Healing Records in the Gospel of Mark

GOD

Jesus Christ

 

Healing Records in the Gospel of Mark

 

Mark 1:21-28 (KJV):

And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine [is] this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

 

Mark 1:29-31 (KJV):

And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.

And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

 

Mark 1:32-34 (KJV):

And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

And all the city was gathered together at the door.

And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

 

Mark 1:38-39 (KJV):

And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

 

Mark 1:40-45 (KJV):

And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth [his] hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

But he went out, and began to publish [it] much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

 

Mark 2:1-12 (KJV):

And again he entered into Capernaum after [some] days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive [them], no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken [it] up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

Why doth this [man] thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, [Thy] sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

 

Mark 3:1-6 (KJV):

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched [it] out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

 

Mark 3:7-12 (KJV):

But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and [from] beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

 

Mark 5:1-20 (KJV):

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

Who had [his] dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any [man] tame him.

And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

For he said unto him, Come out of the man, [thou] unclean spirit.

And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered, saying, My name [is] Legion: for we are many.

And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

And they that fed the swine fled, and told [it] in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

And they that saw [it] told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and [also] concerning the swine.

And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.

Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all [men] did marvel.

 

Mark 5:21-24, 35-43:

And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.

And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,

And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: [I pray thee], come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

And [Jesus] went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.

 

While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's [house certain] which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.

And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.

And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was [of the age] of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

 

Mark 5:25-34 (KJV):

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in [her] body that she was healed of that plague.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

 

Mark 6:1-6 (KJV):

And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.

And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing [him] were astonished, saying, From whence hath this [man] these things? and what wisdom [is] this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed [them].

And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

 

Mark 6:7-13 (KJV):

And he called [unto him] the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

And commanded them that they should take nothing for [their] journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in [their] purse:

But [be] shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.

And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed [them].

 

Mark 6:53-56 (KJV):

And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.

And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,

And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.

And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

 

Mark 7:24-30 (KJV):

And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know [it]: but he could not be hid.

For a [certain] woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast [it] unto the dogs.

And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

 

Mark 7:31-37 (KJV):

And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published [it];

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

 

Mark 8:22-26 (KJV):

And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

After that he put [his] hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell [it] to any in the town.

 

Mark 9:14-29 (KJV):

And when he came to [his] disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to [him] saluted him.

And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?

And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, [Thou] dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And [the spirit] cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

 

Mark 10:46-52 (KJV):

And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, [thou] Son of David, have mercy on me.

And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, [Thou] Son of David, have mercy on me.

And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

A.A. Mystery Myth - an "Higher Power"

Alcoholics Anonymous History

Higher Power

 

By Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

 

 

Some of us spend a lot of time asking the question “What is a Higher Power?” Sometimes the answer we hear is: “Something.” Sometimes, the answer is “Somebody.” Sometimes the answer is “Anything that keeps me from drinking.” Others are saying more and more often, “it” is a light bulb, a radiator, a chair, the Big Dipper, a rock, “Her,” a tree, a rainbow, or “nothing at all.”

 

But whatever we hear, such answers sound pretty screwy to some of us. And they are.

 

However, the more the answers, the more the questions because those nonsense words and phrases like “Something” and “light bulb” don’t answer questions. They just raise the reasonable question, “But what is it?” [this “higher power” thing]

 

Historically, the phrase comes from New Thought writers like Ralph Waldo Trine, William James, the Emanuel Movement people, and Emmet Fox. More recently from writers like Glenn C. who claim they have an answer.

 

But what is it? What is this thing? What is the answer?

 

Let me tell you how three old timers approach the answer:

 

            One old timer – the oldest – was my friend Jim H. from Maryland. He made it to 100 years old and got sober just about the same time that Bill Wilson did. In fact, Jim knew Rev. Sam Shoemaker and met Bill Wilson at early Oxford Group meetings. In his nineties, Jim became associated with the phrase “back to basics.” He also came to know me, and he endorsed a number of my books. Jim’s approach was a “takeaway” approach. He said to me and wrote: “If you take God out of the program, you have nothing.”

