t***@orange-papers.org
2011-01-30 01:15:24 UTC
The Religious Tenets and Doctrines of Buchmanism
You will notice that Frank Buchman just loved lists of "principles" or
"procedures" or step-like things. Frank had:
* The Four Absolutes,
* The Five C's,
* The Five Procedures of the Sane,
* The Six Basic Assumptions,
* and The Six or Seven "Principles" or "Practices of the Sane".
The Twelve Steps and The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous are
just another couple of iterations of the same old list-making routine.
(But note that Buchman never exactly called them "Steps" although
Sam Shoemaker talked about "taking the next step". "Steps" was more
Bill Wilson's terminology. When Earl T. wrote in his Big Book story,
He Sold Himself Short, that the early A.A.'s were using a 6-step
program [on page 292 of the 3rd edition, and on page 263 of the 4th
edition], that was a slight misnomer. It was Buchman's 6-step program
all right, but Buchman called it something more like "the six
principles" or "The Six Practices of the Sane".)
The Five Procedures included:
1. giving in to God,
2. listening to God's directions,
3. checking guidance,
4. making restitution, and
5. sharing one's sins openly.
The Six Basic Assumptions were that
1. men were sinners,
2. men can be "changed",
3. confession is necessary to "change",
4. the "changed" person has direct access to God,
5. the age of miracles has returned,
6. and those who have been fortunate enough to be "changed" should
seek to "change" others.
(Those who had been converted to Buchman's beliefs were called
"the changed", and those who proselytized and recruited for the Oxford
Groups were called "life changers" or "Soul Surgeons".)
As a matter of fact, we can very easily translate the Twelve Steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous backwards into Buchmanite "principles" or
"procedures", by changing the word "alcohol" to "sin", like this:
1) We admitted that we had been defeated by sin, and were powerless
over it.
2) We came to believe that only God could restore us to sanity.
3) We surrendered our wills and our lives to the control of God.
4) We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5) We confessed our sins to another person and to God.
6) and 7) We humbly, on our knees, begged God to remove our sins.
8) We made of list of persons we had harmed.
9) We made direct amends to them.
10) Repeat steps 3 through 9 endlessly.
11) We prayed for Guidance and the power to do God's Will.
12) We recruited more members by carrying the message to those who
were still defeated by sin, and also swore to practice these
principles in all of our affairs.
Notice the similarity between those steps, and the practices of the
Oxford Group "the Six Practices of the Sane":
1) Admission of personal defeat by sin.
2) Taking of personal inventory.
3) Confession of one's sins to another person.
4) Making restitution to those one has harmed.
5) Helping others selflessly [going recruiting for the cult].
6) Praying to God for Guidance and the power to put these precepts
into practice.
Also, the A.A. steps 2, 3, and 11 are covered by the Buchmanism
concept of "Guidance". The adherent is supposed to surrender to
Guidance, which is the same thing as surrendering to God, which is the
same thing as surrendering to God-control, which, according to
Buchmanism, will restore one to "sanity".
And A.A. Step 12 is the same as Buchmanism's "Conservation" or
"Continuance", which means "go recruit more members." It is also the
same as Buchman's earlier seventh principle, "carrying the message" to
those "still defeated by sin." And it is also the same thing as the
Sixth Basic Assumption: "Those who have been fortunate enough to be
'changed' should seek to 'change' others." And recruiting is also
strongly implied in Buchman's practice 5 here "Helping others
selflessly" really means working hard to convert everybody else to
Buchmanism so that they, too, can go to Heaven.
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-rroot090.html
You will notice that Frank Buchman just loved lists of "principles" or
"procedures" or step-like things. Frank had:
* The Four Absolutes,
* The Five C's,
* The Five Procedures of the Sane,
* The Six Basic Assumptions,
* and The Six or Seven "Principles" or "Practices of the Sane".
The Twelve Steps and The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous are
just another couple of iterations of the same old list-making routine.
(But note that Buchman never exactly called them "Steps" although
Sam Shoemaker talked about "taking the next step". "Steps" was more
Bill Wilson's terminology. When Earl T. wrote in his Big Book story,
He Sold Himself Short, that the early A.A.'s were using a 6-step
program [on page 292 of the 3rd edition, and on page 263 of the 4th
edition], that was a slight misnomer. It was Buchman's 6-step program
all right, but Buchman called it something more like "the six
principles" or "The Six Practices of the Sane".)
The Five Procedures included:
1. giving in to God,
2. listening to God's directions,
3. checking guidance,
4. making restitution, and
5. sharing one's sins openly.
The Six Basic Assumptions were that
1. men were sinners,
2. men can be "changed",
3. confession is necessary to "change",
4. the "changed" person has direct access to God,
5. the age of miracles has returned,
6. and those who have been fortunate enough to be "changed" should
seek to "change" others.
(Those who had been converted to Buchman's beliefs were called
"the changed", and those who proselytized and recruited for the Oxford
Groups were called "life changers" or "Soul Surgeons".)
As a matter of fact, we can very easily translate the Twelve Steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous backwards into Buchmanite "principles" or
"procedures", by changing the word "alcohol" to "sin", like this:
1) We admitted that we had been defeated by sin, and were powerless
over it.
2) We came to believe that only God could restore us to sanity.
3) We surrendered our wills and our lives to the control of God.
4) We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5) We confessed our sins to another person and to God.
6) and 7) We humbly, on our knees, begged God to remove our sins.
8) We made of list of persons we had harmed.
9) We made direct amends to them.
10) Repeat steps 3 through 9 endlessly.
11) We prayed for Guidance and the power to do God's Will.
12) We recruited more members by carrying the message to those who
were still defeated by sin, and also swore to practice these
principles in all of our affairs.
Notice the similarity between those steps, and the practices of the
Oxford Group "the Six Practices of the Sane":
1) Admission of personal defeat by sin.
2) Taking of personal inventory.
3) Confession of one's sins to another person.
4) Making restitution to those one has harmed.
5) Helping others selflessly [going recruiting for the cult].
6) Praying to God for Guidance and the power to put these precepts
into practice.
Also, the A.A. steps 2, 3, and 11 are covered by the Buchmanism
concept of "Guidance". The adherent is supposed to surrender to
Guidance, which is the same thing as surrendering to God, which is the
same thing as surrendering to God-control, which, according to
Buchmanism, will restore one to "sanity".
And A.A. Step 12 is the same as Buchmanism's "Conservation" or
"Continuance", which means "go recruit more members." It is also the
same as Buchman's earlier seventh principle, "carrying the message" to
those "still defeated by sin." And it is also the same thing as the
Sixth Basic Assumption: "Those who have been fortunate enough to be
'changed' should seek to 'change' others." And recruiting is also
strongly implied in Buchman's practice 5 here "Helping others
selflessly" really means working hard to convert everybody else to
Buchmanism so that they, too, can go to Heaven.
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-rroot090.html