Dr. Bob said quite often that the
parts of the Bible that early A.A.
oldtimers considered essential to
their recovery were the Sermon on
the Mount, the Book of James, and
1 Corinthians 13. Many other parts
of the Bible contributed to A.A.
ideas, but Dr. Bob highlighted these
three. Therefore, our first article
discussed the specific ideas that
the A.A. pioneers too from Jesus’s
sermon which is found at Matthew
Chapters Five, Six, and Seven.
This article will pinpoint the great
contribution of the Book of James.
The
Book of James
Of
probably even greater importance
(than the Sermon) in the day-by-day
thinking of early A.A. was the Book
of James. It 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 of James was
considered so important that many
favored calling the A.A. fellowship
the “James Club” (DR. BOB and
the Good Oldtimers, p. 71; Pass
It On, p. 147). 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), probably have their origin
in the “Faith without works is dead”
phrases in James (See Nell Wing,
Grateful to Have Been There,
pp. 70-71).
Let’s therefore review the Book
of James, chapter by chapter. As
we do so, we will point to traces
of that book which we believe can
be found in, or probably influenced
the text of, the Big Book. At the
outset, please note that, as our
research into the Biblical roots
of A.A. has progressed, so has our
understanding of some root sources
that previously went unnoticed.
For example, some time back, Dr.
Bob's son, Bob Smith, told the author
by phone that his father had placed
great stake in The Runner's Bible.
We had encountered difficulty locating
a copy. Moreover, we were still
looking for some commentary on the
Book of James similar to the many
on the Sermon on the Mount (by Oswald
Chambers, Glenn Clark, Emmet Fox,
and E. Stanley Jones) and on 1 Corinthians
13 (by Henry Drummond, for example)
which Dr. Bob had studied. We believed
such commentaries probably impacted
upon the thinking of Dr. Bob, Anne,
Henrietta, and the early AAs as
have the actual Bible verses in
Matthew 5, 6, and 7, and 1 Corinthians
13.
We could find no similar commentary
on the Book of James despite A.A.'s
emphasis on James. Finally, as we
studied the spiritual literature
early AAs read, we noticed in The
Runner's Bible the frequency
with which all Dr. Bob's “essential”
books and chapters of the Bible
(Matthew 5, 6, 7; 1 Corinthians
13; and James) were there mentioned.
And we particularly noticed the
frequency with which The Runner's
Bible mentioned and discussed
verses from the Book of James that
had found their way into A.A..
Hence our reader will find many
references to The Runner's Bible
in footnotes in our title The
Good Book and The Big Book: A.A.’s
Roots in the Bible; for we believe
that this little devotional book
may have provided Dr. Bob, Anne
Smith, and perhaps even Bill Wilson,
with much of the fodder that caused
them to focus on James and conclude
that James was their “favorite”
book of the Bible.
In a phone conversation with the
author in 1995, from his home in
Texas, Dr. Bob's son stated he felt
it would be almost impossible to
confirm that The Runner's Bible
was the source of either A.A.'s
or its founders' emphasis on James
and other Biblical sources. But
he pointed out that this little
Biblical devotional book was used
by those who wanted a quick and
easy source for Biblical ideas in
which they were interested. Perhaps,
then, that book became a reference
source for Dr. Bob, Anne, and even
Bill Wilson when they were studying
the pertinent Biblical ideas they
extracted from 1 Corinthians 13,
the Sermon on the Mount, and particularly
James. Whatever the facts are concerning
the reading of The Runner’s Bible,
we know for sure that it was used
a great deal by the pioneers, that
it quotes and discusses many verses
from James that AAs used, and that
the oldtimers very definitely studied
James itself.
James Chapter 1
1. Patience. Chapter One
is not the only chapter in the Book
of James which mentions patience.
Nor is it the only portion of the
Bible that stresses patience. But
we’ve noted that James was a favored
Biblical source in early A.A., and
James 1:3-4 does state:
Knowing this, that the trying
of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her
perfect work, that ye may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing.
