dickb
11-22-2011, 09:30 AM
Alcoholics Anonymous and Sin
By Dick B.
© 2011 Anonymous. All rights reserved
Part One
How the Major Sources of Alcoholics Anonymous Spoke about Sin
This article does not seek to present a “theological” discussion of “sin” or the various kinds of sin. Rather, it has come about in response to a request from the host of a community access television broadcast who recently asked me to discuss where “sin” had been in the organizations that fathered A.A., and what had happened to it. Therefore, this article reviews how large a role the subject of sin—and the answer to sin, which is coming to God through Jesus Christ—played in the programs that impacted upon early A.A. (and particularly its “Christian fellowship” in Akron), as well as its later 12-Step program promulgated in the Big Book in 1939.
Alcoholics Anonymous History, Its Major Sources, and Sin
The Bible
Speaking of early A.A. days, Dr. Bob said: (1) the pioneer AAs believed the answers to their problems were in the Bible; (2) the parts of the Bible some of the older AAs considered absolutely essential were Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, and the Book of James; and (3) the basic ideas of A.A.'s Twelve Steps came as a result of the pioneer AAs' study of the Bible. [See The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972 1975), 13-14]
Some Bible verses about sin and sins to consider:
Matthew 1:20-21 (KJV):
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
1 John 3:4, 8 (KJV):
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Romans 6:6-9 (KJV):
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV):
This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
The YMCA Lay Brethren and
the “Great Awakening” of 1875 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Young Men’s Christian Associations had their origin in a desire to reach and save unconverted young men through the agency of converted men of the same age and class. . . . It is this blessed work of our Associations that has developed lay preachers more and Moore. I can remember when our cause had very few Moores to preach Christ upon the platform, in the street and often in the pulpit. . . . [T]here are now many Taggarts and Moores in this work. . . .” [Dick B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2008), 247-252]
The Y.M.C.A. can hardly be called a sister of the society [Christian Endeavor]. . . . [T]he relationship between the Y.M.C.A. and the Society of Christian Endeavor has always been considered a family relationship. . . . But. . . they can in many ways mutually aid one another; as the receptions which are given by the associations to the societies, and by the societies to the associations have proved. Some of the best workers among the secretaries of the Y.M.C.A. have been trained in the Christian Endeavor Society for their future work, and some of the most earnest and eloquent speakers at Endeavor conventions have been leading Y.M.C.A. Workers. [Dick B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 171]
The Great Evangelists such as F. B. Meyer, Dwight Moody, and Ira Sankey
I will dwell on Evangelist F. B. Meyer because he had close ties to so many of the Christian individuals and organizations which were to impact on A.A. at a later date. In Bob Holman’s F. B. Meyer: If I Had a Hundred Lives (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2007), there is a report of Meyer’s speaking at a large meeting with General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army (page 195). Meyer met Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group; and Meyer’s books, especially The Secret of Guidance, much influenced Buchman (page 155). Buchman was especially struck by the words of John 7:17—which became the favorite verse of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., a chief lieutenant of Frank Buchman’s in America and a “cofounder” of A.A. That link also laid the foundation for the A.A. concept of “willingness.” Christian Endeavor (in which Dr. Bob was active in St. Johnsbury as a youngster) “was close to Meyer’s heart.” And Meyer started a Christ Church branch, became the first president of the Central South Christian Endeavor Union, and was elected its national president and traveled extensively to visit branches and meetings, and to extend its membership (page 93). Meyer had close ties to George Williams, a trustee at Christ Church, a leading evangelist, and the founder of the Young Men's Christian Association. And Meyer had an active interest in the YMCA (pages 67 and 104). In 1884, Meyer was much affected by two evangelists who, he stated, “said that a man must not only believe in Christ for final salvation, but must trust Him for victory over every sin, and for deliverance from every care.” The men said, “the Lord was willing to dwell in the heart that was utterly yielded to Him” (page 47).
