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People in A.A. who are intensely enthusiastic about the Twelve Steps of recovery are fond of rejecting any "smorgasbord" approach to those Steps. They'll say, for example, "The Steps are numbered for a reason." And they rail against those who "take" and/or "practice" such of the twelve as appeal to them, yet leave the remainder of the Steps alone. I'm not convinced that many really do accept or reject in this manner. Those who are timid about the program are more likely, I believe, to: "balk" at the Fourth Step; "lie" or withhold facts in their Fifth Step; "misunderstand" and underestimate the important principles behind Steps Six and Seven; simply fail to complete Steps Eight and Nine; and somehow overlook the "continuity" purpose of Steps Ten, Eleven, and Twelve. The last category, for example, might include those who say, "I practice all of the Steps every day," or "I do one Step each month," or "I'm doing all the Steps again." When confronted with a more appropriate order, they may dodge the criticism by arguing that the steps are "suggestive" only and contain no requirements. In other words, they probably don't ignore any of the Steps. Many–particularly the timid - just haven't done or perhaps are unwilling to do the hard work involved in completing the first nine steps and applying what they've learned in "continuing" to practice the principles involved in the last three steps. The same thing applies when it comes to learning our spiritual roots. There are at least six major spiritual roots: (1) The Bible. (2) Quiet Time. (3) The teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker. (4) The life-changing program of the Oxford Group. (5) The writings of Dr. Bob's wife Anne Ripley Smith. (6) The Christian literature they read. Added to these six roots are: (7) Some of the ideas of Professor William James (whose very words were used by Rev. Sam Shoemaker in his writings, and whose book The Varieties of Religious Experience was read by A.A.'s founders). (8) Some of the ideas of Dr. Carl Jung about conversion. (9) Some of the new thought phrases of Ralph Waldo Trine, Emmet Fox, and several "transcendentalists." And then: (10) Some of the fall-out from Dr. William Silkworth on the "disease," "allergy," and "psychic change" concepts. (11) Richard Peabody on some of the "treatment" notions covered in his title The Common Sense of Drinking–also read by the founders and containing language similar to that found in A.A. The more you research the more you find that our official, "reported" history has actually cluttered up the historical facts themselves. Thus there has been a failure even to explore or detail Dr. Bob's work in Christian Endeavor as a youngster. This gap leaves this root of Akron's "old fashioned prayer meetings" ignored as a major Bible root. Moreover, the failure to write about Lois Wilson's Swedenborgian beliefs, family church membership, and her own affiliation–together with Bill's exposure to those influences - leaves out this possible "spiritualism" influence on, and support for, Bill's "spook sessions." It also may contribute to a failure to mention Lois's stated opposition to "conversion," "soul surgery," and possibly even to the Bible itself. The latter being a matter of omission rather than explicit opposition. A problem definitely arises out of a "smorgasbord" approach to our spiritual roots and parts of roots. If you pick at some, pick out some, and push out others, you don't have the "Program." By "Program," we mean whatever Frank Amos meant when he came to Akron and thoroughly investigated Dr. Bob and those features which had produced such astonishing successes at Akron No. 1–A.A.'s first group. Worse, you can't attain an understanding of the "Program." It is easy to call it too religious, too Christian, too Protestant, or too Oxford Group–leaving the program itself to float in a sea of unbelief. You may overlook the Bible because it is so little mentioned today. You may not appreciate the importance of Quiet Time because it has been so hacked up by later "meditation" and "reflection" and "twenty-four-hour" books. You may ignore the immense influence of Rev. Sam Shoemaker because the details of his specific role and contributions have been missing until recently. You may decline to look at the Oxford Group principles because of long-standing Roman Catholic and other opposition to Dr. Buchman and his work some 50 years ago. You may just plain miss the work of Anne Smith because her "journal" has been so long on the shelf–in fact, virtually banned from the history scene at her own home in Akron today. And you may omit the Christian literature early AAs read because it is voluminous and, for some, controversial. You may, as I did for quite some time, fail to appreciate or study the effect on A.A. "theology" of the ideas of William James, Ralph Waldo Trine, Emmet Fox, and others. In so doing, you may not realize the confusion