Oxford Group

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The Oxford Group was a Christian organization founded by American Christian missionary Dr. Frank Buchman. Buchman was an American Lutheran minister of Swiss descent who, in 1908, had a conversion experience in a chapel in Keswick, England and as a result of that experience he would later found a movement called A First Century Christian Fellowship in 1921, which eventually became known as the Oxford Group by 1931. ^[1] In 1938 Buchman proclaimed a need for "moral re-armament" and that phrase became the movement's new name.

The Oxford Group enjoyed wide popularity and success, particularly in the 1930s. However, it became very controversial and there was much criticism of its tactics, after the movement became known as Moral Re-Armament.

Contents 1 God Control 2 The Name Oxford Group 3 Not a Religion 3.1 The Four Absolutes 3.2 Oxford Group Spiritual Practices 3.3 Guidance 3.4 Sharing 3.5 Five C's and Five Procedures 3.6 Some Slogans 4 Carl Jung on the Oxford Group 5 Oxford Group and Nazi Socialism 6 Exemption from Military Service 7 Informal Group Survey 1943 8 Past Members Comment on the Oxford Group 9 Recruiting Tactics 10 Oxford Group Literature 11 Published Literature Critical of the Oxford Group 12 Moral Re-Armament 12.1 Decline of The Group 12.2 After the Death of Buchman 13 Influences 14 Oxford Group a program for alcoholism 15 Confusion with Oxford Movement 16 References 17 External links

[edit] God Control

In various speeches given by Frank Buchman the Groups Secret and Purpose were detailed :^[2]

• The secret is God Control. The only sane people in an insane world are those controlled by God. God-controlled personalities make God-controlled nationalities. This is the aim of the Oxford Group. The true patriot gives his life to bring his nation under God's control. Those people who oppose that control are public enemies...World peace will only come through nations which have achieved God-control. And everybody can listen to God. You can . I can. Everybody can have a part.

• There are those who feel that internationalism is not enough. Nationalism can unite a nation. Supernationalism can unite a world. God-controlled supernationalism seems to be the only sure foundation for world peace!"^[3]

• I challenge Denmark to be a miracle among the nations, her national policy dictated by God, her national defense the respect and gratitude of her neighbors, her national armament an army of life-changers. Denmark can demonstrate to the nations that spiritual power is the first force in the world. The true patriot gives his life to bring about his country's resurrection. All those who oppose God's control are public enemies!"^[4]

[edit] The Name Oxford Group

The Name "Oxford Group" originated in South Africa in 1929, as a result of a railway porter writing the name on the windows of those compartments reserved by a travelling team of Frank Buchman followers. They were from Oxford and in South Africa to promote the religious movement. The South African press picked up on the name and it stuck.^[5]

Even though in 1938 Buchman chose to rename the Group and call it Moral Re-Armament, in June 1939, he applied to the Board of Trade in London to incorporate the name Oxford Group. The Oxford Group was considered legally non existent in an earlier court ruling and Buchman could not collect a 500 English Pound inheritance left to the group by a member. The use of the name Oxford by Buchman brought opposition from Oxford University. ^[6] The application also met opposition in the British House of Commons as opponents claimed Buchman was trying to capitalize on the name of Oxford, however the application was eventually approved. ^[7]

[edit] Not a Religion

The Oxford group literature defines the group as not being a religion, for it had "no hierarchy, no temples, no endowments, its workers no salaries, no plans but God's plan." They were simply "Holy Crusaders in modern dress" whose chief aim was "A new world order for Christ, the King."^[8] In fact one could not belong to the Oxford group for it had no membership list, badges, or definite location. It was simply a group of people from all walks of life who have surrendered their life to God. Their endeavor was to lead a spiritual life under God's Guidance and their purpose was to carry their message so others could do the same.

