From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
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to display the full page from the Big Book1.
... believe.
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
That was great news to us,
for we had assumed we could not make use of spiritual principles
unless we accepted many things on faith which seemed difficult to believe.
2.
... believe.
BB p.57,
We Agnostics
3.
... believe a
man should be thoroughly probed ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
4.
... believe, almost
owes this recompense on a ...
BB p.123,
The Family Afterward
5.
... believe and
hope it contains all you ...
BB p.163,
A Vision For You
6.
... believe, and
so suggested a few years ...
BB xxviii(xxvi),
The Doctor's Opinion
We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these
chronic alcoholics is
a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is
limited to this class and
never occurs in the average temperate drinker.
7.
... believe anything.
12&12 p.26,
Step Two
8.
... believe anything,
or conform to anything?
12&12 p.141,
Tradition Three
Why did we dare to say, contrary to the experience of society
and government everywhere, that we would neither punish nor deprive any A.A. of membership, that we must never compel anyone to pay anything, believe anything, or conform to anything?
9.
... believe as
he believes.
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
10.
... believe have
eventually seen the childishness of ...
BB p.130,
The Family Afterward
Those of us who have spent
much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have eventually seen the childishness of it.
11.
... believe he
is a gravely ill person, ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
Say that you believe he is a gravely ill person, with this qualification -- being
perhaps fatally ill, does he want to get well?
12.
... believe He
would like us to keep ...
BB p.130,
The Family Afterward
We have come to believe He
would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him,
but that our feet ought to be
firmly planted on earth.
13.
... believe himself
an alcoholic, much less accept ...
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
14.
... believe in
a Higher Power, and most ...
12&12 p.28,
Step Two
Relieved of the alcohol
obsession, their lives
unaccountably transformed, they came to
believe in a Higher Power, and most of them began
to talk of God."
15.
... believe in
a Power greater than himself.
BB p.48,
We Agnostics
16.
... believe in
a Power greater than himself ...
BB p.93,
Working With Others
The main thing is that he be
willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles.
17.
... believe in
a Power greater than myself, ...
12&12 p.27,
Step Two
I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I
certainly have that belief now.
18.
... believe in
a Power greater than myself.
BB p.12,
Bill's Story
19.
... believe in
a Power greater than ourselves, ...
BB p.46,
We Agnostics
We found that as soon as we
were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in
a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced
to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to
fully define or comprehend that Power,
which is God.
20.
... believe in
a Power greater than themselves, ...
BB p.50,
We Agnostics
They flatly declare that
since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves,
to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been
a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking.
21.
... believe in
a Spirit of the Universe, ...
BB p.10,
Bill's Story
22.
... believe in
God and defy Him, too.
12&12 p.31,
Step Two
23.
... believe in
God, others can't, and still ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
Some of us won't believe in God, others can't, and still others who do believe that God exists have no faith whatever He will perform this miracle.
24.
... believe in
him.
12&12 p.32,
Step Two
25.
... believe in
it, or because they feel ...
12&12 p.105,
Step Eleven
All this should be very encouraging news for those who recoil from prayer because they don't
believe in it, or because
they feel themselves cut off from God's help and direction.
26.
... believe in
our own reasoning?
BB p.54,
We Agnostics
27.
... believe in
the hopelessness and futility of ...
BB p.25,
There Is A Solution
But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had
come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had
been living it.
28.
... believe in
themselves, and still more in ...
BB xxvii(xxv),
The Doctor's Opinion
They believe in themselves, and still more in the Power which pulls chronic alcoholics back from the gates of death.
29.
... believe in
these things at all.
12&12 p.96,
Step Eleven
30.
... believe it
an illness -- involves those about ...
BB p.18,
There Is A Solution
An illness of this sort --
and we have come to believe it
an illness -- involves
those about us in a way no other human sickness can.
31.
Believe it
or not, wealthy townsfolk bought ...
12&12 p.147,
Tradition Four
32.
... believe it
should be made plain that ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
If you propose such a procedure to him, it may be necessary to advance the
cost of treatment, but we
believe it should be made plain that any expense will later be deducted from his
pay.
33.
... believe it
would be possible for me ...
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
Let him tell you about it: "I
was much impressed with
what you fellows said about
alcoholism, and I frankly did not believe it
would be possible for me to drink again.
34.
... believe, or
am I even willing to ...
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
35.
... believe, or
is willing to believe, we ...
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him
that he is on his way.
36.
... believe than
not to believe, why we ...
BB p.53,
We Agnostics
Hence we are at pains to tell why we think our present faith is reasonable, why we think it more sane and logical to believe than not to
believe, why we say our former thinking was soft and mushy when we threw up our hands in doubt and said, "We don't know."
37.
... believe that
a man-made millennium lies just ...
12&12 p.70,
Step Seven
The immense resources
now being harnessed promise such a quantity of material blessings that
many have come to believe that a man-made millennium lies just ahead.
38.
... believe that
a Power greater than ourselves ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
39.
... believe that
a Power greater than ourselves ...
12&12 p.76,
Step Seven
It is really saying to us
that we now ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings just as we
did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity.
40.
... believe that
a Power greater than ourselves ...
BB p.59,
How It Works
41.
... believe that
alcoholism is entirely a problem ...