American Evangelist Dwight L. Moody and F. B. Meyer were close friends and associates in Christian ministry for many years. In the early 1870’s, Meyer met Moody and his partner, the gospel singer Ira Sankey. Meyer worked with Moody and Sankey in the streets. He spoke much of sin. In The Secret of Guidance (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1896), “Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement in England. . . . Proponents were convinced that believers could experience victory over sin in the here and now” [pages 7, 15, 16]. Speaking of “Permitting Some Known Evil,” Meyer wrote: “Does your will refuse to relinquish a practice or habit that is alien to the will of God? Do you permit some secret sin to have its unhindered way in the house of your life? Do your affections roam unrestrained after forbidden object” [page 39]. “Sin is that which is always and everywhere wrong” [page 40]. “Surely all the guilt and penalty of sin were laid on Jesus, and He put them away forever” [page 89]. “It is through the blood of His Cross that sinners are made near. In His death He not only revealed the tender love of God, but He put away our sins and wove for us those garments of stainless beauty in which we are gladly welcomed into the inner presence chamber of the King” [page 108].
In 1903, F. B. Meyer wrote an Introduction to Down in Water Street (pp. 5-7) in which he spoke of his dear friend S. H. Hadley, and extolled the importance and virtues of the Water Street Mission, Jerry McAuley, and S. H. Hadley (see below).
The Salvation Army and General William Booth
Here are some quotes from Salvation Army founder William Booth's book titled In Darkest England and the Way Out (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1890) on overcoming sin and the problem of drunkenness.
The Captain [of the Corps] visited him [Mr. S., after Mr. S. had been drunk for an entire day] at night, but was quickly thrust out of the house. He was there again next morning, and prayed and talked with S. for nearly two hours. Poor S was in despair. He persisted there was no mercy for him. After a long struggle, however, hope sprung up, he fell upon his knees, confessed his sins, and obtained forgiveness.
. . . He has now a happy family, a comfortable home, and has been the means of leading numbers of other slaves of sin to the Saviour, and to a truly happy life. [p. 185]
She became a terror to all the neighborhood. . . . But our Open-Air meetings attracted her, she came back to the Barracks, got saved, and was delivered from her love of drink and sin. [p. 181]
. . . [I]t [the Salvation Army] speaks much after the fashion of the old Prophet or Apostle, to each individual, about his or her sin and duty, thus bringing to bear upon each heart and conscience the light and power from heaven, by which alone the world can be transformed. [p. vii]
Booth also speaks about:
The man who last night was drunk in a London slum, is to-night standing up for Christ on an Army platform. [p. vii]
The poor girl, lost to shame and hope, who a month ago was an outcast of Paris, is to-day a modest devoted follower of Christ, working in a humble situation.
Harold Begbie’s book, Twice Born Men: A Clinic in Regeneration: A Footnote in Narrative to Professor William James's “The Varieties of Religious Experience” (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1909), recounted the success of the Salvation Army workers in the slums of London where Army workers reached out to drunks and derelicts, offered them salvation and the Bible, and when they were redeemed, urged them to join “God’s Army.” This book was highly popular in the Oxford Group and was widely read by early AAs.
