Big Book Study - Post #14
Jim K
Good
morning!
***Here's a good exercise for Chapter 4. Read through and count how many times the word "prejudice" in its various forms appears. Also count synonyms such as "preconceived ideas" etc. You'll be surprised to see how often we are asked to lay aside prejudice
against spiritual concepts in this chapter.***
We are at page 46. The first full paragraph here speaks of openmindedness:
"Yes, we of agnostic temperament
have had these thoughts and experiences. Let us make haste to reassure you. 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."
Reading through to the top of page 47, we see the important idea expressed again:
"When, therefore, we speak
to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. This applies, too, to other spiritual expressions which you find in this book. Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At
the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which then seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth, but if we wished
to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own conception, however limited it was."
In paragraph 2, we find another reference to the spiritual structure we are building:
"It has been repeatedly
proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built."
The
"cornerstone"
is belief, and on page 12 we found that "complete
willingness" is our foundation.
All that is important will rest on the foundation and the entire structure is squared up from this cornerstone. More elements of this spiritual structure will be revealed throughout the text.
In the following paragraph we see that belief comes before faith: "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
(indicating knowledge)
which seemed difficult
to believe."
So we begin with a belief, and it
is through the knowledge that supports this belief that we begin to have faith.
Have a great day!
Jim K. - The
Into Action Group of Manhattan
6:30pm Wednesdays at St. Francis
De Sales Church
135 East 96th Street (Near Lexington
Avenue)
On Manhattan's Upper East Side
Weekend retreats with Jim: http://www.spiritualawakeningsretreats.com
The Wilson House – The Birthplace of Bill Wilson - Weekend Retreats and Workshops -http://www.wilsonhouse.org/