allegedly that indicates that Dr. Bob or Dr. Silkworth
or Sister Ignatia persuaded him to change it. Mitchel leaves us in the dark on
that one. Similarly, it would be nice to see the evidence on how the language “We
are not cured of alcoholism” (
Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4
th ed., 85), which apparently came from Richard
Peabody in his book,
The Common Sense of
Drinking (Little Brown, 1937), showed up in the Big Book. [For a discussion
of some of these matters, see Dick B.,
When
Early AAs Were Cured and Why (
www.dickb.com/alcoholismcured.shtml).]
Sixth, Mitchel deals with some writings which he believes
justify this statement:
Although Silkworth’s conversion
beliefs are left for secondary conversations between the two main characters,
conversion indeed occurs in every case of recovery presented. In accordance
with the Silkworth legacy, it is obvious the book lays the ground for a firm
base of medical understanding.” (Mitchell,
Silkworth, p. 96).
And this statement, plus others made by Mitchel, makes me
wonder just how many of the people that Mitchel quotes or alludes to really
have any understanding of the word “conversion” or of Dr. Carl Jung’s use of
the word “conversion,” or of Reverend Sam Shoemaker’s use of the word
“conversion,” or of Wilson’s use of the word “conversion,” or of Silkworth’s
understanding of conversion. Most originally spoke of a “vital religious
experience.” For any of these personalities, did “conversion” in fact mean the
acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, a documented requirement as part
of the “full surrenders” required in early Akron A.A.? [See Dick B.,
The Golden Text of A.A. (
http://dickb.com/goldentext.shtml).]
Finally, there are countless other rustles among the bushes
that leave you wondering how much more Mitchel knew about Silkworth, how much
more he didn’t know, and how much more he’d like to know. Thus on page 100, Mitchel
says: “One of the most ardent supporters of conversion was William Silkworth.”
On page 106, he says that, directed by Silkworth’s friend Fulton Oursler, Reader’s Digest also wrote of Silkworth
a few months after his death: “Dr. Silkworth was a great man who failed with
all human science and was humble enough to use God for a medicine.” Notice that
Mitchel spoke not of some illusory higher
power. He spoke of God! On page 122, Mitchel quotes the Canadian AA Grapevine, which spoke of the “almost
invisible skill with which he accomplished his daily miracles of medical and
spiritual healing.”
There are other interesting and challenging questions raised
in Mitchel’s book; and it has certainly shown me once again just how much of
our important A.A. history concerning Almighty God, His Son Jesus Christ, the
Holy Bible, conversion, cure, and spiritual healing still remains to be
discovered. And/or correlated with or discarded from other historical accounts.
For lots of additional material on Silkworth, see the
excellent Silkworth site:
Gloria
Deo
This is the 22nd
published title by A.A.'s leading historian on the history, roots, program, and
successes of early Alcoholics Anonymous. It is of special importance in that the
author moves from historical documentation to actual implementation. It tells
you exactly how the astonishingly successful program of early A.A. was conducted
and how those same elements can be taught, studied, and applied today. If early
A.A. achieved a 75% to 93% success rate among "medically incurable" alcoholics
who relied on the Creator, and really gave their lives to the program of cure,
why not you. Today!