Then why does the chaptor we agnostics insinuate were all agnostic till we find out who god is in our lives and we have to have a spiritual awakening. This is the third time we have been referred to appendix ii spiritual experience. Words contained within the first 164 pages of the big book. Pat is one of the attendees at a saturday morning meeting at the fitchburg serenity club. Here we learn what the alcoholics great problem is. Informally known as the big book with its first 164 pages virtually unchanged since the. Joe and charlie cover the chapter we agnostics from the big book of alcoholics anonymous in such masterly detail. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the big book of quotations for atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists. With god to illinois,lets start praying again, etc. The big book of quotations for atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists kindle edition by probulos, i. Jul 16, 2015 joe and charlie cover the chapter we agnostics from the big book of alcoholics anonymous in such masterly detail. In this part of the alcoholics anonymous big book study, joe and charlie discuss the chapter bills story this series of talks came about from a. Quad a alcoholics anonymous for atheists and agnostics was launched in 1975 in chicago.
There are online resources listing aa meetings for atheists and agnostics. The 164 and more book, ebook, and web site are all concordances which display passages from the big book alcoholics anonymous, the twelve steps and twelve traditions, and the a. One of many good places to begin is in alcoholics anonymous aka the big book, specifically chapter 4, we agnostics. What about those sanctimonious church goers who judge me for. Mel barger, a longtime sober member of aa who died in february, 2017, was author of a.
Since then, there has been a resurgence of working the 12 steps. Religious in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps and. One more time i have come to believe that there is in fact a great reality. Aa speaker turn our will and our lives over to the care of god new 20 duration.
The individual sections of this study guide material reflect ideas, emotions and attitudes you might hear from the. By writing first, then doing the 5 th step we can look at resentment, fear and harm individually, the way it says in the big book. The day will come when our type of meeting will be so commonplace that. Looking at it from the perspective of a normal drinker, the solution seems simple. Jan 29, 2017 in this part of the alcoholics anonymous big book study, joe and charlie discuss the chapter bills story this series of talks came about from a friendship that started in alcoholics anonymous. The expected number of latest developments for waaftiaac 2016. Book study 22 we agnostics 22 by the big book study. When drinking, do you have little control over the amount you take. Aug, 2017 then why does the chaptor we agnostics insinuate were all agnostic till we find out who god is in our lives and we have to have a spiritual awakening.
It sounds like they are trying to convert me to something. Big book workshop we agnostics big book step study. Unless they begin following you around day and night in an attempt to. They wanted a psychological book, which would lure the alcoholic in. For many of us that seems to be an impossible task. Oct 12, 2017 one of many good places to begin is in alcoholics anonymous aka the big book, specifically chapter 4, we agnostics. That means we have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral.
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. Joe and charlies we agnostics big book step study my. Joe and charlie started a backtothebig book revival in the late 1980s, whereby the newcomer could work all 12 steps in a weekend. A perspective on we agnostics chapter 4 of the big book. Ask him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. Naikan and danshukai for the treatment of japanese alcoholic patients. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a power greater than ourselves. If we are to accept our disease and learn to overcome it, we must accept that we. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholicproblems and explain our fellowship. Its all about stopping during the day and taking a look at how we are doing. We wish to make the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous part of our. Our chief responsibility to the newcomer is an adequate presentation of the program. Eventually i decided that i should try working the steps, so i found a sponsor who suggested we read the big book and go through the steps together. How could there possibly be a god when there are so many starving people and wars where everybody says god is on their side.
The big book of quotations for atheists, agnostics, and. The 2016 we agnostics, atheists and freethinkers international aa convention waaftiaac is happening very soon on the weekend of november 11 in austin, texas. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our fellowship. For the record, we have no affililation with gopher state library. The big book offers these actions without predicting the exact spiritual experience that will result for a given individual, nor does it impose any conceptions upon the reader. Joe mcquany and charlie parmley, a team of two men who died in 2007 and 2011, respectively known as joe and charlie who met in 1973 and spent the next three decades spreading their interpretation of the big book. Aa cofounder bill wilson wrote we agnostics in an attempt to address the issue.
They also advise against dogma and coercive hierarchies. So it was comforting to learn that we could commence at. The delegate for southern california area 05, thomas b, is interested in your thoughts on the subject of conference approved literature for agnostics and atheists in aa. We do our best to replicate what the aa founders did, with the same sense of urgency. Four short years before writing this chapter, the principal author, bill w. Mar 29, 2018 conference question literature for we agnostics.
They would have the widelyheld view that aa is a bookbased society and the big book is the instruction book for sobriety. For the agnostic, atheist and humanist, it can feel like a distraction from the work. Page 44, paragraph 1 page 44, paragraph 3 in the first paragraph, bill asks us two questions. The god word and the april 2017 general service conference. Doctor bobs nightmare 171 a cofounder of alcoholics anonymous. In this part of the alcoholics anonymous big book study, joe and charlie discuss the chapter we agnostics this series of talks came about from a friendship that started in alcoholics anonymous. We agnostics chapter of the big book religious forums. We have laid out the 4 th step inventory here so that it follows the big book. Please be sure to read appendix ii about the spiritual experience.
God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. One can now listen to the alcoholics anonymous big book from front to back, or by choosing a chapter. May 21, 2008 in its chapter, we agnostics, the big book outlines its attitude toward spiritual and religious matters. Aa big book with questions for discussion emotional. What if the fourth chapter of the big book,we agnostics had actually been written by atheists and agnostics. I created a category that i titled the atheist big book study, and i went. Joe mcquany and charlie parmley, a team of two men who died in 2007 and 2011, respectively known as joe. To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic such an experience seems. Try out the new page we have been working on a new format. 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. M download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. To be clear, i dont share the notion that the twelve steps, as outlined in the book alcoholics anonymous is a superior way of getting and staying sober than.
