Articles
The views expressed in the following articles are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of www.stepstudy.org.
Changed by Grace: a review of Glenn Chesnut's latest on V.C. Kitchen, the Oxford Group, and AA.
There has been no other book to date that so effectively and thoroughly places Alcoholics Anonymous and the recovery movement at large within the tradition of Evangelical Christianity. For anyone working a spiritual program in any of the Twelve Step fellowships, this is an indispensable read. (read it)
Progressive Big Book Sponsorship: A Look at the Chapter 2 Groups
We interviewed ten Big Book sponsors from a network of meetings in New England known as the Chapter 2 groups. The sponsors spoke about their experience with the Twelve Step process, and reflected about the meaning of each of the Twelve Steps. (read it)
"You Shyster, You!": A Brief Biography of Jimmy K.
By Heidi Weston
Using Jimmy K's own words from his recorded speeches, Heidi Weston constructs a Biography for this founder of Narcotics Anonymous. (read it)
History of the Beginners Classes: a Speech by Wally P.
AA Archivist Wally P.’s 1996 speech about the history of “Beginner’s Classes,” early AA meetings in which newcomers were introduced to the Twelve Steps in a series of four, one-hour meetings. (read it)
A Life in the Sexual Recovery Movement
By Frank L.
Frank L., founder of Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, tells of his struggles to maintain sobriety during the development and growth of the Sexual Recovery Movement. (read it)
THE STORY OF BILL PICKLE
By Frank Buchman
This story, told by Frank Buchman at the World Assembly for Moral Re-Armament in 1948, outlines his attempts at personal evangelism on the campus of State College, Pennsylvania. The story is illuminating of Buchman's style of personal evangelism prior to the formation of the Oxford Group.(read it)
BIG BOOK THEOLOGY:
"WE AGNOSTICS" AND WILLIAM JAMES
While there is much debate over the religious language of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Big Book itself outlines a clear theological method by which readers can explore theological issues for themselves. This article outlines the Big Book's theological method, and then adresses some problems with the method with the help of the philosophy of AA's "thrid co-founder," William James. (read it)
BUDDHISM AND THE 12-STEP PROCESS:
AN END TO SUFFERING
By John R. Mabry, PhD
The Twelve Steps may have their roots in the Christian tradition, but Mabry demonstrates in this article that the Steps may be worked from a Buddhist perspective. In fact, the spirituality of the Steps has much in common with Buddhist thought and tradition. (read it)
SPIRITUALITY, PRAYER, THE TWELVE STEPS AND JUDAISM
By Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.
After a discussion of the objections to the Twelve Steps typical of the Jewish community, Rabbi Twerski moves on to discuss the compatibility between the Steps and Jewish Theology. This article should be helpful both to Jewish addicts who are struggling to reconcile their addiction and their faith, and also to non-Jewish addicts seeking other perspectives on the Step process. Especially provocative are Twerski’s suggestions for making amends to the deceased. (read it)
UNPUBLISHED NA FOURTH STEP GUIDES
Now available in pdf format in the downloads section.
A REVIEW OF EARLIEST A.A.’S ROOTS
By Dick B.
Dick B. is the most prolific author of AA history. He is also a revisionist whose mission it is to call AA’s attention to its Christian roots. He works exclusively on the topic of early AA’s development out of the Oxford Group. In this article, Dick B. gives a good overview of his perspective and its relevance to contemporary AA. (read it)
WHAT THE CHURCH HAS TO LEARN FROM
AL
COHOLICS ANONYMOUS
by Sam Shoemaker
In this speech given at the twentieth anniversary convention of AA in
St. Louis
,
Missouri
, Rev. Shoemaker speaks about his relationship to the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, and also on what the church might learn from the legacy of AA and the Twelve Steps. Shoemakers four points in this speech serve as a nice summary of Twelve Step spirituality. (read it)
THE SERENITY PRAYER
The serenity prayer is generally attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, a Neo-orthodox theologian who lived from 1892–1971. However, as the following entry from Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (reproduced at www.bartleby.com) demonstrates, the prayer is probably much older than Niebuhr. (more)