Patience certainly wound up as one
of the most frequently mentioned
spiritual principles in the Big
Book (pp. 67, 70, 83, 111, 118,
163).
2. Asking wisdom of God with
unwavering believing. James
1:5-8 states:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him
ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and
it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is
like a wave of the sea driven with
the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that
he shall receive anything of the
Lord.
A double minded man is unstable
in all his ways.
Asking for God's direction and strength
and receiving “Guidance” from Him,
are major themes in both the Old
and New Testaments. They were important
Oxford Group ideas as well. We therefore
discussed them at length in our
titles, The Oxford Group and
Alcoholics Anonymous
and Anne Smith's Journal.
And the Big Book, including the
Eleventh Step itself, is filled
with such Guidance concepts (pp.13,
46, 49, 62-63, 69-70, 76, 79-80,
83, 84-88, 100, 117, 120, 124, 158,
164).
3. Resisting temptation. It
should surprise no one that AAs
of yesteryear and of today are interested
in resisting temptation, and having
the power to do that–the power of
God. James 1:12-16 states:
Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried,
he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to
those that love him. Let no man
say when he is tempted, I am tempted
of God: for God cannot be tempted
with evil, neither tempteth he any
man: But every man is tempted when
he is drawn away of his own lust
and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death. Do not err, my beloved
brethren.
4. Every good and perfect gift
comes from God, the Father of lights.
James 1:17 states:
Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning.
Bill seemed to be referring to this
verse when he wrote on page 14 of
the Big Book:
I must turn in all things to the
Father of Light [sic] who
presides over us all.
Bill made the same reference to
God, the Father of lights who presides
over us all, in Appendix One of
the Big Book.
5. Let every man be slow to speak,
slow to wrath. James 1:19-20
states:
Wherefore, my beloved brethren,
let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath: For
the wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God.
The verse is quoted in The Runner's
Bible and seems quite relevant
to the Big Book's injunction, “If
we were to live, we had to be free
of anger. . . . God save me from
being angry.”
6. Be ye doers of the word, and
not hearers only. James 1:21-22
states:
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness
and superfluity of naughtiness,
and receive with meekness the engrafted
word, which is able to save your
souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and
not hearers only, deceiving your
own selves.
Reverend Sam Shoemaker devoted an
entire chapter in one of his titles
to this verse, stating:
I think St. James' meaning is made
much clearer in Dr. Moffatt's translation,
“Act on the Word, instead of merely
listening to it.” Try it out in
experiment, and prove it by its
results—otherwise you only fool
yourself into believing that you
have the heart of religion when
you haven't (Shoemaker, The Gospel
According to You, pp. 44-55).
In the same chapter, Shoemaker also
pointed out that prayer is often
more a struggle to find God than
the enjoyment of Him and cooperation
with His will. He added that “God
is and is a Rewarder of them that
seek Him.”(See The Gospel According
to You, p. 47; Hebrews 11:6).
We cannot find a specific reference
to James 1:21-22 in the Big Book;
but A.A. stresses over and over
that A.A. is a program of action,
that probably no human power can
relieve a person of alcoholism,
and “That God could and would if
He were sought” (p. 60).
A.A.'s program emphasizes action
in the experiment of faith it adopted
from John 7:17—seeking God
by following the path that
leads to a relationship with God.
James 1:22 stresses doing
God's will as expressed in His Word—not
merely listening to it. James was
an Akron favorite. Shoemaker was
a Wilson favorite. “Faith without
works” was a Big Book favorite;
and it therefore seems possible
that A.A.'s stress on action
might have derived from in part
from James 1:21-22.
7. Pure religion and undefiled
before God . . . to visit the fatherless
and widows in their affliction.
James 1:27 states:
Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.
At the very least, this verse bespeaks
unselfishness and helpfulness to
others which were cardinal A.A.
principles.
James Chapter 2
Chapter Two of the Book of James
may have made two direct and major
contributions to the language of
the Big Book and also to A.A.'s
philosophy. Those two contributions
were “Love thy neighbor as thyself”
and “Faith without works is dead.”
