The Biblical roots of Alcoholics Anonymous are not a theory — they are a documented historical fact. A.A.'s earliest members met for Bible study, prayer, and quiet time before the Twelve Steps were ever written, and the program they built carried the fingerprints of Scripture from its first day. This page exists to put that evidence back in your hands.
The Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set is the Christian recovery world's permanent, irreplaceable record of the roles God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in early A.A.'s astonishing successes — and the most powerful resource for every Christian recovery worker today.
Dick B. (J.D., CDAAC) — Stanford-educated attorney, recognized as "the unofficial historian of Alcoholics Anonymous." 25 years of forensic research. 45 published titles. 1,750+ published articles. 250+ recorded audio talks. Many videos and video series.
What the Founders Actually Read, Prayed, and Practiced
Long before A.A. had a Big Book, it had a Bible. Bill W., Dr. Bob, and the early AAs drew their working principles from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), First Corinthians 13, and the Book of James. Dr. Bob called those three passages "absolutely essential" to early recovery. If you are a Christian recovery program director trying to show your participants where the Twelve Steps come from, the historical record is the strongest tool you have — and it has been hiding in plain sight.
A First Century Christian Fellowship, founded in the autumn of 1922 — later also known as of September 1928 as "the Oxford Group" — taught surrender to God, restitution, confession, and service to others. Every one of those practices found its way into the Twelve Steps, but stripped of the explicit Scripture references that originally anchored them. For a chaplain walking alongside men and women in jails, hospitals, or treatment centers, the ability to point to the original Biblical language behind each Step is not academic — it changes the conversation from "spiritual principles" to "the living Word of God."
This matters for the pulpit, too. Most congregations include people in active addiction, in recovery, or loving someone who is. A pastor who can preach the Biblical foundation of the Twelve Steps speaks directly into that pain with both compassion and authority — without having to choose between honoring Scripture and honoring the very real fruit A.A. has produced for nearly a century.
And for the classroom: a seminary teacher training the next generation of pastors, counselors, and missionaries needs primary sources, not summaries. The documented connections between A.A. and the early church — the influence of Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, the role of the Akron Christian fellowship, the way the Twelve Steps echo Psalm 51, Romans 7, and 1 John 1 — belong in any course on pastoral care, addiction, or practical theology.
Why This History Has Been Forgotten
As A.A. grew, its Christian roots were intentionally softened so that anyone of any belief could walk through the door. That softening saved some from their alcoholism. But it also meant that within a generation, most members — and most pastors — had no idea the program was born in Bible study. The result is a strange split: a recovery movement that works, and a Church that often does not realize the movement actually came from the same Biblical foundation on which Christianity itself was built.
The Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set closes that gap. It walks Step by Step through the Scripture the founders actually used, names the Christian leaders who helped shape the program, and gives you the citations, dates, and source documents to back every claim.
Is The Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set for You?
If you are a Christian recovery program director, chaplain, pastor, or seminary teacher — anyone responsible for guiding others through addiction, suffering, and the path back to God — The Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set was built for you. It will give you the historical evidence, the Scripture references, and the language you need to teach the Biblical roots of Alcoholics Anonymous with clarity and confidence.
If that's you, the next step is simple.
The Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set — 31 volumes. The Christian recovery world's permanent, irreplaceable record. Available exclusively at DickBonRecovery.com or direct from Ken B.
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See also: The Dick B. A.A. History Reference Set — 31 volumes documenting the Biblical and Christian foundations of early A.A.