The group was more like a religious revolution, unhampered by institutional ties, it combined social activities with religion, it had no organized board of officers. The Group declared itself to be not an ""organization" but an "organism." Though Frank Buchman was the group's founder and leader, group members believed their true leader to be the Holy spirit and relied on God Control, meaning guidance received from God by those people who had fully "surrendered" to Gods will.^[9] By working within all the churches, regardless of denomination, they drew new members.^[10] A newspaper account in 1933 described it as "personal evangelism--one man talking to another or one woman discussing her problems with another woman was the order of the day". ^[11] In 1936, Good Housekeeping described the Group having no membership, no dues, no paid leaders, no new theological creed, nor regular meetings, it is simply a fellowship of people who desire to follow a way of life, a determination not a denomination.^[12]

[edit] The Four Absolutes

Absolute Honesty, Absolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, and Absolute Love, were the keys to a spiritual life. True happiness was defined as a life without sin. Individual self interest was viewed as one of the major causes of most of the world's sin. It was the surrender of the individual's ego to God that removes the sin. In Oxford terms sin: "anything that kept one from God or one another", "a disease of consequences" and "as contagious as any bodily disease". Like a disease "sin needs an antiseptic to keep it from spreading". "The soul needs cleaning " ...We all know ‘nice’ sinless sinners who need that surgical spiritual operation as keenly as the most miserable. sinner of us all.^[13] hence the need for Soul Surgery.

[edit] Oxford Group Spiritual Practices

To be spiritually reborn and live in a state of grace, The Oxford group advocated four practices set out below:^[14] 1. The sharing or our sins and temptations with another Christian life given to God, and to use Sharing as Witness, to help others, still unchanged, to recognize and acknowledge their sins. 2. Surrender our life past, present and future, into God's keeping and direction. 3. Restitution to all whom we have wronged directly or indirectly. 4. Listening to and requiring God's Guidance, and carrying it out in everything we do and say, great or small.

[edit] Guidance

The central practice to the Oxford/MRA members was Guidance, which was usually sought in the quiet time of early morning using pen and paper. The grouper would lay on a bed and write down whatever thoughts entered his mind, they could be a recent event to an early childhood memory, each thought could be construed as a message from God. Guidance was also sought collectively from groupers when they formed teams. As a group they would seek guidance with each individual writing down in his guidance book whatever thought came to mind. For example, when determining a plan for a nightly meeting they would sit in a semi-circle, write down their thoughts and check with each other to determine agreement on a particular subject such as sin or intrigue. The process called checking was important to reach group consensus. Guidance on a particular subject went without question when the majority were in agreement. Guidance could be taken to extreme and lead to inconsiderate behavior by the groupers.

Examples of guidance being obtained in every day life: the cook for a large Oxford group gathering told reporters that the menu was planned by God, another individual at a group gathering, who despite being a proud Englishmen, was guided by God to completely surrender his national pride, and hoist the Stars and Stripes. ^[15] At another event a woman noticed a bad smell possibly from the drains, Buchman reacted to her remark pointing out it was negative, it caused the woman to seek guidance, and when it came she realized that she must "never make negative remarks".^[16]Elsie Janis in a letter sent to a newspaper, thought of God in Military Terms , she described him as A Commander in Chief , issuing his orders from General Headquarters , she followed by giving away an amount of her assests to charity.^[17]

Buchman sent one member of the group a wire announcing that he had received "guidance" that the member should bring John D. Rockefeller III to New York to have a chat with Queen Marie of Rumania. The member wired back that this might be Frank Buchman's guidance but it was not his, the member decided to leave The Group and work for a regular church. ^[18]

Criticism of this practice came from different leaders within many church denominations, for example Rt. Rev. M. J. Browne, Bishop of Galloway wrote: "Groupists actually speak of "listening -in" to the Holy Ghost: whenever they run up against a difficulty they stop for guidance. Such an idea of God is crudely anthropomorphic, derogatory to God's honour, and contrary to natural morality....Guidance as understood by the Groups encourages all kinds of illusions, it undermines the sense of personal moral responsibility, it leads to fanaticism."^[19]

[edit] Sharing

In the Oxford group, sharing was considered a necessity, it allowed one to be healed, therefore it was also a blessing to share. This was done by sharing ones sins to an already surrendered or changed person and by sharing for witness in a group meeting. ^[20]Sharing was a tactic that not only brought relief by the unburdening of ones sins but also it led others towards a surrender to God. The Buchmanites believed honest sharing of past sins induced new people to tell the truth about themselves. Sharing built trust. The message one brings to others by speaking of ones own sins, ones own experiences, the power of God in guiding ones life would bring hope to others. But hope was not enough, the Sharer must convince the others by showing concrete proof that a spiritually changed life gives strength to overcome life’s difficulties and it must be done with total conviction for "Half measures are will be as fruitless as no measures."^[21]

