12 Step Sources

[dickb]

A.A. Cofounder Dr. Bob said the basic ideas for the Steps came from their study of the Bible. See Dick B., The Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (http://dickb.com/goodbook.shtml). And the early A.A. program, as summarized by Frank Amos and reported in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, came primarily from the Christian Endeavor principles and practices of Dr. Bob's youth in Vermont. See Dick B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous (http://dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml).

When it came to the writing of the Twelve Steps and publishing the Big Book, the story was quite different. Bill Wilson stated quite accurately that the ideas of Ten of the Twelve Steps came directly from the teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. And the facts are quite clear that Bill asked Shoemaker to write the Twelve Steps, and Shoemaker declined in favor of Bill's authorship. See Dick B., New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker and A.A. (http://dickb.com/newlight.shtml). In my New Light book, you will see dozens of statements in Shoemaker's writings that find parallel in the Big Book and particularly the language of the Twelve Steps.

Also, it is quite fair to say that those ideas codified the language, principles, and practices of the Oxford Group of which Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker was an American leader and its most prolific writer. See Dick B., The Oxford Group and Alcoholics Anonymous: A Design for Living That Works (http://dickb.com/Oxford.shtml). In other words, Bill first heard the Oxford Group ideas from Ebby Thacher, Rowland Hazard, and later Sam Shoemaker. Then Bill was on an Oxford Group businessman's team and attended Oxford Group meetings led by Shoemaker at Calvary House next door to Sam's church.

If you want to put the picture of Step sources together, I'd suggest my comprehensive A.A. history book Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots and Successes (http://dickb.com/Turning.shtml) and then go to my book Twelve Steps for You which accurately looks at each step and then at all the sources that contributed to that particular step. See Dick B. Twelve Steps for You (http://dickb.com/12StepsforYou.shtml).

God Bless, Dick B. dickb@dickb.cm