I spoke recently in a Zoom Christian AA meeting called “Friends of Dr. Bob.” This meeting was the kickoff meeting and consists of two segments. The first segment is a discussion meeting on scripture-based topics similar to the early Akron meetings with Dr. Bob. It’s a one-hour meeting with a lead topic and 3-minute comments from members. The first segment ends after the first hour and that is followed by segment 2 which is dedicated to AA history. I was asked to do the lead in the first segment and structure the talk to set the tone for full biblical freedom for all future meetings. The meeting ID and time information can be found at the end of this article
I was asked to speak about a principle of truth, namely that of faith, discussed in early recovery meetings, a truth, which is infused into the 12 steps and the AA Big Book text. Early meetings were not recorded, so we have to make an educated guess that this principle of truth about faith was essential to the spiritual recovery process. AA historians tell us that AA got its principles from the practices found in the Oxford group, which both Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson were active in. The Oxford group was a Christian organization, and their principles had their origin in the Judea-Christian Bible.
Dr. Bob recognized the need for alcoholics to read the Bible, and he made that crystal clear. His most accurate viewpoint is in the A.A. conference approved pamphlet P-53, The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. It contains the entirety of Dr. Bob’s last major talk, to A.A. members in Detroit, in 1948. His message about the importance of the Bible is summed up as this:
“In the early days our stories didn’t amount to anything to speak of. When we started in on Bill D., we had no Twelve Steps, either, we had no Traditions. But we were convinced that the answer to our problems was in the Good Book. To some of us older ones, the parts that we found absolutely essential were the Sermon on the Mount, the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James. It wasn’t until 1938 that the teachings and efforts and studies that had been going on were crystallized in the form of the Twelve Steps.” Dr. Bob continues, “I didn’t write 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 I said, as the result of our study of the Good Book …”
And it is from the bible where we find this absolutely essential recovery principle, specifically, “faith without works is dead.” It comes from the epistle of James, chapter 2, in the New Testament. The book of James was written to early Christians to live consistently in light of their professed beliefs. The full text of James focuses on maturity, character, and the hallmarks of true faith, specifically an individual’s faith in the biblical God and his son, Jesus Christ. In early Akron meetings, one had to confess this belief first, prior to attending meetings. This principle, “faith without works is dead.” was deemed not only essential to the recovery process but absolutely essential. From the very beginning it was likely a topic often discussed in early meetings.
This absolutely essential principle is found in 3 places in the Big Book.
The first is found in Bill’s story. Page 24 It reads:
“My friend had emphasized the absolute necessity of demonstrating these principles in all my affairs. Particularly was it imperative to work with others as he had worked with me. Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that.”
The second is found in the chapter “Into Action” and refers to what comes next after Step 7.
“When ready, we say something like this: ”My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen. We have then completed step seven. Now we need more action without which we find that ”Faith without works is dead.“ Let’s look at steps eight and nine.”
And the third reference is found at the end of Chapter 6.
“It works—it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. ”Faith without works is dead.“ The next chapter is entirely devoted to step twelve.”
That chapter, of course is called “Working with Others.”
In the book of James, the context is about the behavioral proof of religious belief, specifically the belief in the tenets of Christianity. James’ emphasis is on the importance of putting one’s faith into action through good deeds and righteous behavior. Simply professing faith without demonstrating it through works, is considered incomplete and ineffective. While faith alone saves, it should lead to good works and obedience to God.
It’s interesting to note when the Big Book was in its manuscript stage, they needed a name for the company they were forming to publish and distribute the book. From the book “How it worked”, an autobiography of Clarence Snyder, we find this:
“Someone came up with “WORKS PUBLISHING”. There are at least three explanations as to the origin of the name that they chose. The first is that one of the favorite Bible quotes in early A.A. was from the Book of James. It was “Faith Without Works Is Dead.” The second is that this first book was to be the first of many “works” by the new publishing company. The third is that when the members of the group were questioned as to why this “cure” had worked when all others had failed, they simply replied – “It Works.”
We can have a lot of confidence that the early meetings were bible heavy and used other reference literature, which wrote about Bible truths and precepts. A precept is a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action. A Methodist devotional which began its publishing debut during the 1935 Bill Wilson/Dr. Bob meetings, was called the Upper Room. It was published quarterly, and each day included a bible verse, an example, a prayer, and a thought for the day. This publication was a favorite of Dr. Bob and was likely referenced in the early meetings.
A daily reading from the issue of February 24, 2017, just a few short years ago, provides a facsimile of the daily readings found in the latter 1930’s. It’s labeled “Walking the Talk” and it quotes another scripture having to do with the “Faith Without Works is Dead” principle. Its James 2:24 which says, “A person is shown to be righteous through faithful actions and not through faith alone.’ It also suggests reading Hebrews 11:3-12 because Hebrews 11 is often referred to as “Faith’s Hall of Fame” because it lists people who fulfilled what God asked them to do. One example is Abraham, who obeyed God’s call to leave his home, even though he did not know anything about where he was going. The prayer for the day is “Dear God, help us put our faith into action. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. The thought for the day is “Beyond my words, God wants my actions.”