BB xxix(xxvii),
The Doctor's Opinion
42.
... believe that
each of us takes part ...
12&12 p.187,
Tradition Twelve
As we lay aside these very human aspirations, we believe
that each of us takes part in the weaving of a protective mantle which
covers our whole Society and under which we
may grow and work in unity.
43.
... believe that
early in our drinking careers ...
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of
us could have stopped drinking.
44.
... believe that
God exists have no faith ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
Some of us won't believe in God, others can't, and still others who do believe that God exists have no faith whatever He will perform this miracle.
45.
... believe that
his brother-executive suffered from a ...
BB p.138,
To Employers
46.
... believe that
I was an alcoholic almost ...
BB p.172,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
Never once in my life have I had a headache,
which fact leads me to believe that I was an alcoholic
almost from the start.
47.
... believe that
if only they'd treat us ...
12&12 p.45,
Step Four
48.
... believe that
it is only by fully ...
BB p.29,
There Is A Solution
Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves
and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, "Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this
thing."
49.
... believe that
managers of large enterprises often ...
BB p.149,
To Employers
50.
... believe that
our adult dreams were often ...
12&12 p.123,
Step Twelve
51.
... believe that
our human intelligence was the ...
BB p.49,
We Agnostics
Instead of regarding
ourselves as intelligent agents, spearheads of God's ever advancing Creation, we agnostics
and atheists chose to
believe that our human intelligence was the last
word, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and end of all.
52.
... believe that
our one-time good characters will ...
12&12 p.45,
Step Four
53.
... believe --
that the body of the alcoholic ...
BB xxvi(xxiv),
The Doctor's Opinion
In this statement he confirms what we who have suffered alcoholic torture must believe -- that the body of the alcoholic is quite as abnormal as his mind.
54.
... believe that
the principle of anonymity has ...
12&12 p.192,
Tradition Twelve (Long)
Twelve -- And finally, we
of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the
principle of anonymity has an immense
spiritual significance.
55.
... believe that
the principle of anonymity has ...
BB p.565(567),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
12. And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous
believe that the principle of anonymity
has an immense spiritual significance.
56.
... believe that
the reader will be interested ...
BB xxv(xxiii),
The Doctor's Opinion
We of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the
reader will be interested in the medical estimate of the plan of recovery described in this book.
57.
... believe, that
there is a Power greater ...
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
58.
... believe that
though I once had the ...
BB p.181,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
I used to get terribly upset when I saw my friends drink and knew I could not, but
I schooled myself to
believe that though I once had the same privilege, I had abused it
so frightfully that it was withdrawn.
59.
... believe that
which he could not do ...
12&12 p.106,
Step Twelve
When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening,
the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources
alone.
60.
... believe --
the belligerent one.
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
61.
... believe, the
best answers that our experience ...
BB p.561(563),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
The "12 Traditions" of Alcoholics Anonymous
are, we A.A.'s believe, the best answers that our experience has yet given to those ever-urgent questions, "How can A.A. best function?" and, "How can
A.A. best stay whole and so survive?"
62.
... believe, the
principle of corporate poverty was ...
12&12 p.165,
Tradition Seven
At that moment, we believe,
the principle of corporate poverty was firmly and finally embedded in A.A. tradition.
63.
... believe there
is no middle-of-the-road solution.
BB p.25,
There Is A Solution
64.
... believe there
isn't a fellowship on earth ...
12&12 p.129,
Tradition One
We believe there isn't a fellowship on earth which
lavishes more devoted care upon its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual's
right to think, talk, and act as he wishes.
65.
... believe they
are in that class.
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going
to believe they are in that class.
66.
... believe they
have it.
BB p.149,
To Employers
67.
... believe this
program can work for me ...
BB xii,
Preface
If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may
pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: "Yes, that happened to me"; or,
more important, "Yes, I've felt like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too."
68.
... believe this
universe needs no God to ...
BB p.49,
We Agnostics
We read wordy books and indulge in windy arguments, thinking we believe this universe needs no God to explain it.
69.
... believe, to
all men.
BB p.46,
We Agnostics
70.
... believe to
be spiritual as well as ...
BB p.45,
We Agnostics
71.
... believe was
the great panacea for all ...
BB p.171,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
Without this proof the expectant purchaser
would be forced to depart
empty handed with none of what I later came to believe was the great panacea for all human ills.
72.
... believe we
can make some definite and ...
BB p.86,
Into Action
73.
... believe, we
emphatically assure him that he ...
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him
that he is on his way.
74.
... believe we
needed this help.
BB p.116,
To Wives
75.
... believe we
will be forgiven and will ...
BB p.70,
How It Works
If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson.
76.
... believe what
they say, so that they ...
12&12 p.67,
Step Six
But how many men and women speak love with their lips, and believe what they say, so that they
can hide lust in a dark corner of their minds?
77.
... believe, why
we say our former thinking ...
BB p.53,
We Agnostics
Hence we are at pains to tell why we think our present faith is reasonable, why we think it more sane and logical to believe than not to
believe, why we say our former thinking was soft and mushy when we threw up our hands in doubt and said, "We don't know."
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
The A.A. Preamble, copyright ©
The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission.
Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or
endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
Copyright © 2005-2012, Recovery Press LLC; All Rights Reserved.