In the Anglican Church Assembly report on the examination of the Oxford/MRA group, there was concern over the practice of sharing in open meetings in that there was no assurance that what a person revealed would be held secret. They also acknowledged that in process of sharing or conducting the semi-public witness , that in meeting after meeting, many of the Changed ones would exhibit much pride in relating details of their most gruesome sins. They would also go into great detail over some of the most trifling childhood misdemeanors. From this they again with pride, they would undertake the practice of spiritual self advertisement by the reiteration in their testimony to the miracles of change they experienced when they began to live under Guidance and by adhering to the Four Absolutes, the practices of the Oxford Group. ^[22]

Time Magazine, sharing was noted as a tactic to persuade others: The first public confession can be stirring, but the tenth is likely to strike one as the same old thing And the fatal suspicion arises that confessions are made not through humility but to persuade. They sound a little too much coached, perfected to the point where they seem artificial...^[23]

Others found public confession disturbing. Beverley Nichols stated ""And all that business about telling one's sins in public.... It is spiritual nudism!" ^[24] Margaret Rawlings, an actress, stood up at a 2000 member Group gathering and said, "this public exposure of the soul, this psychic exhibitionism, with its natural accompaniment of sensual satisfaction', was 'as shocking, indecent and indelicate as it would be if a man took all his clothes off in Piccadilly Circus".^[25]The act of Public Confessions, brought criticism from outsiders who believed the Group had an undue interest in sex.^[26]

[edit] Five C's and Five Procedures

The five C's. Confidence, Confession, Conviction, Conversion, and Continuance was the process of life changing undertaken by the life changer. Confidence, the new person had to have confidence in you and know you would keep his secrets. Confession, honesty about the real state of a persons life. Conviction, the seriousness of his sin and the need to free of it. Conversion, the process had to be the persons own free will in the decision to surrender to God. Continuance, you were responsible as a life changer to help the new person become all that God wanted him to be. Only God could change a person and the work of the life changer had to be done under God's direction.^[27]

The Five Procedures: giving in to God, listening to God's direction, checking guidance, making restitution, and sharing for witness.^[28] The Oxford Group promoted a belief in divine guidance, in that one should wait for God to give direction in every aspect of life and surrender to that advice. The group used the terms "Higher Power" and "God" interchangeably ^[29][30]

[edit] Some Slogans

Most were coined through Buchmans quiet time , he knew slogans would catch attention, be more easily remembered and more readily repeated. They provided simple answers to problems people face in themselves and others. A few are listed below ^[31]

• Pray: stands for Powerful Radiograms Always Yours
• Constipated Christians
• Come clean
• Every man a force, not a field
• Interesting sinners make compelling saints
• When a man listens God speaks
• A spiritual radiophone in every home
• Sin blinds sin binds
• World changing through life-changing

[edit] Carl Jung on the Oxford Group

Carl Jung on the matter of an individual and his involvement in the Oxford Group:

"My attitude to these matters is that, as long as a patient is really a member of a church, he ought to be serious. He ought to be really and sincerely a member of that church, and he should not go to a doctor to get his conflicts settled when he believes that he should do it with God. For instance, when a member of the Oxford Group comes to me in order to get treatment, I say, "You are in the Oxford Group; so long as you are there, you settle your affair with the Oxford Group. I can't do it better than Jesus." ^[32]

"I will tell you a story of such a case. A hysterical alcoholic was cured by this Group movement, and they used him as a sort of model and sent him all round Europe, where he confessed so nicely and said that he had done wrong and how he had got cured through the Group movement. And when he had repeated his story twenty, or it may have been fifty, times, he got sick of it and took to drink again. The spiritual sensation had simply faded away. Now what are they going to do with him? They say, now he is pathological, he must go to a doctor. See, in the first stage he has been cured by Jesus, in the second by a doctor! I should and did refuse such a case. I sent the man back to these people and said, "If you believe that Jesus has cured this man, he will do it a second time. And if he can't do it, you don't suppose that I can do it better than Jesus?" But that is just exactly what they do expect; when a man is pathological, Jesus won't help him but the doctor will."^[33]

[edit] Oxford Group and Nazi Socialism

Frank Buchman and his friend Moni von Cramon , A German member of Oxford Group, were the invited guests of Heinrich Himmler for the Nazi Party Nuremberg rallies in 1934 and again in 1935. They were known to meet with Himmler at a social gatherings where they would discuss religion and politics. Due to his background , Buchman was fluent in German. Buchman commented on Himler being a great lad, and Hitler being quite helpful to the Group^[34][35] In August 1936, Frank Buchman was again Himmler's guest at the Berlin Olympic Games^[36]

Upon his return to the U.S., Frank Buchman gave an interview for the New York World Telegram in August 26th, 1936 stating his view on Hitler and Nazi Socialism, an interview he would come to regret.

