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Lets Ask Bill
W.
This series was
compiled by Jim B. These excerpts from various talks
and articles by and on Bill W. reveal a wealth of
the thinking and insight of one of the co-founder's
of Alcoholics Anonymous.
1. -
The Disease Concept
- How do you justify calling alcoholism an illness, and
not a moral responsibility?
2. - Mental
Obsession - What is meant by mental
obsession and the obsessional character of alcoholism?
3. - How Does AA
Work? - Just how does A.A. work?
4. - A Continued
Existence - How can A.A. best assure its
continued existence?
5. - Early AA 12th
Step - When you first sobered up how did
you approach alcoholics and did you change that
approach?
6. - What Happened
to Ebby? - What happened to your sponsor,
Ebby?
7. - Oxford Group
Info - What did A.A. learn from the Oxford
Group and why did they leave them?
8. - Agnostics &
God - What about the alcoholic who says
that he cannot possibly believe in God?
9. - Medicine,
Religion & AA - How do medicine and
religion differ in their approach to the alcoholic?
10. - Origins of the
Traditions - What were the conditions that
led to the Twelve Traditions?
11. - Still More
Traditions Info - Have the Traditions been
widely accepted?
12. - General
Service Conference - What will the General
Service Conference do?
13. - AA & Other
Agencies - Could you explain AA's tradition
concerning other agencies in the field of alcoholism.
14. - The 12
Concepts - What purposes do the Twelve
Concepts for World Services serve?
15. - Remembering
AA's Early Friends - Bill never tired of
telling the story of A.A.s' beginning and giving thanks
for our many early friends. This is how he told it to
the General Service Conference in 1952.
16. - Are Alcoholics
"Different?" - Do alcoholics as a class
differ from other people?
17. - Is It All Bill
W's Experience? - Is A.A. based totally on
your own experiences?
18. - "A Rapid
Growth Problem?" - Wouldn't too rapid
growth be bad, both for the new alcoholics and for
Alcoholics Anonymous itself?
19. - Bill W's
Spiritual Experience - Could you describe
your spiritual experience for us and your understanding
of what happened?
20. - Early AA
- Could you tell us about the early days and the
meetings in your home on Clinton Street?
21. - Meet AA #3
- How did you meet A.A. No.3, Bill D.?
22. - More Big Book
Info - Was the writing of the Big Book a
difficult job?
23. - St. Ignatius &
The Steps - Can the Twelve Steps be
compared to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius?
24. - Father
Dowling's Influence - How did you meet
Father Ed Dowling?
25. - More on the
Traditions - What are the ideas embodied in
the Twelve Traditions?
26. - GSO Financing
- How will the proposed General Service Conference be
financed?
27. - AA Government?
- Why shouldn't the General Service Conference be a
government for Alcoholics Anonymous?
28. - Drug Addicts &
AA - How many drug addicts are there in
A.A. and in the organization similar to A.A. which
operates among drug addicts?
29. - Right of
Appeal - What purpose does the right of
appeal serve?
30. - Are Alcoholics
"Neurotic?" - Are alcoholics neurotic?
31. - What is
Alcoholism? - What is alcoholism?
32. - Is AA a
Religion? - Is Alcoholics Anonymous a new
religion? A competitor of the Church?
33. - What Is AA's
Success Rate? - What is the success rate of
Alcoholics Anonymous?
34. - Carl Jung's
Contribution - What contribution did Dr.
Carl Jung make to A.A.?
35. - Ebby's Message
to Bill - What effect did Ebby's message
have on you?
36. - Clergy & AA
- Why do clergymen so often fail with alcoholics, when
A.A. so often succeeds? Is it possible that the grace of
A.A. is superior to that of the Church?
37. - AA and the
Community - What is AA's relationship with
the community?
38. - Short GSO
History - Why the General Service
Conference?
39. - The
Rockefeller Connection - How did the
connection between the Rockefeller's and Alcoholics
Anonymous develop?
40. - The Three
Legacies - What do the Three Legacies of AA
represent?
41. - Drunks in AA
Meetings? - If an alcoholic comes to an
A.A. meeting under the influence of alcohol, how do you
treat him or handle him during the meeting?
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