and conflict fostered by putting some of our spiritual sources in your thinking, ignoring others, and believing everything in front of you was and is divinely inspired and just hunky dory. What Steps?You won't spend much time digging in our early "Program" without realizing that, at its peak percentage-of-success period, which commenced in 1935, there were no Steps. No steps? No steps!" To assure your consideration of that fact, let's look at the record: "Dr. Bob, noting that there were no Twelve Steps at the time and that "our stories didn't amount to anything to speak of,' later said they were convinced that the answer to their problems was in the Good Book" "As Dr. Bob recalled: "I didn't write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them... We already had the basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form. We got them... as a result of our study of the Good Book'." "Dorothy [Snyder Murphy] recalled the 1937 meetings when "the men would all disappear upstairs... After about half an hour or so, down would come the new man, shaking, white, serious, and grim. And all the people who were already in A.A. would come trooping down after him. They were pretty reluctant to talk about what had happened, but after a while, they would tell us they had had a real surrender. I often wonder how many people that come in now would survive an experience like that–a regular old fashioned prayer meeting'." "But Bill did get to see John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who dispatched Frank Amos out to Akron to investigate what was going on. Mr. Amos, who was soon to become one of A.A.'s first non-alcoholic trustees, did a thorough job of investigating what he referred to as the "self-styled Alcoholic Group of Akron, Ohio.' He called on Dr. Bob and attended meetings. He questioned members and nonmembers, including professional associates of Dr. Bob... In his report to Mr. Rockefeller in February, 1938, Mr. Amos said... "they [the stories of the men, their wives, and in some cases their mothers]... were all remarkably alike in "the technique used and the system followed.' He described the "Program' as follows: " 1. An alcoholic must realize that he is an alcoholic, incurable from a medical standpoint, and that he must never again drink anything with alcohol in it. 2. He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope. 3. Not only must he want to stop drinking permanently, he must remove from his life other sins such as hatred, adultery, and others which frequently accompany alcoholism. Unless he will do this absolutely, Smith and his associates refuse to work with him. 4. He must have devotions every morning–a "quiet time' of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious literature. Unless this is faithfully followed, there is grave danger of backsliding. 5. He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out. This throws up a protective barrier and strengthens his own willpower and convictions. 6. It is important, but not vital, that he meet frequently with other reformed alcoholics and form both a social and religious comradeship. 7. Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly'." I remember sitting in Wisconsin in the home of an experienced AA. That was several years ago. We listened to the taped interrogation of Ed Andy, an A.A. oldtimer from Lorain, Ohio. Ed Andy is dead now. But at the time, he was questioned again and again as to how he "took the Steps." Most of the time, he simply responded with talk about other things they did in the old days. But he also frequently said, "There were no Steps." I really don't think his interrogators understood him because they were not that conversant with the "Program" that Frank Amos and Dr. Bob explained as set forth above. The A.A. questioners seemed not to believe that this old duffer had been sober so many years without taking "the Steps." But there were no steps! The "Program" was described by Frank Amos. And Amos accurately reported what the pioneers did. They renounced alcohol. They surrendered absolutely to their Creator for help. They worked at removing "sins" from their lives. They had devotions in the form of prayer, Bible study, use of religious literature such as The Upper Room, and seeking revelation from God in what was commonly called a "Quiet Time." They helped alcoholics get straightened out. They fellowshipped with other believers. And they often attended a weekly religious service. No steps! No Oxford Group program. Just the simple acts described above. Their actions and their Program were influenced to a greater and greater degree by what was in the Bible, in Oxford Group writings, in Anne Smith's journal, and in the religious literature. And they followed much the same prayer, Bible study, quiet time, and witnessing ideas Dr. Bob had learned in his youth in Christian Endeavor in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
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