The Compromise on "God" in Bill Wilson's "New Version" of the A.A. Program--the Twelve Steps

Alcoholics Anonymous History and Bill W.’s Statement About God and the Big Book Manuscript “New Version of the Program”

 

Dick B.

© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

The Compromise

 

Let’s let Bill speak for himself as he wrote the following in Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age:

 

I was greatly pleased with what I had written, and I read t hem the new version of the program now the “Twelve Steps” (p. 162.)

 

All this time I had refused to budge on these steps, I would not change a word of the original draft, in which,  you will remember, I had consistently used the word “God,” and in one place the expression “on our knees” was used’ (p. 166.)

 

Praying to God on one’s knees was still a big affront to Henry [Parkhurst]. He argued, he begged, he threatened. He quoted Jimmy to back him up. He was positive we would scare off alcoholics by the thousands when they read those Twelve Steps. . . . Though at first I would have none of it, we finally began to talk about the possibility of compromise .Who first suggested the actual compromise words I do not know. . .  Such were the final concessions to those of little or no faith; this was the great contribution of our atheists and agnostics. (pp. 166-67)

 

dickb@dickb.com