"I thank Heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism, " he said today in his book-lined office in the annex of Calvary Church, Fourth Ave and 21st St. My barber in London told me Hitler Nazis do Anti-Semitism? Bad, naturally. I suppose Hitler sees a Karl Marx in every Jew. But think what it would mean to the world if Hitler surrendered to the control of God. Or Mussolini. Or any dictator. Through such a man God could control a nation overnight and solve every last, bewildering problem." The world needs the dictatorship of the living spirit of God. I like to put it this way. God is a perpetual broadcasting station and all you need to do is tune in. What we need is a supernatural network of live wires across the world to every last man, in every last place, in every last situation... "The world won't listen to God but God has a plan for every person, for every nation. Human ingenuity is not enough. That is why the isms are pitted against each other and blood falls. "... Human problems aren't economic. They're moral and they can't be solved by immoral measures. They could be solved within a God-controlled democracy, or perhaps I should say a theocracy, and they could be solved through a God-controlled Fascist dictatorship." ^[37]

In 1938, after another Nuremberg rally and the Anschluss members of The Oxford Group telephoned both Diana Mosley and her sister Unity Mitford, who were in Munich at the time attending the celebrations. The Oxford members requested an invitation and introduction to Adolf Hitler, for the purpose of "changing" him . The request was refused by both Unity and Diana. Later that same evening Oxford Group members phoned Unity's father Lord Redesdale who was also visiting Munich, making the same request. His reply was “ no damn it , I like the feller the way he is.”^[38]During that same time period, Journalist Robert Byron, noted in his diary that Himmler doted on the Oxford Group writing to their English members. ^[39]

[edit] Exemption from Military Service

In October 1941, British Labor Minister Ernest Bevin argued against the Oxford Group request for exemption from doing military service and won the debate. He told the House, that the Group was the only religious organization that had tried to claim an exemption. Bevin disliked the Group for its recruitment of the wealthy and influential in society and an implied linkage the much earlier and great Oxford Movements led by John Wesley and Cardinal Newman. ^[40]

[edit] Informal Group Survey 1943

Walter H. Clark, a master at the Lenox School in Lenox, Mass.,in doing his thesis on Buchmanism produced some findings from a questionnaire he submitted to 92 men and women who had been involved with the Oxford group for 18 years previous.

Findings:

• Only 12 % were still active in the group. * Medium income was $5000- $10000 {53,000 -$100,000 in 2003 dollars } with 28% earning over $10,000 {$100,000 in 2003 dollars}^[41] Buchman aimed at the up and outs * 45% said the group did not benefit them intellectually 7% said it did.

• People who stayed and people who left said the main benefit was emotional release, however many felt it was an emotional spree which left them distrustful of all religions.^[42]

[edit] Past Members Comment on the Oxford Group

Beverley Nichols reflection after leaving the Oxford group was He was not impressed with Frank Buchman whom he described as "slick and starched and glossy" but said that he had fallen for the groupers tactics of confessing their sins to one another. ....."In Oxford Group I wanted to drag people to church by the scruff of their necks” ^[43] Nichols having tried smart fiction, pacifism and horticulture had eventually turned to the Oxford Group and the purpose of his book ‘’ A Fool Hath Said ‘’ at that time was " to get as many people as possible to share with me the excitement of living Christianity." ^[44]

Tom Driberg a Daily Express columnist (pen name: William Hickey) and Minister Of Parliament , another member who had left, made his personal views known in the House of Commons by stating Buchman was nothing but a "soapy racketeer who never repudiated his admiration for Hitler and Himmler.". Buchmans preoccupation with "key men" was what made Hitler desirable. ^[45]

In 2004, James Houck was 98 years old at the time of the interview has made it his mission to bring Oxford group teachings to recovering alcoholics. On Dec 11, 1934 Houck joined the Oxford group and became sober on Dec. 12th, a day after Bill Wilson, also known as Bill W. whom Houck befriended. He is the only living person to have attended Oxford Group meetings with Wilson, who died in 1971. Houck wants to restore the old methods the Oxford Group used through a program called Back to Basics , in particular its spiritual aspects, which he believes are stronger and more effective than the ones currently practiced in Alcoholics Anonymous.^[46]