 

            Another old timer – the long-time archivist at Dr. Bob’s home – is my friend Ray G. Ray takes a large collection of A.A. history materials around the U.S., conducts workshops at          conferences, and tells it like it was. Ray’s approach was “identify” it.  Ray just wrote me for the umpteenth time and said, “My higher power isn’t conference approved; but his Father is!”

 

            A third – an old timer from Oregon whose name is Gene – just phoned me to say that he was involved in both A.A. and N.A. and was speaking at a world convention of N.A. He said he was interested in our early A.A. history and my research and wanted to bring “his” higher power back into the program. He said that Jesus was his higher power, and he knew that the early A.A. program was a Christian program. He is a statewide prison chaplain leader. We got to talking about “singleness of purpose,” about the common features of A.A. and  N.A., and about the drift of both away from God. At the end of our  conversation, we both agreed that today’s crowds in A.A. and N.A. are really not single anything—not just alcoholics, not just addicts, not just Christians, not just atheists, and often not much of either if they just stayed sick and didn’t get into a fellowship and focus on getting well. Gene said that he no longer introduced himself in speeches by saying “I’m Gene, and I am an  alcoholic” or “I’m Gene, and I am an addict.” Today he introduces himself as follows: “I’m Gene, and I am a responsible member of the program.”

 

So this little article is addressed to those who are or want to be “a responsible member of the program.” Who is such a responsible member?

 

Let’s take a cue from the three old timers I just quoted.

 

A responsible member is one who does not seek, or want, to take God out of the program. A responsible member is one who makes it clear that the Creator, his Father, is “conference approved”—certainly not “conference dis-approved.” A responsible member includes anyone who gets well by turning to “the Lord”—as Bill Wilson and Bill Dotson (A.A. Number Three) said they did (Big Book, p. 191). A responsible member is one who would rather focus on what God has done for him once he has sought God, rather than sparking a conflict over definitions--who is sick from what, what a “higher power” is or isn’t, and who satisfied the requirements for “membership” and who doesn’t.

 

One of the reasons I enjoyed and still enjoy the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous is that I never tried to substitute a “higher power” for Almighty God. Another is that I never got thrown out when I mentioned God. Another is that I used the same terms for describing God that were used by Dr. Bob, Bill Wilson, A.A. Number Three, and the other pioneers. Those terms, repeated frequently in A.A. literature, were Creator, Maker, Father, God, Father of lights, Spirit, Heavenly Father. Another reason for still enjoying A.A. is that I soon gave up thinking I could demand that others stop using the phrase “higher power” to describe their “Something,” or “Somebody,” or “not-god” philosophy. And I am, like Gene, “a responsible member of the program.” At least I think so, and that is what counts for me

 

 

 

Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837; 808 874 4876; dickb@dickb.com; http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml;

 

Gloria Deo

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

A.A. History: The Lingering Oxford Group Quetions

A.A. History

 

A.A., A.A.’s Real Spiritual History, and Oxford Group Questions

 

Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

 

Comment on this Segment

 

[An interesting email from our International Christian Recovery Coalition Leader Russell S. of Miami to my son Ken B. in Maui. Russell sent his letter after reading my comments to Dave H. seeking authoritative information about the Oxford Group and A.A. And those comments are set forth below along with Dave’s letter. Perhaps the main reason for laying out this correspondence is that it illustrates the hunger of AAs for accurate information about their own history. It also illustrates how opinions and speculative recitals of supposed facts will not suffice. To the                                         concerned reader, such speculations just keep the pot of confusion boiling; they keep the legends perking; and they keep the members in the dark as to the real role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the Christian Recovery Movement long before A.A., played in the founding of A.A. and the upbringing of its founders, and can and should play today.]

 

The Answer to Russell S. about a Clergyman

 

Aloha to you, Russell, from Maui, Hawaii!

 

Several sources on the "AAHistoryLovers" forum identify Father Ed Dowling as the "well-loved clergyman" quoted on page 63 of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1952, 1953, 1981).