1. Love thy neighbor as thyself.
James 2:8 states:
If ye fulfill the royal law according
to the scripture, Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.
This
commandment to “Love thy neighbor,”
exists in other parts of both the
Old and New Testaments. Thus, when
the Big Book uses this phrase, there
is no assurance that the quote is
from James or from one of the other
Bible verses to the same effect.
But the Big Book certainly does
state:
Then you will know what it means
to give of yourself that others
may survive and rediscover life.
You will learn the full meaning
of “Love thy neighbor as thyself”
(p. 153).
The Book of James is very probably
the specific source of this Biblical
quote since Dr. Bob, early AAs,
and Bill Wilson himself spoke with
such favor concerning the importance
of “love” as the code of A.A. and
the Book of James as the favorite
book.
2. Faith without works is dead.
Said to be the favorite verse of
Anne Smith and perhaps the origin
of many expressions in A.A. concerning
“works,” this expression, or variations
of it, appears several times in
Chapter Two of the Book of James.
For example, James 2:20 states:
But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead?
“Faith without works” as a
phrase and as an A.A. “action” concept
are quoted or referred to many times
in the Big Book (pp. 14-15, 76,
88, 93, 97). A.A.’s original Oxford
Group connection also put emphasis
on these James verses, using them
in connection with the importance
of witnessing.
3. Helping Others. It hardly
requires citation or documentation
to state that A.A.’s cardinal objective
is to help others. And this service
concept is underlined in Chapter
2 of James, beginning with verses
1 to 7. James 2:15-16 states the
principle very well:
If a brother or sister be naked,
and destitute of daily food, And
one of you say unto them, Depart
in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
notwithstanding ye give them not
those things which are needful to
the body; what doth it profit? Even
so, faith, if it hath not works,
is dead, being alone.
And every alcoholic who has helped
one of his miserable, suffering,
destitute brothers in need will
instantly relate to those verses
and hence to the importance of James
to the early AAs.
4. The Ten Commandments. Again!
James 2:10-11 states:
For whosoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all. For he that
said, Do not commit adultery, said
also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit
no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou
art become a transgressor of the
law.
James Chapter 3
1. Taming the tongue. In
his Farewell Address to A.A., Dr.
Bob said:
Let us also remember to guard that
erring member the tongue, and if
we must use it, let's use it with
kindness and consideration and tolerance
(DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers,
p. 338).
A major portion of James, Chapter
Three, is devoted to the trouble
that can be caused by an untamed
tongue. Following are a few verses
emphasizing the point:
Even so the tongue is a little member
and boasteth great things. Behold,
how great a matter a little fire
kindleth! And the tongue is
a fire, a world of iniquity; so
is the tongue among our members
that it defileth the whole body,
and setteth on fire the course of
nature; and it is set on
fire of hell. . . . But the tongue
can no man tame; it is an unruly
evil, full of deadly poison.
. . . Out of the same mouth proceedeth
blessing and cursing. My brethren,
these things ought not to be.
These verses are not quoted in the
Big Book. But Anne Smith referred
to them frequently in her journal,
as did other A.A. roots sources
(Dick B., Anne Smith’s Journal,
pp. 28, 44, 76, 77; Holm, The
Runner’s Bible, p. 68). In paraphrasing
the verses, Dr. Bob seemed to be
speaking of tolerance, courtesy,
consideration, and kindness. James
makes clear that good conversation
should be a focus—conversation,
we believe, laced with consideration,
kindness, and tolerance (See James
3:13). And these latter principles
are very much stressed in
the Big Book (pp. 67, 69-70, 83-84,
97, 118, 125, 135).
2. Avoidance of envy, strife,
and lying. James 3:14-16 stresses
clear that a heart filled with envy,
strife, and lies has not received
such “wisdom” from God, but rather
from devilish sources. The verses
state:
But if ye have bitter envying and
strife in your hearts; glory not,
and lie not against the truth.
This
wisdom descendeth not from above,
but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is,
there is confusion and every evil
work.
