"faith" in the Big Book

Few people really are, for that means blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere.

Faith without works was dead, he said.

Then faith would be dead indeed.

Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.

We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired.

with the thought that faith and dependence upon a Power beyond ourselves was somewhat weak, even cowardly.

It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built.* 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.

But I cannot accept as surely true the many articles of faith which are so plain to him.’’ So it was comforting to learn that we could commence at a simpler level.

Besides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, * Please be sure to read Appendix II on “Spiritual Experience.”

People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.

When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.

The Wright brothers’ almost childish faith that they could build a machine which would fly was the mainspring of their accomplishment.

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.’’ When we became alcoholics, crushed by a selfimposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing.

Arrived at this point, we were squarely confronted with the question of faith.

Some of us had already walked far over the Bridge of Reason toward the desired shore of faith.

Without knowing it, had we not been brought to where we stood by a certain kind of faith?

What was that but a sort of faith?

So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time!

It was impossible to say we had no capacity for faith, or love, or worship.

In one form or another we had been living by faith and little else.

Imagine life without faith!

For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.

We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend.

The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage.

All men of faith have courage.

In this book you read again and again that faith did

Now we need more action, without which we find that “Faith without works is dead.’’ Let’s look at Steps Eight and Nine.

“Faith without works is dead.’’ The next chapter is entirely devoted to Step Twelve.

He may be an example of the truth that faith alone is insufficient.

To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.

Admit that he probably knows more about it than you do, but call to his attention the fact that however deep his faith and knowledge, he could not have applied it or he would not drink.

particular faith or denomination.

The faith and sincerity of both you and your husband will be put to the test.