Dick B. on early AA & Bill W.'s new version of the program

Today, people striving for recovery from alcoholism often think that A.A. itself offers two divergent ways to recover. The little-known, first way is the way the pioneers did it. We call it "old-school" A.A. Its principle tenet is reliance on God, coupled with helping others. The second alternative often finds AAs struggling with Bill W.'s "new version of the program." This alternative confronts them with the ever-present idea that they can recover by relying on some ill-defined "Higher Power" or even by believing in nothing at all. We believe "old-school" A.A. offers the best choice for those who really understand that they are unable to help themselves, that no human power can help them, but that God can and will and has. We will tell you four reasons for reexamining and applying "old-school" ideas today. We will also tell you four major barriers to the potential for recovery in present-day A.A. And we will lay the foundation for sobriety, recovery, and deliverance with the solution that works.