 

The question was raised on the "AAHistoryLovers" forum here:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4411

 

"barefootbill69" asserted--with no documentation--that it was "Fr. Ed Dowling" here:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4412

 

"Tom White" seconded that opinion--with inadequate documentation--here:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4417

 

"Tokenglance" provided as evidence that Father Ed Dowling was the "well-loved clergyman" a quote from a presentation by Father Dowling:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4425

 

A purported transcript of Father Ed Dowling's talk/paper may be seen here:

http://goo.gl/Yq3pC

 

The publication information given for Father Dowlings presentation is:

N.C.C.A. "BLUE BOOK" AN ANTHOLOGY

Catholic Asceticism and the Twelve Steps

Reverend Edward Dowling, S.J.

The Queen's Work,

St. Louis, Missouri

Brooklyn, 1953

 

(A person on the forum requested from "barefootbill69" documentation for his assertion but did not receive a response from him. Another person on the forum questioned how a 1953 presentation by Father Dowling could be the source for a quote in Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions--"a 1952 publication." Please note that my dad's copy states that the first printing was April 1953. It also states: "Copyright 1952, 1953, 1981 by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., and Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing (now known as Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)"

 

In GOD's love,

 

Dick B.'s son, Ken

 

The Letter to Ken from Russell S.

 

On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 1:53 AM, sponsor1 <sponsor1@comcast.net> wrote:

Dear Dick

 

I appreciate the letter.

 

I recently gave a step 6  meeting  (I have attached the link below) I would appreciate your comments (and Ken’s) on same.  It was well received-although in my opinion pretty “in your face”. 

 

Finally – who was the well-loved clergyman who gave us the definition of the  man who is living the 6th step?

 

Russell S. – Step 6 at The 12 Step House – Seriously Speaking

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcnntoq0fsptep4/Russell%20S.%20-%20Step%206%20at%20The%2012%20STEP%20H.mp3?m

 

The Letter from Dave H. and Reply from Dick B. about A.A. History and the Oxford Group Facts

 

From: Dick B. [mailto:dickb@dickb.com]

Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 3:03 PM

To: …………………. [names removed]

 

A Letter Asking about the Relationship of A.A. to the Oxford Group & A.A.’s Roots

 

Dick B.

Copyright 2012. Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

 

Dear Dave:

 

Thank you for writing. Your question is an important one. And the answer is clouded by years of countervailing opinions (not facts). The opinions that mean the least are those found in the “wisdom of the rooms”—where people have picked up this statement or that, failed to research it, or discarded any quest at all. Next in order are the opinions of religious people motivated more by their prejudices than by any substantial knowledge of or research on the subject facts. Next are the atheists and humanists who would rather throw rocks at Bill and Bob and Frank Buchman than they would to get the facts and report them correctly. Oddly, one highly prejudiced atheist pulls Bill apart at the seams, but recommends my Akron Genesis book as being well researched and accurate. But twenty-six years of continuous active participation in and sobriety through A.A.,  plus about twenty-three years of research, writing, reading, visits, interviews, and gathering of books and papers have enabled a respectable, helpful picture to be portrayed. Once again, however, a religious historian who says frankly he never  read the Oxford Group books and never went  to Akron misses no chance to call me a hobbyist, an amateur, and one or two other less complimentary names. But ad hominem name calling doesn’t fill in the factual void. And I believe this reply will let you see the elements involved.

 

I would be glad to have you phone me here in Maui and I can fill in some of the blanks. But I do not like making statements to people concerning certain facts when they have not read my books, articles, footnotes, and bibliographies or visited the archives, libraries, and repositories as I have been doing.

 

My own quest began in 1990 when I went to the Seattle Convention with only one question in mind: “Did A.A. come from the Bible?” A young man who belonged to my Bible fellowship said it had and referred me to DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers where the biblical roots are clearly stated—although there are many threads underlying those roots. At Seattle, I went  to the archives meeting and quickly learned that the panelists had no significant information. But I did meet Frank Mauser, who was GSO archivist and who soon helped me immeasurably as I pieced the puzzle together through the years—one subject at a time. And then I realized how many different AAs there were, that there was and is no “monolithic” A.A., and that one must not have “contempt  prior to investigation.”