The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor
(in which Dr. Bob was active as a youth)
The following words by Dr. Francis E. Clark are taken from: The Francis E. Clark Year-Book: A Collection of Living Paragraphs from Addresses, Books, and Magazine Articles by the Founder of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, selected and arranged by John R. Clements (Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1904):
“Practicing the presence of God.” It involves going away by one’s self. It involves a daily quiet hour with God. It involves a putting away of all known sin. It involves a searching of the heart for the rebellious life-guard who would keep some of the apartments of the soul closed to the entrance of the King. [p. 71]
July 9: Confess, repent, forsake sin, and the darkness will flee away, and God’s light will flood your soul. [p. 80; see also Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 173]
In Expert Endeavor: A Text-Book of Christian Endeavor Methods and Principles for the Use of Classes and of Candidates for the Title of “C. E. E.”--”Christian Endeavor Expert” (Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1911), author Amos R. Wells states:
What is meant by being a Christian? Accepting Christ openly as one’s Saviour from sin and the Master of one’s life” [119—bolding in original; see also Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 183]
The Young Men’s Christian Association
(of which Dr. Bob’s father and also Bill Wilson had been presidents, and
of which Oxford Group leaders Frank Buchman and Sam Shoemaker had been secretaries)
Young Men’s Christian Associations had their origin in a desire to reach and save unconverted young men through the agency of converted men of the same age and class. This was the thought in the mind of George Williams when, in 1874, in the City of London, he organized the first Association. [Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 247]
As stated earlier, the Young Men's Christian Association had close ties to the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor in which Dr. Bob was very active as a youngster in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Its lay brethren and their gospel and conversion meetings in Vermont, particularly in St. Johnsbury—where Dr. Bob’s family lived—sparked the “Great Awakening” of 1875 in St. Johnsbury which transformed the village and brought hundreds to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Dr. Bob’s father was president of the St. Johnsbury YMCA (from 1895 until at least 1897) while Dr. Bob attended St. Johnsbury Academy (1894 to 1898). And Bill Wilson was president of the Burr and Burton Academy YMCA in Manchester, Vermont, during his senior year there. Bill’s girl friend, Bertha Bamford, was president of the YWCA at Burr and Burton Academy. And the two attended “Y” activities together.
Another strong tie to the YMCA and A.A. can be found in the fact that Oxford Group Founder Dr. Frank N.D. Buchman had been a YMCA Secretary in Pennsylvania, and actively involved with some of its leaders. Rev. Sam Shoemaker had been a YMCA Secretary at Princeton.
Rescue Missions
(where Jerry McAuley and Samuel H. Hadley were so successful; and
where, years later, Ebby Thacher and Bill Wilson each made decisions for Jesus Christ
at the Calvary Mission and were reborn)
From prison, Jerry McAuley was converted. In the Bible, he found “that Jesus died for sinners; and the Holy Spirit showed him he was a sinner.” He prayed, the “light of Heaven shone in his darkened cell, and the blessed Saviour appeared and told him that his sins were forgiven.” Later, at his rescue mission, he gave the invitation: “Is there one man here who would like to come to Christ?” Later, as he was about to be locked up, he said “the dear Saviour . . . came to me in the saloon . . . and said: “Pray.” I did fall on my knees on that stone floor, and said: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” His wife, Mrs. McAuley prayed fervently: “Dear Saviour, I was a drunkard down in Cherry Hill fourteen years ago. You saved me. Save these poor drunkards, for Jesus’ sake.” Samuel H. Hadley, Down in Water Street: A Story of Sixteen Years Life and Work in Water Street Mission: A Sequel to the Life of Jerry McAuley, Memorial ed. (NY: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.), 21-22, 70, 77.
