Believing and Alcoholics Annymous

Alcoholics Anonymous and Believing

 

Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

 

Do you believe. . .

 

God raised Jesus from the dead.

 

Acts 2:22, 24 (KJV):

Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him. . . . Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death. . . . [See also Romans 10:9.]

 

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

 

John 11:39-41, 43, 44 (KJV):

Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. . . .Jesus saith unto her [Martha], Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, . . .

 

Peter raised Tabitha from the dead.

 

Acts 9: 36, 37, 40, 41 (KJV):

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, . . .And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: . . .But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And when he gave her his hand and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

 

Paul raised Eutychus from the dead.

 

Acts 20: 9, 10, 12 (KJV):

And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

 

What Jesus said after he was risen:

 

Mark 16:14-18, 20 (KJV):

Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; . . .And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;. . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

 

What A.A.’s cofounders and A.A. Number Three said that offered  the promise of belief about curing alcoholism:

 

Bill Wilson: Henrietta, the Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to keep talking about it and telling people.[Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York City, N.Y.: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001), 191]

 

Dr. Bob Smith: That was June 10, 1935, and that was my last drink. As I write, nearly four years have passed. The question which might naturally come into your mind would be: ˜What did this man [Bill Wilson] do or say that was different from what others had done or said? . . . . But this was a man who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard’s experiences known to man, but who had been cured. . . . [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 180]

 

If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual

pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you. . . . Your Heavenly Father will never let you down! [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 181]

 

A.A. Number Three Bill Dotson:That sentence [Bill Wilson’s statement quoted earlier on page 191], The Lord has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just want to

 keep telling people about it, has been a sort of a golden text for the A.A. program and for me. . [P]robably the most wonderful thing that I have learned from the program” I’ve seen this in the A.A. Grapevine a lot of times, and I’ve had people say it to me personally, and I’ve heard people

get up in meetings and say it is this statement:˜I came into A.A. solely for the purpose of sobriety, but it has been through A.A. that I have found God. [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 191-92]

 

What’s so hard about believing the statement contained in the Foreword to Second Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous [published in 1955] that of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50 were permanently cured [got sober at once and remained that way ”Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., xx]? And that another 25%  relapsed but returned to be cured [sobered up after some relapses ”Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., xx]?

 

What’s so hard about believing the following statement by Bill W.: What is this but a miracle of healing? Yet its elements are simple. Circumstances made

Him willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to his Maker, then he knew.

Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. . . . He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us! [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., 57]

 

In his own hand, and on his own office stationary, Dr. Bob listed by name, sobriety date, and sobriety record the first pioneers who were cured. Three quarters of  those pioneers on Dr. Bob’s list were cured. They believed. And I believe that!

 

DickB@DickB.com.

 http://www.DickB.com/Cured.shtml

 

Gloria Deo