 

Here are several points that can be helpful to  you and are thoroughly  documented in my published titles and articles as well as the historical materials I have donated to the Wilson House, North Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury, St.  Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, the archivist at Dr. Bob’s Home in Akron, and the newly refurbished Gate Lodge on the Seiberling Estate in Akron (where Bill and Bob were introduced to each other by Henrietta Seiberling).

 

First, the seeds of A.A. ideas grew long before there was an A.A. or an Oxford Group. And the best and most simple document on that is The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches Their Last Major Talks. And I’m not talking about the “Washingtonians,” the “Emanuel Movement,” Courtney Baylor, or Emmet Fox. In the 1850’s there was a dearth of Christian devotion in Vermont where both Bob and Bill were born and raised. At the same time, the Temperance Movement had appeared on the scene; and there were several Christian events and organizations which laid out various aspects of First Century Christianity (as laid out in the Book of Acts) and used them to help drunks get well). In very very brief form, they were: (1) The Great Evangelists like Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey, F. B. Meyer, Henry Drummond, Robert E. Speer, Allen Folger, and others. And they tended to flow toward Moody’s Mount Hermon acreage in Northfield, Mass—very near the Vermont border. Almost all these men had interlocking interests in the Young Men’s Christian Association, United Christian Endeavor Society, Salvation Army, and Gospel Rescue Missions. And they healed drunks—often in the streets and with a  simple technique that was to personify the later A.A.—qualifying the suffering soul as convinced he was licked, insisting that he believe in God and come to Him through Jesus Christ, using the Bible as authority for religious truth. He was to grow  spiritually through prayer meetings, Bible study, Quiet  Time, and r eading Christ ian literature. Once healed, he was t o go out and help others get well by the same means. See, for example, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, page 131. (2) Because of  the dead religious action in Vermont about 1860, the YMCA brethren and Christian churches put together The Great Awakening of 1875 in St. Johnsbury. Dr. Bob’s parents were married at this time. Bob was born shortly thereafter. And the entire community  was transformed, with churches springing  up all over the little village. (3) Meanwhile Jerry McAuley and S.H. Hadley were helping drunks get well at the altar by t he thousands; and Bill himself went t o   a successor (Sam Shoemaker’s Calvary Mission) in New York and was born again, said so, and sought God’s help shortly thereafter at  Towns Hospital. (4) The Salvation Army under General Booth worked in the streets at  first . A burly Salvationist would approach a drunk in the gutter, offer him salvation, the Bible, and a helping hand, and—when he was healed—insist that he join “God’s Army” and help others the same way. (5) In 1881, United Christian Endeavor Society was founded in a Congregational Church in Maine. It was denominational and designed to bring the young people back into  the church. The techniques were:  Conversion meetings, prayer meetings, Bible study meetings, topical discussion of Christian literature, social comradeship, and affiliation with the church itself. There was some interest in Temperance as well.

 

Second, those were t he diverse seeds; and they were directed at helping drunks. No Washingtonians (they didn’t believe in God). No Oxford Group (It didn’t exist). No A.A. at  all. Reliance on God. Conversion to Him through Christ. Bible. Prayer. Quiet Hour. Sermons. Parental Influence. Hymns. Sunday school. Collaborative YMCA activity. And rigid Congregational church training at St. Johnsbury Academy (for Dr. Bob), Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester (for Bill and his friend Ebby), and Norwich Military Academy (for Bill and Ebby—Norwich allowed attendance at one of several churches. Daily chapel with Scripture reading, prayer, hymns and sermons was required. YMCA affiliation at the Academy was required ( Bill was President at Burr and Burton) (Dr Bob’s father was President in St. Johnsbury). Bill was required to take a four year Bible study at Burr and Burton. Bill’s girl friend was YWCA President; and the two went to “Y” activities hand-in-hand. Dr. Bob specifically stated that he had had excellent training in the Bible as a youngster in Vermont. And he, like Bill, got it from his parents, his Sunday school, his church, the sermons, the creed and confession, the hymns, prayer meetings, Bible studies, Christian Endeavor, YMCA events, and the emphasis in the Congregational Churches on the authority of the Bible and the necessity for salvation through a new birth

 

Third, there is an important  event which heavily influenced the required acceptance of Christ in later  A.A. Bill’s grandfather Willie Wilson had a severe drinking problem. He went to the top of Mount Aeolus in East Dorset  Vermont; cried out to God for help; was saved;  ran down to the pulpit of t he little church; told them all of the event. And never drank again for the rest of his life.