S. H. Hadley later became Superintendent of McAuley’s Water Street Mission. His biography said this:
. . . he became increasingly humble, and his utter dependence upon God was daily more manifest. And this spirit he sought with all earnestness to impress upon Mission converts. Their help, their only help, he insisted, was God. Anything else would fail them. They must pray. They must read their Bibles. They must maintain constant communion with Jesus. They must be deeply religious. They must rest with absolute faith on the promises of God. . . . He had no place for theories in his Mission. God, heaven, hell, sin, Christ, salvation, the power of prayer, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, grace for even the most abandoned and degraded, were tremendous verities with him, and he made them the essentials of his ministry. [J. Wilbur Chapman, S.H. Hadley of Water Street: A Miracle of Grace (NY: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1906), 173]
The Oxford Group, with which both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob were associated:
In Foundations for Faith, 2d ed., compiled by Harry J. Almond (London: Grosvenor Books, 1980), Frank Buchman put it this way: “Sin is the disease (the problem). Jesus Christ is cure (the solution). And the result is a miracle.” [pp. 9-29]
In H. A. Walter, Soul Surgery (New Britain, CT: Record Press, 1921), Walter states: “. . . as Mr. Buchman puts the matter in the simplest terms, only three essential factors are involved in conversion—Sin, Jesus Christ, and (the result) a Miracle.” (pp. 127-28)
Long-time Oxford Group activist and employee T. Willard Hunter wrote this:
Sin was big with Frank Buchman. He believed that sin was the fatal factor that stood in the way. Sin was anything that stood between a person and another person—or between that person and God. He believed that sin was at the root of a person’s difficulties or of any of the world’s problems. [T. Willard Hunter, World Changing Through Life Changing: The Frank Buchman Revolution: The Record and the Promise (Claremont, CA: Regina Press, n.d.), 68]
Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., who taught Bill Wilson the principles of the 12 Steps:
In his early book, Realizing Religion (NY: Association Press, 1929), in his chapter titled “The Fact of Sin,” Shoemaker wrote:
Sin alone is capable only of evil; but the human mind, however steeped in it, once it becomes awake to its own condition is capable of something better. We can repent. . . In the words of the old children’s hymn;
Repentance is to leave
The sin we loved before
And show that we in earnest grieve
By doing it no more. [pp. 18-19]
To realize the meaning of sin in feeling and in thought is not the mark of a sick soul, but rather the sign of return to spiritual health. [p. 21]
In his book Twice-Born Ministers (NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1929), on pages 40-41, Shoemaker wrote much about sin, and said this: “Christianity does not look on sin as merely selfishness: sin is disobedience of God, the child’s refusal to listen to the Father. Sin is not mixing up the relationships between men only, it is estrangement of lives from God.”
Part Two will cover the places in early A.A. where sin was discussed and covered, and also what happened to “sin” in A.A. thereafter.
http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com; dickb@dickb.com; PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837
By Dick B.
© 2011 Anonymous. All rights reserved
Part One
How the Major Sources of Alcoholics Anonymous Spoke about Sin
This article does not seek to present a “theological” discussion of “sin” or the various kinds of sin. Rather, it has come about in response to a request from the host of a community access television broadcast who recently asked me to discuss where “sin” had been in the organizations that fathered A.A., and what had happened to it. Therefore, this article reviews how large a role the subject of sin—and the answer to sin, which is coming to God through Jesus Christ—played in the programs that impacted upon early A.A. (and particularly its “Christian fellowship” in Akron), as well as its later 12-Step program promulgated in the Big Book in 1939.
Alcoholics Anonymous History, Its Major Sources, and Sin
The Bible
Speaking of early A.A. days, Dr. Bob said: (1) the pioneer AAs believed the answers to their problems were in the Bible; (2) the parts of the Bible some of the older AAs considered absolutely essential were Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, and the Book of James; and (3) the basic ideas of A.A.'s Twelve Steps came as a result of the pioneer AAs' study of the Bible. [See The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972 1975), 13-14]
Some Bible verses about sin and sins to consider:
Matthew 1:20-21 (KJV):
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
1 John 3:4, 8 (KJV):
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Romans 6:6-9 (KJV):
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV):
This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
The YMCA Lay Brethren and
