Chuck Berry is the “Godfather of Rock and Roll.” The title “godfather of science fiction” is often attributed to Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. But who are the godfathers of Alcoholics Anonymous?
Igor I. Sikorsky wrote a book titled “AA’s Godparents: Three Early Influences on Alcoholics Anonymous and Its Foundation“, which discusses the influence of Emmet Fox, along with Carl Jung and Jack Alexander, on AA.
Jack Alexander was a writer and was solicited by Bill W. to write an article for the Saturday Evening Post. On March 1, 1941, The Saturday Evening Post published the article titled “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.” This article gave a huge boost in awareness about AA and gave people a much better understanding of the program and its purpose.
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist known for developing analytical psychology—also called Jungian analysis. Carl Jung believed that alcoholism was a manifestation of a deeper spiritual crisis, a “spiritual thirst” for wholeness, and that recovery required a “spiritual or religious experience”. Sobriety could be achieved through “a higher education of the mind beyond the confines of mere rationalism”—through an enlightenment or conversion experience, that is. It might also occur through “an act of grace or through a personal and honest contact with friends.
Emmet Fox was an Irish New Thought spiritual leader in the early 1920’s and 30’s. He emigrated to American and became the minister of New York’s Divine Science Church of the Healing Christ. His secretary was had a son named Al who became one of the first 100 men that was helped by Bill W. Of course, he often spoke of his father and many of the members would go to hear Emmet Fox speak. Because some many of the members were talking about Fox, many of his sermons became imbedded in the AA program.
So, while Jack Alexander was getting people in the doors, Jung was making it more about fellowship and group therapy, Fox was making it more spiritual. When the sharing gets on the topic of Spirituality, Emmet Fox invariably gets mentioned.
‘Here are some free PDFs to download of Emmet Fox’s more popular writings:
Discover more from My Name is John and I am an Alcoholic
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