 

You may know that both Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church  in New York and much involved in the later Oxford Group; as well as Dr. Frank N. D. Buchman (who founded the Oxford Group about 1919) had extensive work with students in the Young Men’s Christian Association. And in those days, Y was synonymous with Bible, Quiet Time, prayer meetings, conversions, revivals, and healings.

 

If you’ve wondered why the Big Book contains so many biblical words and phrases such as God, Creator, Maker, Heavenly Father, Father, Father of Lights, Love thy neighbor, Faith without works Is dead, and Thy will be done, there should be no mystery as to why Bob and Bill used such language.

 

Fourth, when Bill met Bob, Bill had been going to Oxford Group meetings in New York, and Dr. Bob had joined a little group on Wednesdays at the T. Henry Williams Home in Akron. These groups did not much resemble Oxford Group story telling, witnessing, and the like. They f ocused on helping drunks. And many Oxford Group people felt that this was a distraction.

 

Fifth, finally the Akron Christian Fellowship program was founded in 1935. No Big Book. No Steps. No drunkalogs. No Traditions. No Oxford Group (except for the Wednesday nite meeting). Hospitalizaton. Working with   drunks, prayer meetings, Quiet  Time, Bible studies, morning teachings by Anne Smith at the Smith Home each morning. And t hey had a claimed   75 % success rate by November of 1937.

 

Bill had gone back to New York in 1935, been active with the Oxford Group, teamed up with Hank Parkhurst to make money  on a book, and got permission from Akron to write it. The personal stories were the Akron program. And the non-existent steps were the focus of the front portion of the book.

 

Who wrote the Big Book? Dr. Bob did not write the Big Book or the Steps. And he said so. Bill dictated most of it to his secretary Ruth Hock. Bill holed up with Rev. Sam Shoemaker and worked out a program that much resembled the Oxford Group’s life-changing program.

 

Later, Bill wrote in an article found today in The Language of the Heart that there were three sources: (1) Dr. Silkworth on the 1st Step. (2) Professor William James on the 12t h step’s “vital religious experience.” (3) Shoemaker  on the rest of  the Steps. Dr. Bob said the basic idea (which can be construed as those in the personal stories) came from the Bible with particular emphasis on the Book of James, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13. Bill and Bob both said that Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount contained the underlying spiritual philosophy of A.A.

 

Much of the language  in the Big Book and Steps can be found in Anne Smith’s Journal.

 

There is much much more. And I would appreciate your doing the following:

 

1)            Obtaining Pamphlet P-53  and reading it.

2)            Obtaining DR. BOB and the Good Old timers and reading it.

3)            Obtaining Dover Publications reprint of the First Edition of the Big Book with a lengthy introduction written by me, and the personal stories there before GSO later  removed almost all of them

4)            Obtaining The Good Book and the Big Book www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml.

5)            Obtaining The Oxford Group & Alcoholics Anonymous www.dickb.com/Oxford.shtml

6)            Obtaining Good Morning: Quiet  Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. www.dickb.com/goodmorn.shtml

7)            Obtaining New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A. www.dickb.com/newlight.shtml

8)            Obtaining Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont www.dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml

9)            Obtaining The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator’s Role in Early A.A. www.dickb.com/conversion.shtml

10)          Obtaining The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010

 

Sending me your name, address, phone, background info, and any URL.

 

 

God bless,

 

Dick B.

Author, 46 titles & over 1,200 articles on A.A. History and the Christian Recovery Movement

Exec. Dir., International Christian Recovery Coalition

Christian Recovery Resource Centers - Worldwide

Christian Recovery Radio

www.DickB.com

DickB@DickB.com

(808) 874-4876

PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

 

Ps 118:17 (NJB):

I shall not die, I shall live to recount the great deeds of Yahweh.