the “Great Awakening” of 1875 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Young Men’s Christian Associations had their origin in a desire to reach and save unconverted young men through the agency of converted men of the same age and class. . . . It is this blessed work of our Associations that has developed lay preachers more and Moore. I can remember when our cause had very few Moores to preach Christ upon the platform, in the street and often in the pulpit. . . . [T]here are now many Taggarts and Moores in this work. . . .” [Dick B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2008), 247-252]
The Y.M.C.A. can hardly be called a sister of the society [Christian Endeavor]. . . . [T]he relationship between the Y.M.C.A. and the Society of Christian Endeavor has always been considered a family relationship. . . . But. . . they can in many ways mutually aid one another; as the receptions which are given by the associations to the societies, and by the societies to the associations have proved. Some of the best workers among the secretaries of the Y.M.C.A. have been trained in the Christian Endeavor Society for their future work, and some of the most earnest and eloquent speakers at Endeavor conventions have been leading Y.M.C.A. Workers. [Dick B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 171]
The Great Evangelists such as F. B. Meyer, Dwight Moody, and Ira Sankey
I will dwell on Evangelist F. B. Meyer because he had close ties to so many of the Christian individuals and organizations which were to impact on A.A. at a later date. In Bob Holman’s F. B. Meyer: If I Had a Hundred Lives (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2007), there is a report of Meyer’s speaking at a large meeting with General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army (page 195). Meyer met Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group; and Meyer’s books, especially The Secret of Guidance, much influenced Buchman (page 155). Buchman was especially struck by the words of John 7:17—which became the favorite verse of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., a chief lieutenant of Frank Buchman’s in America and a “cofounder” of A.A. That link also laid the foundation for the A.A. concept of “willingness.” Christian Endeavor (in which Dr. Bob was active in St. Johnsbury as a youngster) “was close to Meyer’s heart.” And Meyer started a Christ Church branch, became the first president of the Central South Christian Endeavor Union, and was elected its national president and traveled extensively to visit branches and meetings, and to extend its membership (page 93). Meyer had close ties to George Williams, a trustee at Christ Church, a leading evangelist, and the founder of the Young Men's Christian Association. And Meyer had an active interest in the YMCA (pages 67 and 104). In 1884, Meyer was much affected by two evangelists who, he stated, “said that a man must not only believe in Christ for final salvation, but must trust Him for victory over every sin, and for deliverance from every care.” The men said, “the Lord was willing to dwell in the heart that was utterly yielded to Him” (page 47).
American Evangelist Dwight L. Moody and F. B. Meyer were close friends and associates in Christian ministry for many years. In the early 1870’s, Meyer met Moody and his partner, the gospel singer Ira Sankey. Meyer worked with Moody and Sankey in the streets. He spoke much of sin. In The Secret of Guidance (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1896), “Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement in England. . . . Proponents were convinced that believers could experience victory over sin in the here and now” [pages 7, 15, 16]. Speaking of “Permitting Some Known Evil,” Meyer wrote: “Does your will refuse to relinquish a practice or habit that is alien to the will of God? Do you permit some secret sin to have its unhindered way in the house of your life? Do your affections roam unrestrained after forbidden object” [page 39]. “Sin is that which is always and everywhere wrong” [page 40]. “Surely all the guilt and penalty of sin were laid on Jesus, and He put them away forever” [page 89]. “It is through the blood of His Cross that sinners are made near. In His death He not only revealed the tender love of God, but He put away our sins and wove for us those garments of stainless beauty in which we are gladly welcomed into the inner presence chamber of the King” [page 108].
In 1903, F. B. Meyer wrote an Introduction to Down in Water Street (pp. 5-7) in which he spoke of his dear friend S. H. Hadley, and extolled the importance and virtues of the Water Street Mission, Jerry McAuley, and S. H. Hadley (see below).
The Salvation Army and General William Booth
Here are some quotes from Salvation Army founder William Booth's book titled In Darkest England and the Way Out (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1890) on overcoming sin and the problem of drunkenness.
The Captain [of the Corps] visited him [Mr. S., after Mr. S. had been drunk for an entire day] at night, but was quickly thrust out of the house. He was there again next morning, and prayed and talked with S. for nearly two hours. Poor S was in despair. He persisted there was no mercy for him. After a long struggle, however, hope sprung up, he fell upon his knees, confessed his sins, and obtained forgiveness.
