About five years ago I discovered a book with the title The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible by Dick B. with a Foreword by Bob Smith, son of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob and his wife, Anne.*  During my recent reading and study I am once again working my way through this volume that has been very helpful especially in helping people understand that many of the spiritual roots of the Anonymous family of fellowship programs are to be found in the Bible.

With gratitude to Dick B. and many others who have contributed to my continuing growth and understanding, this post begins a series of posts that will address this subject for the coming weeks.  It is my hope that you will make this blog a part of your regular reading and join in the conversation by offering your comments and thoughts.  I also encourage you to subscribe to this blog.

And now to begin:

“Dr. Bob had said in his last major address to AAs in Detroit that he and the older members of A.A. considered the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, the Book of James, and the Sermon on the Mount to be ‘absolutely essential’ to their successful recovery program.” (93)

The next several posts will consider the Book of James and the influence it had on the development of A.A. and The Twelve Steps.  Then time will be taken to study the considerable influence of The Sermon on the Mount and the chapter from Corinthians.

The Book of James “was much studied by A.A.’s co-founders.  Quotes and ideas from the Apostle James can be found throughout the Big Book and in A.A. literature.  The book was considered so important that many favored calling the A.A. fellowship the ‘James Club.’  And even the most fundamental phrases in A.A. such as ‘It Works; and Bill Wilson’s own ‘Works Publishing Company,’ which published the First Edition of the Big Book, may have had their origin in the ‘Faith without works is dead’ ideas in James.” (98-99)

*Dick B.  The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s Roots in the Bible.  Bridge Builders Edition.  Kihei, Hawaii: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1997.