 

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From: Dave H Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 5:47 AM

To: dickb@dickb.com

Subject: The Oxford Group

 

Hello Dick,

 

I am looking for 1 book that will help me understand the Oxford Group and its intended or unintended effect upon Alcoholics Anonymous. As a sober memebr of AA for 21 years I am frustrated by what I see as alot of watered-down recovery. Hence I am on a quest to get to the roots of AA so i can help others with the same effectiveness as the First 100.

 

Thanks In Advance,

 

Dave H.

A.A. History

A.A. History

Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

[A brief addendum to a very important article written a few months back. We now know why there has been such a growing onrush of Christian recovery leaders, workers, newcomers, and those who want God’s help in recovering from alcoholism, drug addiction, and life controlling problems. The answer is that the more we have searched and researched, the more we have learned where A.A. really came from. And that  information should buttress the faith, the efforts, and the programs of those who want the primary role of the Creator placed back in front of those who are struggling in recovery programs—struggling with psychiatric solutions, behavioral solutions, pharmaceutical solutions, “medical models,” “spirituality,” “higher powers,” and all the other ineffective methods that have cluttered the original highly successful scene.

 

To encourage others to list themselves—at no cost—in International Christian Recovery Coalition—and become champions of God’s role in recovery—has become a major focus of our last three years of conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings, and networking.  You can find the evidence on www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com, on www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com, and on my main website with its many links www.dickb.com.

 

What’s the news?

 

The successful turning to God by alcoholics began at  least as early as the 1850’s. The Great Evangelists like Dwight Moody, Ira Sankey, F.B. Meyer, Allen Folger and others held huge revivals where salvation, the Word of God, and healing were emphasized. And drunks were healed. Rescue Missions began offering the same type of solution to derelicts who came in off the streets. And drunks were healed. The Salvation Army reached out into the streets with salvation, the Word, and a helping hand and developed the idea of one recovered person helping another find God and His help. And drunks were healed. The Young Men’s Christian Association brethren started in England helping young men move from the streets and drunkenness to the word of God and salvation. And drunks were healed. And then came the United Society of Christian Endeavor which was founded in Maine in 1881, attracted the young Bob Smith to its ranks, and soon grew to  4.5 million members round the world. And a program of conversion, prayer meetings, Bible study, Quiet Hour, reading Christian literature, and bringing youngsters back into the church became a frontispiece for the later AA of Akron program.

 

Amidst it all, was the Christian upbringing of A.A. cofounders Robert Holbrook Smith (Dr. Bob) of St. Johnsbury, Vermont and William Griffith Wilson (Bill W.) of East Dorset, Vermont. And Vermont Congregational Churches, Vermont Congregational Academies with their daily chapel and Bible studies, the Young Men’s Christian Association, the Evangelists, the growth of the Salvation Army and of Christian Endeavor all made their mark on A.A. founders in their youth and before there was an A.A. or an Oxford Group.

 

Then came the dark years of drunkenness and dereliction for the founders. But they didn’t forget their youth, salvation, the Bible, healing, and the importance of abstinence.

That  part of the story has been equally obscured and now been brought to light as Christians have awakened to the fact that God has long done for drunks what they could not do for themselves.]

 

Now, back to the original article which prompted this revisitation of real Twelve Step History

 

 

Many  Claims. Many  Errors. One Truth

When was A.A. Founded?

 

            You'd think by now that everyone knew. Yet I was active in A.A. and its meetings for two or three years before I ever heard mention of the founding. Finally, I learned that the date was June 10, 1935 - the date that Dr. Bob had his last drink. But that didn't satisfy today's historians. They tinkered with dates and concluded that Dr. Bob didn't have his last drink on June 10th, that the medical convention to which he went in Atlantic City never occurred when AAs said it did, and that A.A. was founded on some other date thereabouts.

 

 If you asked someone when George Washington cut down the cherry tree, just think how many different answers the historians might provide. Does it matter? Today, we don't even seem to celebrate his birthday and prefer lumping all our presidents together.