“Envy”is not as much decried in
the Big Book as jealousy; but a
more modern translation of these
King James verses equates “envy”
with “jealousy” (The Revised
English Bible, New Testament, p,
208). And the Big Book most assuredly
condemns jealously (pp. 37, 69,
82, 100, 119, 145, 16 1). In fact,
the Big Book states as to jealousy
and envy:
Keep it always in sight that we
are dealing with that most terrible
human emotion—jealousy (p. 82).
The greatest enemies of us alcoholics
are resentment, jealousy, envy,
frustration, and fear (p. 145).
And as to strife, the Big Book states:
After all, our problems were of
our own making. Bottles were only
a symbol. Besides, we have stopped
fighting anybody or anything. We
have to (p. 103)!
James
3:17-18 talks much about making
peace and the fruit of righteousness
being sown in peace of them that
make peace.
As seen in the James 3:14 quote,
lying and dishonesty are considered
devilish; and one should consider
the Big Book’s frequent emphasis
on grasping and developing a manner
of living which “demands rigorous
honesty” (p. 58). As to all the
verses in James 3:14-16, however,
there is little certainty that these
particular verses were an exclusive
or even major source for the traits
of envy, jealousy, strife, and dishonesty
because all these traits are decried
also in many other parts of the
Bible.
James Chapter 4
1. Asking amiss for selfish ends.
There is much to say about unselfishness
and overcoming self-centeredness
as far as A.A. principles are concerned.
But the following in James 4:3 particularly
emphasizes selfishness in prayer:
Ye ask, and receive not, because
ye ask amiss, that ye may consume
it upon your lusts.
Christian A.A. sources that were
favorites of Dr. Bob's discuss this
verse at length. And the Big Book
authors may therefore have borrowed
from James 4:3 for the following:
We ask especially for freedom from
self-will, and are careful to make
no request for ourselves only. We
may ask for ourselves, however,
if others will be helped. We are
careful never to pray for our own
selfish ends. Many of us have wasted
a lot of time doing that and it
doesn't work (Big Book, p. 87).
2. Humility. The Book of
James has no corner on the Biblical
injunction to be humble. But the
importance of James, and the remarks
of Reverend Sam Shoemaker (quoted
under Item 3 immediately below)
suggest that the following verses
from James may have been a source
of the Big Book’s frequent mention
of humility. James 4:7, 10 state:
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.
Humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and he shall lift you
up.
The Big Book is filled with discussions
of humility, of humbling one's own
self before God, and of humbly asking
for His help. Examples include:
There I humbly offered myself to
God, as I understood Him, to do
with me as He would (p. 13).
He humbly offered himself to his
Maker—then he knew (p. 57).
Just to the extent that we do as
we think He would have us, and humbly
rely on Him, does He enable us to
match calamity with serenity (p.
68).
We constantly remind ourselves we
are no longer running the show,
humbly saying to ourselves many
times each day “Thy will be done”
(pp. 87-88).
3. Trusting God and cleaning
house. James 4:8 states:
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse your hands,
ye sinners; and purify your hearts,
ye double minded.
The Big Book says on page 98:
Burn the idea into the consciousness
of every man that he can get well
regardless of anyone. The only condition
is that he trust in God and clean
house.
And, in language closely paralleling
that in James 4:8, the Big Book
says further that one can establish
conscious companionship with God
by simply, honestly, and humbly
seeking and drawing near to Him:
He has come to all who have honestly
sought Him. When we drew near to
Him He disclosed Himself to us (page
57)!
In Step Seven, the Big Book relates
“cleaning house” of one’s character
defects to “humbly asking” God to
remove them. The foregoing verses
in James, which speak of drawing
near to God, cleansing our hearts,
humbling ourselves in His sight,
and then being “lifted” up by God,
appear to have been directly involved
in framing the Big Book's Seventh
Step language. In fact, many years
after the Big Book was written,
Sam Shoemaker wrote about his understanding
of the Seventh Step and said in
A.A.'s Grapevine in 1964:
Sins get entangled deep within us,
as some roots of a tree, and do
not easily come loose. We need help,
grace, the lift of a kind of divine
derrick (Shoemaker, Those Twelve
Steps as I Understand Them;
Volume II, Best of the Grapevine,
p. 130).
