Dr. Bob and the Sermon on the Mount

The Relevance of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

By Dick B.
© 2010 Anonymous. All rights reserved

Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Dr. Bob (Robert H. Smith, M.D.) frequently spoke to members of the early A.A. Christian Fellowship about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and actually read to them from Matthew, Chapters 5 to 7, of the King James Version of the Bible¹ — which he frequently called the “Good Book.”²

For example:

1. In his last major talk to AAs, at Detroit in 1948, Dr. Bob stated that the A.A. pioneers considered the Book of James, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians to be absolutely essential to the program.³
2. He stressed that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount contained the underlying spiritual philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous.⁴
3. When asked a question about the program, Dr. Bob’s usual response was, “What does it say in the Good Book?” And when asked where the slogan “First Things First” came from, he pointed out that it came from Matthew 6:33 (of the Sermon), “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”⁵
4. When I examined the books in Dr. Bob’s library as well as the lists of those books provided to me by his children, I found that Dr. Bob owned, read, studied, and circulated among early AAs a number of different commentaries on the Sermon on the Mount—The Christ of the Mount, by E. Stanley Jones; Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, by Oswald Chambers; The Sermon on the Mount, by Emmet Fox; Love: The Law of Life, by Toyohiko Kagawa; The Manhood of the Master and The Man From Nazareth, by Harry Emerson Fosdick; I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes and The Lord’s Prayer and Other Talks on Prayer from The Camps Farthest Out, by Glenn Clark; The Life of Jesus Christ, by Rev. James Stalker; The Jesus of History, by T. R. Glover; and Studies of the Man Christ Jesus, by Robert E. Speer.⁶
5. Though I have discussed the Bible devotionals and Quiet Time books elsewhere, the reader will find ample references to Jesus Christ and His sermon in the following devotionals Dr. Bob, his wife Anne, and the A.A. pioneers used—The Runner’s Bible, Upper Room, My Utmost for His Highest, and Daily Strength for Daily Needs.⁷
6. There is a particular account in the A.A. General Service Conference-approved title, DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, about Dr. Bob’s standing with a Bible in his hand and his foot on the rung of a chair and reading to AAs from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.⁸

dickb@dickb.com;
www.dickb.com

Gloria Deo

¹ DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980), 218.
² DR. BOB, 96, 97, 144, 227.
³ The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches Their Last Major Talks (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975), Pamphlet P-53, page 13.
⁴ DR. BOB, 228.
⁵ DR. BOB, 144.
⁶ Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library: A Major A.A. Spiritual Source, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 1998), 29, 30, 35-39, 40-43, 49, 58-70, 82, 88, 93-94.
⁷ Dick B., Dr. Bob and His Library, 31-35.
⁸ DR. BOB, 218,