        

 Well, AAs do care. It matters to them. So I set forth all the arguments and dates long ago in my title, The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous. You can study them there if you like. Long after A.A. was founded, Lois Wilson wrote that it had been founded in 1934 when drunks were coming to the Wilson home in Brooklyn. Others wanted to date it when Ebby Thacher first carried the message to Bill Wilson. T. Henry Williams often said that A.A. started right on the carpet of his Palisades home in Akron when Dr. Bob, Henrietta Seiberling, and the others in the Oxford Group knelt and prayed for Dr. Bob's recovery. Still others like to date it as of the publishing of the Big Book in the Spring of 1939. Clarence Snyder claimed he was the founder, and that the first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous was held in Cleveland on May 11, 1939. One would-be expert has now asserted that the "original" program occurred some time after that in the 1940's. And, Bill Wilson made the statement that the first A.A. group began when A.A. Number Three was cured of alcoholism, was visited by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob in the hospital, and walked from there a "free man" - never to drink again. That happened very shortly after Dr. Bob himself got sober.

 

So—if you think they matter in the battle to overcome alcoholism--you'll have to make up your own mind. FDR changed Thanksgiving. We call Armistice Day Veterans Day. And on and on. Which leads to the conclusion that "founding" days are perhaps less important than the founding facts.

 

Personally, I'm convinced that A.A. began. I am convinced it began at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron. I am convinced that Bob and Bill agreed that it began when Dr. Bob took his last drink. I'm convinced that fairly soon after AA began, Bill and Bob agreed that the founding date was June 10, 1935. And thereafter, Bill Wilson attended and actually spoke at "Founders Day" each year in Akron where the "founding of A.A." on June 10, 1935 is celebrated.

Do you know when A.A. was founded? I don't. But I'm very sure it was founded because that's where I took my last drink forever and was cured. The date  was April 21, 1986.

 

Where did the original program come from?

 

I  know what it was, where it began, when it began, and how it was practiced. But you'd have a heck of a time convincing a lot of AAs today. People who have never met or even read much about Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob, or the original days in Akron.

In the first place, people have chosen to call the early days the "flying blind" period. Yet there never was more light shining on the cure for alcoholism. Real alcoholics who really tried, who were "medically incurable," who were willing to go to any lengths to get well, were cured in astonishing percentages. By 1938, some forty of them-called the "pioneers"-were maintaining sobriety, half or more for two years. Richard K. has produced three books now detailing who these folks were, when they got sober, and what happened to them. Their names can be found on a dozen rosters. The pictures of many are on the walls at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron. Fifty per cent got sober and stayed sober, despite the fact that many a creative A.A. amateur historian insists that the original gang all died drunk. Nonsense!

 

In the second place, the program came from the Bible. Maybe that's why doubters and unbelievers want to call it the "flying blind" period. The Bible was read to Bill and Bob and studied by them throughout their youth in Vermont. It was read to them at at the Smith Home each day in the summer of 1935 by Dr. Bob's wife Anne Smith. Bob had studied the Bible all his life and began refreshing his memory as a youngster. He read the Bible straight through three times. Bob and Bill stayed up until the wee hours of the morning every day that Bill stayed at the Smith home in Akron in the summer of 1935. The discussed the Biblical basis for recovery which their experience had then revealed to them.

 

Later, when asked a question about the program, Dr. Bob said: "What does the Good Book say." He often commented that the old timers felt that the answer to all their problems could be found in the Good Book. Over and over, Bob emphasized that the Book of James, Jesus’s sermon  on the mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7), and 1 Corinthians 13 were absolutely essential. I've written much about the specifics AAs borrowed from these three books. See The Good Book and The Big Book, Why Early A.A. Succeeded, The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous, Turning Point, New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A., When Early AAs Were Cured and Why, and my new article, "A.A., The James Club, and the Book of James".

 

Bob and Bill both said that the sermon on the mount contained the underlying philosophy of A.A., that 1 Corinthians 13 was favored reading, and the A.A. thought so much of the Book of James that they wanted to call their Society the "James Club." The Bible was read at every A.A. meeting in Akron for years-not Oxford Group books, not Shoemaker books, not popular Christian literature, not even much from devotionals like The Upper Room.

 

The Bible was stressed, and AAs said so. You can read it in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, the A.A. Conference Approved  book published in 1980. In fact, in his last major talk to AAs-which is on tape, which has been edited and reprinted, and which can be found in A.A.'s own literature-Dr. Bob said A.A. basic ideas came from the Bible.

