The Line in the Chapter to the Agnostic That Saved Him – Scott J.

About This Speaker Tape

1976. A twenty-three-year-old snot walks into a room full of old men in double-knit polyester and hideous toupees. Scott J. didn't want what they had; he had a "big fat ego" and a spiritual experience from a priest that he thought was enough. But the obsession returned, moving from criticism to the planning stage of the next drunk. He describes the "bitter morass of self-pity" and the "quicksand" of a life in shambles.

The turning point was a "blue book" and a directive: do what it says, write what it says. He recounts the lineage of sobriety in the Iron Range of Minnesota, where one man with a book could start a movement. For Scott J., the Big Book is an instruction manual, not a philosophy. He warns against sponsoring oneself—calling himself the worst sponsor he ever had—and emphasizes the "physical allergy" and the "great lie." He finds salvation in the agnostic's lifeline: the freedom to choose one's own conception of a Higher Power.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Laughter: Scott J. jokes about his current 'drinking problem' with coffee and water.
• 2:30 Scott discusses the isolated nature of the Iron Range in Minnesota and the rarity of '90 and 90' in the early days.
• 5:15 The story of the 1941 Hibbing, MN group and the power of one man with the Big Book.
• 8:40 Description of the 'double knit polyester' and bad toupees of the old-timers he first encountered.
• 11:20 Discussion of the 'roundup' and meeting old-timers Wesley P. and Paul M.
• 14:10 The 'co-chair' service job and the advice to read the Big Book and 'do what it says.'
• 18:30 The 'do it, do it, do it' philosophy of Tommy G. and the rejection of over-philosophizing the steps.
• 22:10 The 'We of Alcoholics Anonymous' and the necessity of participating in one's own recovery.
• 26:40 The practical use of yellow legal pads for the Fourth Step inventory.
• 31:10 A personal crisis in 2020 and the danger of sponsoring oneself.
• 35:40 Analysis of the 'Doctor's Opinion' and the physical allergy to alcohol.
• 42:10 Reflections on the lineage of sponsorship from Dr. Bob and Bill W. to the present.