Book study 21 we agnostics 21 by the big book study. Contributions and bequests secularaa will accept contributions only from individuals who acknowledge they are a. Or pick from one of many of the favorite parts we have singled out on our website. Four short years before writing this chapter, the principal author, bill w. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer. Of course the name we agnostics is also a chapter in the big book. We admitted we were licked, that we were powerless over alcohol. May 21, 2008 in its chapter, we agnostics, the big book outlines its attitude toward spiritual and religious matters. This is because we agnostics includes terms such as creative intelligence, which would appear not to gel with the notion that we are allowed to accept the greater scientific universe as the higher power of our choosing. During any such meeting to study the aa big book, you would expect to encounter a wide variety of viewpoints on the portions under consideration. Big book alcoholics anonymous chapter 4 we agnostics pages 44 57.
Chapter 4, we agnostics, is truly a remarkable piece of writing. Our group supports those who seek freedom from alcohol, while upholding their personal spirituality and philosophy. All meetings are for alcoholics only unless otherwise indicated with an o and all groups are nonsmoking unless. Chapter 4 of the big book, we agnostics, in which bill w argues that. Aa speakers joe and charlie we agnostics the big book comes alive duration. I never completed the project because i started spending more time with the group, which was growing by leaps and bounds. Each day in our big book study group a leader will take you through a section of the alcoholics anonymous. One can now listen to the alcoholics anonymous big book from front to back, or by choosing a chapter. It was aimed at those people who would not be able to meet anyone from aa, because at the time it was published aa was centered in new york city, and akron and cleveland, ohio. This study guide has proven helpful in providing structure and guidance for learning to work the twelvestep program, as it is described in the book.
I have had many spiritual experiences as a result of this approach as have many of the newcomers i have worked with. We confessed or shared our shortcomings with another person in confidence. In its chapter, we agnostics, the big book outlines its attitude toward spiritual and religious matters. A perspective on we agnostics chapter 4 of the big book. The chairperson announces the step, and pages in the big book that will be used as a topic for the meeting that night. To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic such an. This is a 15week rotation of the readings that most big big step study groups use. I can tell you that she is one of the main reasons my life in sobriety is as happy. I know that the secular aa groups have been formed to meet a real. By using we in the title, it is insinuated that the authors are agnostic. The author is a christian trying to save and convert agnostics. Also known as the cycle, or step rotation, this is a 15week rotation of readings. When you search for a meeting, please use the phone number listed for that group near the top of the groups page, or if there is no phone number listed, click on email district to verify if there will be a meeting there. Groups such as aa and na have many detractors, people who believe that they are.
For oa members who want to thoroughly explore the big book from beginning to end we would be happy to have you join us. Ive discovered that a lot of people ignore it, especially people that adhere to a particular religious tradition, and feel that theyve got the idea of faith in a higher power under control. The big book serves as the foundation for the alcoholics anonymous 12step program. One of the many myths that i was taught about the big book is that its the collective workwords of the original 100 members of aa. What about those sanctimonious church goers who judge me for my sins and then commit their own. List of big book step study bbss groups in the united states hyannis format meeting schedule. Aa cofounder bill wilson wrote we agnostics in an attempt to address the. The individual sections of this study guide material reflect ideas, emotions and attitudes you might hear from the mouth of that old timer over in the corner. The big book loop is a study group which has as its mission to provide an additional area of recovery and support to coes who appreciate the aabb,lovingly known as the big book. I have experienced this process with almost 300 alcoholics and addicts over the past 4 years.
Its not about being sponsoredits about sponsoring others that is a predictor. Aa beyond belief provides a space for agnostics, atheists and freethinkers in alcoholics anonymous to freely share their experience, strength and hope with each other and aa as a whole. Jul 16, 2015 joe and charlie cover the chapter we agnostics from the big book of alcoholics anonymous in such masterly detail. That means we have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral. This is a long chapter, but like the rest of the big book, the ideas are simple and straightforward. Alcoholics anonymous, in small groups of 812 persons. A history of agnostic groups in aa william white papers. We hope we have made clear the distinction between the alcoholic and the nonalcoholic. Meeting since january 20, we agnostics group wagdfw of alcoholics anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who offer experience, strength and hope to the recovering alcoholic. We study the first 103 pages of the big book and when we come to the step instructions we take them together.