 

When was the original program developed and completed?

 

There's a very simple set of facts. Yet many don't want to acknowledge them because they are busy saying that Dr. Bob could never get sober studying the Bible or being a member of the Oxford Group, that there were "six" Oxford Group Steps (which there weren't), that there were "six" word-of-mouth A.A. steps (which Wilson characterized in half a dozen ways), and that the "twelve" steps somehow represented the "steps" that early AAs took (even though there were no steps at all, not six, not twelve, not any) and even though there was no basic text containing any steps until the Spring of 1939 (shortly after Bill had asked Rev. Sam Shoemaker to write the Steps), and even though the actual vote authorizing Bill to write a textbook was controversial, was taken in Akron, and occurred in 1937 or 1938 before Bill ever began writing the Big Book.

 

Dr. Bob also pointed out that, in the development years, "there were no steps" and that "our stories didn't amount to anything." So, by 1938, when Bill and Bob had counted noses, found that some 40 men were maintaining continuous sobriety-some for as long as two years, and concluded that God had shown them how to pass along their program, the program could certainly be said to have been completed.

 

What Was The Original A.A. Program?

 

The program in Akron had, under the leadership of Dr. Bob, worked so well that Bill managed to persuade John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to take a careful look at it.

           

Rockefeller dispatched his representative, Frank Amos, to Akron to investigate. And Amos did just that. He interviewed doctors, judges, AAs, family members, and Dr. Bob himself. He concluded the program bore close resemblance to First Century Christianity as described in the Book of Acts.

 

He was astonished at its success and at the simple elements that comprised "the" program. He submitted two reports to Rockefeller, and Amos was later to become an A.A. trustee-presumably in recognition of  his vital role in the founding of the real, original, A.A. program.

           

Some of the Amos Reports can be found in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers: (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980). But I wanted to see the originals. So I went to A.A. General Services in New York and to the archives at the Bill Wilson home called "Stepping Stones" at Bedford Hills in New York. I saw the reports and verified the basic accuracy of the A.A. excerpts.

 

Amos did not discuss the hospitalizations at Akron City Hospital which were "musts" in the early program. Possibly because a newcomer's program did not really begin until he had detoxed, been relieved of some of his fuzzy thinking, and become a real candidate. Nor did Amos discuss the surrender with Dr. Bob at the conclusion of the brief hospitalization. For it was then that the newcomer dealt with three issues: (1) Did he believe in God. (2) Would he get down on his knees with Dr. Bob and pray. (3) Would he "surrender" his life by accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. And if he "passed" that surrender test, out of the hospital he went-to begin all the activities I have described at such length in my published titles.

           

You can find an excellent and concise description of the whole process in my title "God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century, pp. 2 -12. A short description of the original program as Frank Amos described it, would be:

 

Abstinence-the alcoholic shall realize he must never again drink.

Absolute surrender of himself to God.

He must remove from his life the sins which frequently accompany alcoholism.

He must have devotions every morning-a Quiet Time of prayer and Bible reading.

He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out.

Important, but not vital, he must frequently meet with other "reformed" alcoholics

and form both a social and religious comradeship.

Important, but not vital, he must attend some religious service at least once weekly.

           

 

There is much more in terms of activity-Morning quiet time with Anne Smith at the Smith home, individual quiet time, the Wednesday Oxford Group meeting, regular informal meetings at the Smith Home, Bible study and prayer and the reading of Christian literature being circulated, talks with Dr. Bob and Anne and Henrietta Seiberling, and visits to newcomers at the hospital. But the "cure"-the permanent solution to their problems--was described as above in the Frank Amos report.

          

 

No drunkalogs. No steps. No Big Book. No service structure. No offices. And no money! Just the Creator, Jesus Christ, obedience to God's will, the Bible, prayer, fellowship, and witness.

 

It worked! Seventy-five percent documented success rate in those days; and, shortly thereafter, at the beginning of the 1940's, a ninety-three percent documented success rate. Documented by carefully kept rosters, names, dates, addresses, and phone numbers.

 

dickb@dickb.com

 

Gloria Deo