Dick B. a well-known historian described the pioneer A.A. group in Akron, which characterized itself as a “Christian Fellowship,” devoted itself to Bible study, old fashioned prayer meetings, use of Christian devotionals, regular quiet times, conversions to Christ, and serving God and their fellow suffers by love and practical service. And it took faith to carry out these practices. We need to come to grips as to what this phrase really means in the context of our spiritual journey in today’s AA.
Let’s first get a proper definition. Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, namely “something that is believed especially with strong conviction”, and “a firm belief in something for which there is no proof”, and “belief and trust in and loyalty to God.”
It is the belief and trust in the biblical God that was discussed in Dr. Bob’s kitchen with Bill Wilson guided by Dr. Bob’s wife Anne, as well as the early meetings in Akron. There was none of this “create your own higher power” nonsense in those days. In those early days of the A.A. program there seemed to be little, if any, confusion about the meaning of “God” in the phrase “God as we understood Him.” The God that folks believed in, was the biblical God. Their quest was to understand Him better. The root of the AA program is plain and simple Christian faith. That is spelled out clearly in many places in the Big Book and in our history.
Dick B. documented the role of Christian belief in Bill Wilson’s conversion experience. First, Ebby went to the altar at Calvary Mission, made a decision for Christ, and was converted. He shared that experience with Bill Wilson. Second, Bill followed suit, and went to Calvary Mission, stating that he wanted what Ebby had received. Wilson soon responded to the altar call, made a decision for Christ, and was converted, though wandering drunk and aimlessly for a short time and then checking in to Towns Hospital.
Ebby visited Bill in Towns Hospital and elaborated on the Oxford Groups practical program of action.” Bill followed directions, “humbly offered himself to God as he then understood God,” cried out “If there be a God, let Him show himself,” and reported having his famous “hot flash experience.” Bill’s experience and recital of it was much like that of his grandfather William, who was an alcoholic who never drank after a conversion experience on Mount Aeolus. It caused Bill to believe that he had “found” God and had had a conversion “experience.” Whatever Bill had—whether at Calvary Rescue Mission or at Towns or at both, Bill Wilson never drank again.
In the Akron genesis, and in Dr. Bob’s kitchen, with Anne quoting biblical verses and discussions about what those verses meant, the basic understanding of “faith without works is dead” emphasized that a program of action was necessary for recovery. The original Akron A.A. “Christian Fellowship” program practiced a cure from alcoholism through reliance on the biblical God, coming to Him through His Son Jesus Christ, and reading and studying the Bible—along with the other principles and practices of the early days. That meant for a person to recover they needed both a belief in the biblical God and have faith that God would cure them. I have been cured for over 43 years and have not ever had a desire to drink since I came into AA. I am a believer.
Beliefs are something every human has. It is essentially what makes us think and act towards our environment. The strength of the belief is the force behind whether we do something or not do it. For example, consider that I have a belief that my life would be more fulfilling if I drove around on a motorcycle. If it’s a strong belief and I have faith in the belief, I would probably buy one and drive around with it as often as possible. So beliefs drive our actions, and our actions verify the beliefs. That process happens in AA, as we hear and apply the truth. And repetition strengthens and confirms the belief. Strong beliefs, that is, beliefs that have conviction, are a measure of faith, and will be seen in us in the actions or works we perform as a result.
I have also learned that if the strength of any belief is strong enough, I will act on it. And many of my own beliefs were based upon lies. Acting on lies brings us bad consequences. In my experience I have come to believe that many of my beliefs are full of errors. Guess what. You have bad beliefs too. So it is important in recovery that we grow along spiritual lines and pursue truth. In my own experience, I do believe in Jesus Christ and practice the tenets of Christianity. Sometimes I fail to practice God’s Will but do keep practicing “Faith without Works is Dead.” This leads me to believe that in early Christianity, the individual’s behavior was also not perfect and required practice. There is no perfection in this life. But there is progress. And one’s overall program works better and ensures a ride on the rocket ship to the fourth dimension, when they understand and embrace the full biblical meaning of the truth “faith without works is dead.”
It is quite likely that within todays AA the meaning of this faith is distorted by many. The real question is the object of faith. If a person is truly an alcoholic, it’s important to never drink again. It’s been more than 85 years since AA started. We have learned a lot. Lifetime sobriety needs a real God, one that works inside us, without which, we depend upon the false notion that making meetings, reading the big book, working with others, and depending on a self-created god as the source of power to keep us sober, is the same as believing we ourselves have power.
I want to end this with a question.
Which of these understandings of faith do you think was absolutely essential in Dr. Bob’s meetings, and has the best long-term outcome?
- a) faith in the steps of the program,
- b) faith in the fellowship, or
- c) working with others, or
- d) faith in the biblical God and His son Jesus Christ, as it was clearly in the beginning.
I would refer you to a previous article I wrote, which is posted on the Eternal Sobriety Website and titled “What is the Best Kept Secret in A.A.?” What is the Best Kept Secret in A.A.? – ETERNAL SOBRIETY
Here is the Zoom Information: Sundays@ 2 pm EST, ID is 841 2589 6769, There is no Password.
Audio Link to the lead talk on March 9, 2025