Mar 08, 2018 to this end, my critique of we agnostics chapter 4 of the big book and lifejs logical fallacies of the big book have been published and others are in progress. Northwest arkansas alcoholics anonymous springdale. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholicproblems and explain our fellowship. Reading guide for we agnostics amethyst recovery center. We wish to make the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous part of our. This guide is intended to examine the content of virtually every sentence in the basic text of the big book. Aa speaker turn our will and our lives over to the care of god new 20 duration. What we know of course is that the big book was bill wilsons baby its a collection of his opinions and beliefs at 34 years sober. They summarized what they learned from the oxford group in six simple principles. In doing so, the big book also presents a method by which readers can investigate theological questions for themselves. The portion of chapter five of our big book that was read aloud, how it. I created a category that i titled the atheist big book study, and i went through the big book, beginning with the forwards to the various editions and then through the first 164 pages. According to the big book, when we speak of god, what do we mean. As parts of our country go into lockdown, many churches and meeting halls are becoming inaccessible to us for our meetings.
Our goal is to study the steps as a friendly, focused group, and work them as the authors of the big book described. Our mission is to assure suffering alcoholics that they can find sobriety in alcoholics anonymous without having to accept anyone elses beliefs or deny their own. The purpose of this study guide is to enable the student to better understand the information the authors of the book, alcoholics anonymous, intended to impart to each of us based on their experience and knowledge of alcoholism and their program of recovery. World directory of primary purpose groups big book study for a. It is the basic text of the fellowship of alcoholics anonymous, and has helped large numbers of alcoholic men and women, young and old, recover.
This is the part of the big book where their blatant proselytizing for god happens. The purpose of this study guide is to enable the student to better understand the information the authors of the book, alcoholics anonymous, intended to impart to each of us based on their experience and knowledge of alcoholism and. John s from we agnostics kansas city aa beyond belief. And it means, of course, that we are going to talk about god. We wish to make the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous part of our lives by collaborating with a power greater than ourselves an inner knowing, our own. The big book was written as a set of directions for doing the steps. On january 25, 2018, the we agnostics kansas city aa group held their monthly anniversary meeting. Aa groups were located in every state of the united states and every province of. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our fellowship. The final point is that belief in god, acceptance of christ, and study. For many of us that seems to be an impossible task.
The we agnostics of greenville south carolina alcoholics. The big book would advise you, however, not to be too perturbed by these references. A perspective on we agnostics chapter 4 of the big book how could there possibly be a god when there are so many starving people and wars where everybody says god is on their side. Big book workbook is for those who are willing to grow along spiritual lines 60.
Who we are we are an international organization that supports the secular aa community. Two agnostic groups we agnostics and beyond belief were kicked. This is an open speaker meeting, and on this night, marty k. Joe had been studying the big book since 1962, but since he was an africanamerican man living in little rock, arkansas during that time, he was. Book study 20 we agnostics 12 by the big book study published on 20160829t21. Chapter 4 we agnostics page 40 for either case, atheist or agnostic, we are going to have to find some way to have this spiritual experience, and to use this power greater than human power. We agnostics i n the precedingchapters you have learned something of alcoholism. I think this chapter gets ignored quite often, especially by members that feel theyve got a good grasp of the faith business, but it helped me a great deal when i was trying to wrap my brain around step 2. Outlining the steps and traditions that make aa famous, as well as numerous stories about recovering addicts who have been through the process, the big book has helped guide millions into a life of sobriety. I find it to be very insulting and incompatible with any secular thinking. And one should read page 191 of the big book for bill wilsons own statement.
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