Atheist in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps and 12. Aa book store 00 preface 01 forward 02 the doctors opinion 03 chapter 1 bills story 04 chapter 2 there is a solution 05 chapter 3 more about alcoholism 06 chapter 4 we agnostics 07 chapter 5 how it works 08 chapter 6 into action 09 chapter 7 working with others 10 chapter 8 to wives 11 chapter 9. This 1968 book is the story of harry dawes, a modern catholic layman who has lost his faith, and struggles with the questions of existence and belief. Reading guide for we agnostics amethyst recovery center. Sorting and rendering passages in the proprietary format of the 164 and more concordance does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by either alcoholics. John s from we agnostics kansas city aa beyond belief.
Aa speaker by the big book study published on 20171128t16. And it means, of course, that we are going to talk about god. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoho lic problems and explain our fellowship. Pages 44 through 57 chapter 4, we agnostics, is truly a remarkable piece of writing. In doing so, the big book also presents a method by which readers can investigate theological questions for themselves. We hope we have made clear the distinction between the alcoholic and the nonalcoholic. Read a history of agnostics in aa by roger c for free with a 30 day free trial. Many of them were raised in a million big book per year world. In the big book we find a radical empiricism, applied to religion, with a set of actions offered as an entrance into direct spiritual experience. I thought it had to be done precisely as laid out in the big book, and although bill w. Our goal is to study the steps as a friendly, focused group, and work them as the authors of the big book described. Welcome to we agnostics a weekly dose of recovery for the nonreligious. When we got to the doctors opinion, i was told to read it every day for thirty days. Well, reading and discussing this chapter plus a reading we discussed in the abstinence book in my meeting saturday helped me to find the spiritual aspect of abstinence.
The chapter, we agnostics appears in the book, alcoholics anonymous aka the big book on pages 44 through. Joe and charlie the big book comes alive aa area 60. Aa beyond belief provides a space for agnostics, atheists and freethinkers in alcoholics anonymous to. Aa speakers joe and charlie bills story the big book. Alcoholism12 step support a perspective on we agnostics chapter 4 of the big book im not going for this god stuff. By studying the big book, well find our own interpretation of it. 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 answers will come, if your own house is in order. Aa the original way 12 step guide aa the original way group. Chapter 4 we agnostics page 41 notice the asterisk at the bottom of the page. There were agnostics in the tuesday night group, and several hardcore. Or pick from one of many of the favorite parts we have singled out on our website. Alcoholics anonymous big book twelvestep intensive weekend workshop.
Critique of chapter 4 we agnostics by roger published october 12, 2017 updated april 26, 2020 by paul w. We use only the big book the basic text of alcoholics anonymous. This is the heart of the big book, the chapter that introduces the twelve. Read a history of agnostics in aa online by roger c books free. Aa beyond belief provides a space for agnostics, atheists and. Both the republication of the god word pamphlet, originally published by aa in great britain, and a request to create a new pamphlet for atheists and agnostics in aa are on the agenda at this years aa. In the preceding chapters you have learned something of alcoholism. The foreword to the second edition contains a lot of historical information so we will will spend several programs looking at it.
The final point is that belief in god, acceptance of christ, and study. Chapter 4 of the big book, we agnostics, in which bill w argues that. By the very act of critiquing chapter 4, we agnostics, i admittedly commit aa heresy. In the book, he eventually experiences a selfawakening and returns to the faith. Aug 24, 2009 we have a new site come and check us out thursday night big book study. This is a new powerful tool in your tool kit to use in working with others by having the option and the honor to be a cofacilitator doing the aa big book intensive weekend after you have participated in one or two of these recovery weekends. Oct 05, 2014 i thought it had to be done precisely as laid out in the big book, and although bill w. We are individuals recovering from compulsive overeating through the 12 steps of overeaters anonymous and the teaching and practice outlined in the big book of alcoholics anonymous. The big book would advise you, however, not to be too perturbed by these references. The most important chapter of the big book for understanding bill wilsons concept of god is we agnostics pp. 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. We may not beleive in the supernatural but we believe in you. When you honestly want to, is it true you cannot quit entirely. Some members believe the big book is the revealed truth from god.
Bernard basset is a jesuit, and the author of many other books such as we neurotics,born for friendship. Some members even think that they are atheists or agnostics, as if holding no. Join our email list and we will send you the latest seeds of service newsletter each quarter. I guess i was a bit of a fundamentalist at the time and feared that it wouldnt work if i didnt follow directions exactly. Each quote is followed by alexs thoughts on the topic and a question for the reader to contemplate. Alcoholics anonymous aa is an international mutual aid fellowship with the stated purpose of.
Power of the big book weekend recordings 2017 overeaters. This is a series of big book studies and workshops that are intended to give newcomers an adequate presentation of the program of alcoholics anonymous. Taken from the book alcoholics anonymous frequently called the big book. 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. Sep 07, 2017 quad a alcoholics anonymous for atheists and agnostics was launched in 1975 in chicago.
We have a new site come and check us out thursday night big book study. Big book workbook is for those who are willing to grow along spiritual lines 60. Big book studies joe and charlie the big book comes alive joe mcquany and charlie parmley, a team of two men who died in 2007 and 2011, respectively known as joe and charlie who met in 1973 and spent the next three decades spreading their interpretation of the big book. I also dont approve of the big book saying i dont know who god is. By the 1990s, big book study meetings and weekend were popular. It is named, of course, after a chapter in alcoholics anonymous often called the big book. We agnostics assignment we have covered the first and second components of the disease of alcoholism.