Alcoholics Anonymous is an organization of voluntary which was created in 1935 to help alcoholics to practice to get sobriety. It’s the Mr. Bill Wilson’s idea; a onetime financier that is career in Finance was devastated by alcoholism.
Whilst attending a hospital, suffering from the effects of acute alcohol poisoning, Bill Wilson underwent what he called a spiritual experience, and in his new found acceptance and belief in God, was able to cure himself.
After leaving hospital he teamed up with Doctor Bob Smith and together they went about their joint vocation of helping and curing alcoholics. The venture was hugely successful and in 1939 Bill Wilson wrote a book entitled Alcoholics Anonymous which launched the organization we know today.
At the moment there are more than 106,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meeting groups and the organization has spread around the world. The requirements for joining Alcoholics Anonymous are that only have to be an alcoholic who wants to stop. There is no payment or fee thus the foundation receives its funding from private donations.
The concept of treating alcoholism like a disease was the brainchild of Dr William Silkworth who was the physician who treated Bob Wilson in the New York hospital where here underwent his spiritual experience that put him on the path to creating Alcoholics Anonymous.
As alcoholic anonymous grew during the late 1930s and early 1940s, it became more structured and the 12 basic principles were developed that are still the backbone of the organization today. The original 12 principles were:
• Admitting their lives have been ruled by alcoholism
• Believing God could cure alcoholism
• Putting themselves in hands of God
• Honest self evaluation
• Self confession of wrongs enacted
• Preparedness for God to remove bad characteristics
• Asking that God get rid of these bad characteristics
• Making list people they had harmed as well as committing to restore wrongs done
• In fact, making any possible change
• Continuous self-evaluation and admittance of any ongoing imperfections
• Vowing to try to understand God and his plans for recovering alcoholics
• Committing to assist other practicing alcoholics
It is clear from these original mission statements or principles that Alcoholics Anonymous had a basic grounding in the belief of God; but as the fellowship has grown, over the passage of a number of years, these principles have become more generalized in order not to alienate, or make themselves untenable to alcoholics who desperately needed and wanted help but saw religion as a barrier to acquiring that help.
Thursday, February 4th, 2010, 8:10 am | 
Kids And Teens | 
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