. . . He has now a happy family, a comfortable home, and has been the means of leading numbers of other slaves of sin to the Saviour, and to a truly happy life. [p. 185]
She became a terror to all the neighborhood. . . . But our Open-Air meetings attracted her, she came back to the Barracks, got saved, and was delivered from her love of drink and sin. [p. 181]
. . . [I]t [the Salvation Army] speaks much after the fashion of the old Prophet or Apostle, to each individual, about his or her sin and duty, thus bringing to bear upon each heart and conscience the light and power from heaven, by which alone the world can be transformed. [p. vii]
Booth also speaks about:
The man who last night was drunk in a London slum, is to-night standing up for Christ on an Army platform. [p. vii]
The poor girl, lost to shame and hope, who a month ago was an outcast of Paris, is to-day a modest devoted follower of Christ, working in a humble situation.
Harold Begbie’s book, Twice Born Men: A Clinic in Regeneration: A Footnote in Narrative to Professor William James's “The Varieties of Religious Experience” (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1909), recounted the success of the Salvation Army workers in the slums of London where Army workers reached out to drunks and derelicts, offered them salvation and the Bible, and when they were redeemed, urged them to join “God’s Army.” This book was highly popular in the Oxford Group and was widely read by early AAs.
The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor
(in which Dr. Bob was active as a youth)
The following words by Dr. Francis E. Clark are taken from: The Francis E. Clark Year-Book: A Collection of Living Paragraphs from Addresses, Books, and Magazine Articles by the Founder of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, selected and arranged by John R. Clements (Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1904):
“Practicing the presence of God.” It involves going away by one’s self. It involves a daily quiet hour with God. It involves a putting away of all known sin. It involves a searching of the heart for the rebellious life-guard who would keep some of the apartments of the soul closed to the entrance of the King. [p. 71]
July 9: Confess, repent, forsake sin, and the darkness will flee away, and God’s light will flood your soul. [p. 80; see also Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 173]
In Expert Endeavor: A Text-Book of Christian Endeavor Methods and Principles for the Use of Classes and of Candidates for the Title of “C. E. E.”--”Christian Endeavor Expert” (Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1911), author Amos R. Wells states:
What is meant by being a Christian? Accepting Christ openly as one’s Saviour from sin and the Master of one’s life” [119—bolding in original; see also Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 183]
The Young Men’s Christian Association
(of which Dr. Bob’s father and also Bill Wilson had been presidents, and
of which Oxford Group leaders Frank Buchman and Sam Shoemaker had been secretaries)
Young Men’s Christian Associations had their origin in a desire to reach and save unconverted young men through the agency of converted men of the same age and class. This was the thought in the mind of George Williams when, in 1874, in the City of London, he organized the first Association. [Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, 247]
As stated earlier, the Young Men's Christian Association had close ties to the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor in which Dr. Bob was very active as a youngster in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Its lay brethren and their gospel and conversion meetings in Vermont, particularly in St. Johnsbury—where Dr. Bob’s family lived—sparked the “Great Awakening” of 1875 in St. Johnsbury which transformed the village and brought hundreds to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Dr. Bob’s father was president of the St. Johnsbury YMCA (from 1895 until at least 1897) while Dr. Bob attended St. Johnsbury Academy (1894 to 1898). And Bill Wilson was president of the Burr and Burton Academy YMCA in Manchester, Vermont, during his senior year there. Bill’s girl friend, Bertha Bamford, was president of the YWCA at Burr and Burton Academy. And the two attended “Y” activities together.
Another strong tie to the YMCA and A.A. can be found in the fact that Oxford Group Founder Dr. Frank N.D. Buchman had been a YMCA Secretary in Pennsylvania, and actively involved with some of its leaders. Rev. Sam Shoemaker had been a YMCA Secretary at Princeton.