4. Taking your own inventory.
James 4:11-12 states:
Speak not evil one of another, brethren.
He that speaketh evil of his
brother, and judgeth his brother,
speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth
the law: but if thou judge the law,
thou art not a doer of the law,
but a judge. There is one lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy:
who art thou that judgest another?
The Fourth Step idea of taking your
own inventory has been discussed
in connection with relevant verses
in the Sermon on the Mount which
were often quoted by Oxford Group
people and by Anne Smith (See Matthew
7:1-5). Yet the Big Book also stresses
looking “for our own mistakes,”
asking “Where were we to blame,”
and coming to realize that, “The
inventory was ours, not the other
man's.” Considering the importance
to AAs of the Book of James and
its insights, the foregoing James
verses probably also had an impact
on the A.A. idea of avoiding judgment
of another in favor of examining
one's own conduct for wrongdoing.
James Chapter 5
1. Patience. To reiterate,
in our discussion of James, Chapter
One, we covered the verses on patience,
which can be found in James 5:7,
8, 10, 11.
2. Grudges covered in a resentment
inventory. James 5:9 reads:
Grudge not one against another,
brethren, lest ye be condemned;
behold, the judge standeth before
the door.
A major portion of the Big Book's
Fourth Step discussion is devoted
to resentment, about which page
64 says:
Resentment is the “number one” offender.
It destroys more alcoholics than
anything else. From it stem all
forms of spiritual disease.
The Big Book then suggests putting
resentments on paper—making a “grudge
list” (pp. 64-65). Oxford Group
spokesman Ebenezer Macmillan wrote
at length on the importance of eliminating
resentments, hatred, or the “grudge”
that “blocks God out effectively.”
Rev. Sam Shoemaker specified “grudges”
as one of the “sins” to be examined
in an inventory of self (Shoemaker,
Twice-Born Ministers, p.
182). Since the Big Book lists resentments
or “grudges” as one of the four
major “character defects” which
block us from God, we think
it quite possible that the “grudge”
language in the Big Book was influenced
by James, and perhaps specifically
in James 5:9.
3. Asking God's forgiveness for
sins. We repeat James 5:15,
partially quoted above. The entire
verse says:
And the prayer of faith shall save
the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up; and if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven him.
The Big Book says this, concerning
asking God's forgiveness when we
fall short:
If we are sorry for what we have
done, and have the honest desire
to let God take us to better things,
we believe we will be forgiven and
will have learned our lesson (p.
70).
When we retire at night, we constructively
review our day. . . . After making
our review, we ask God's forgiveness
and inquire what corrective measures
should be taken (p. 86).
The foregoing Big Book quotes show
that, even after their initial surrender,
wrongdoers may still gain forgiveness
from God for the shortcomings in
which they indulged after their
initial surrender. Here again, James
has no corner on the statement that
God makes it possible, through forgiveness,
for a believer to regain fellowship
with Him. 1 John 1:9 may also have
been a source of these Big Book
ideas:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
See also our discussion of forgiveness
in connection with the Sermon on
the Mount. The Books of James, 1
John, or Matthew could each or all
have been the basis for the Big
Book forgiveness concept.
4. Confess your sins one to another.
It has often been noted that both
the Oxford Group concept of sharing
by confession and Step Five
in the Big Book were derived from
James 5:16:
Confess your faults one to another,
and pray for one another, that ye
may be healed.
5. Effectual, fervent prayer
works. James 5:16 states:
The effectual fervent prayer of
a righteous man availeth much.
The Big Book abounds with prayers.
And it states:
Step Eleven suggests prayer and
meditation. We shouldn't be shy
on this matter of prayer. Better
men than we are using it constantly.
It works, if we have the proper
attitude and work at it.
James
5:16 could well have been a major
basis for the Big Book's emphasis
on the effectiveness of prayer.
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