Rescue Missions
(where Jerry McAuley and Samuel H. Hadley were so successful; and
where, years later, Ebby Thacher and Bill Wilson each made decisions for Jesus Christ
at the Calvary Mission and were reborn)
From prison, Jerry McAuley was converted. In the Bible, he found “that Jesus died for sinners; and the Holy Spirit showed him he was a sinner.” He prayed, the “light of Heaven shone in his darkened cell, and the blessed Saviour appeared and told him that his sins were forgiven.” Later, at his rescue mission, he gave the invitation: “Is there one man here who would like to come to Christ?” Later, as he was about to be locked up, he said “the dear Saviour . . . came to me in the saloon . . . and said: “Pray.” I did fall on my knees on that stone floor, and said: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” His wife, Mrs. McAuley prayed fervently: “Dear Saviour, I was a drunkard down in Cherry Hill fourteen years ago. You saved me. Save these poor drunkards, for Jesus’ sake.” Samuel H. Hadley, Down in Water Street: A Story of Sixteen Years Life and Work in Water Street Mission: A Sequel to the Life of Jerry McAuley, Memorial ed. (NY: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d.), 21-22, 70, 77.
S. H. Hadley later became Superintendent of McAuley’s Water Street Mission. His biography said this:
. . . he became increasingly humble, and his utter dependence upon God was daily more manifest. And this spirit he sought with all earnestness to impress upon Mission converts. Their help, their only help, he insisted, was God. Anything else would fail them. They must pray. They must read their Bibles. They must maintain constant communion with Jesus. They must be deeply religious. They must rest with absolute faith on the promises of God. . . . He had no place for theories in his Mission. God, heaven, hell, sin, Christ, salvation, the power of prayer, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, grace for even the most abandoned and degraded, were tremendous verities with him, and he made them the essentials of his ministry. [J. Wilbur Chapman, S.H. Hadley of Water Street: A Miracle of Grace (NY: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1906), 173]
The Oxford Group, with which both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob were associated:
In Foundations for Faith, 2d ed., compiled by Harry J. Almond (London: Grosvenor Books, 1980), Frank Buchman put it this way: “Sin is the disease (the problem). Jesus Christ is cure (the solution). And the result is a miracle.” [pp. 9-29]
In H. A. Walter, Soul Surgery (New Britain, CT: Record Press, 1921), Walter states: “. . . as Mr. Buchman puts the matter in the simplest terms, only three essential factors are involved in conversion—Sin, Jesus Christ, and (the result) a Miracle.” (pp. 127-28)
Long-time Oxford Group activist and employee T. Willard Hunter wrote this:
Sin was big with Frank Buchman. He believed that sin was the fatal factor that stood in the way. Sin was anything that stood between a person and another person—or between that person and God. He believed that sin was at the root of a person’s difficulties or of any of the world’s problems. [T. Willard Hunter, World Changing Through Life Changing: The Frank Buchman Revolution: The Record and the Promise (Claremont, CA: Regina Press, n.d.), 68]
Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., who taught Bill Wilson the principles of the 12 Steps:
In his early book, Realizing Religion (NY: Association Press, 1929), in his chapter titled “The Fact of Sin,” Shoemaker wrote:
Sin alone is capable only of evil; but the human mind, however steeped in it, once it becomes awake to its own condition is capable of something better. We can repent. . . In the words of the old children’s hymn;
Repentance is to leave
The sin we loved before
And show that we in earnest grieve
By doing it no more. [pp. 18-19]
To realize the meaning of sin in feeling and in thought is not the mark of a sick soul, but rather the sign of return to spiritual health. [p. 21]
In his book Twice-Born Ministers (NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1929), on pages 40-41, Shoemaker wrote much about sin, and said this: “Christianity does not look on sin as merely selfishness: sin is disobedience of God, the child’s refusal to listen to the Father. Sin is not mixing up the relationships between men only, it is estrangement of lives from God.”
Part Two will cover the places in early A.A. where sin was discussed and covered, and also what happened to “sin” in A.A. thereafter.
http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com; dickb@dickb.com; PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837