[edit] Recruiting Tactics

The Oxford Group's massive growth between 1920 to the 1930s could be attributed to the tactics and methods they employed to draw new followers. After 1930 a number of religious organizations adopted these strategies, now referred to as spiritual retreats as well as the practice of individuals in open meetings sharing their conversion experiences.^[47] The first House Party began in China in 1918, this was to become a recognized Oxford Group technique. By the summer of 1930 the first International House Party was held at Oxford , followed by another the next year attended by 700 hundred people. By 1934 the International House Party had grown and was attended by representatives from 40 nations, and by 1935 meeting it had grown and was attended by 50 nations, to the total of 10,000 representatives. The 1936 meeting at Birmingham drew 15,000 people and The First National Assembly held in Massachusetts drew almost 10,000 people^[48]

• The Oxford group employed teamwork, the people who were considered "changed" or "surrendered " were considered part of the whole team. Team guidance led to the selection of smaller units, to direct house parties, handle publicity, issue publications, manage bookstands, organize parades and to conduct witness. Guidance came from God, by either the team or the individual, and guidance received was "checked with the team" before being put into action.^[49]
• There were teams that traveled, many house parties featured out-of-town people who came to the party to relate their experiences in the "Group Way of Life". Teams traveled first class and stayed in the best hotels. They tried to include celebrities on traveling teams. A member of the group was not allowed to appear alone to represent the group. Attendance was by printed invitation and sent by people active in the group. In most cases the invitation would mention that prominent people would be present. Invitations were also sent to "key people” in the *community.^[50]
• House parties were held in a variety of locations: a wealthy home, at a fashionable hotel, inn, or summer resort, as well as outdoor camps, and at times held in less fashionable locations such as a college dorm. House parties were held from a weekend up to two weeks. A house party team would meet in advance for training and preparation. The teams would remain throughout the meetings and handle a number of details. Oxford Group literature was on display.^[51]
• Meetings followed no formal agenda and were not like church meetings as singing and public prayer were absent. Time was devoted to talks by the team members on subjects such as sin, surrender, quiet time, the four absolutes , guidance, and intelligent witness.
• In most meetings personal sharing of experience was undertaken by a team of up to 12 or more people. The informal spirit was to set the guests at ease and allow for psychological barriers to fall. After a day or two many guests would feel uncomfortable and to release the discomfort would be encouraged by Group workers to undergo the "surrender experience". ^[52]

[edit] Oxford Group Literature

Some of the Oxford Group literature is available online see references. For Sinners Only by Arthur James Russell was characterized as the Oxford Group "bible." {^[53] Soul Surgery By H. A. Walter,^[54] What is the Oxford Group by Layman with a Notebook^[55], and Eight Points of the Oxford Group by C. Irving Benson.^[56]

For Alcoholics there were three autobiographies by Oxford members who were active alcoholics which were published in the 1930s. These books provided accounts of the alcoholics failed attempts to make their lives meaningful until, as a result of their Oxford membership , they found a transformation in their lives and sobriety through surrendering to God. The stories contained in Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book , are very similar in style to these much earlier works. ^[57] The Books were The Big Bender, Life Began Yesterday and I Was Pagan by V.C. Kitchen.^[58]

[edit] Published Literature Critical of the Oxford Group

In 1934 Marjorie Harrison, an Episcopal Church member, published a book Saints Run Mad, that challenged the Group , its leader and their practices. {Note Book is online}^[59]

Theoglogian Reinhold Niebuhr criticized Buchmans philosophy and pursuit of the wealthly and powerful. "The idea is that if the man of power can be converted, God will be able to control a larger area of human life through his power than if a little man were converted. This is the logic which has filled the Buchmanites with touching solicitude for the souls of such men as Henry Ford or Harvey Firestone and prompted them to whisper confidentially from time to time that these men were on the very threshold of the kingdom of God. It is this strategy which prompts or justifies the first-class travel of all the Oxford teams. They hope to make contact with big men in the luxurious first-class quarters of ocean liners. ^[60]

Walter Houston Clark, in his book, The Oxford Group: Its History and Significance writes of the Buchmanites living off the wealthy: "A small minority of the specially dedicated among the Group, led by the example of Buchman himself, "live on faith" by which is meant that they rely on God to guide others to take care of their material needs. There has been some criticism of the Group on account of this, and there is even occasionally heard the suggestion that it is a kind of money-making racket. ... Also there are some evangelists who could not travel in the sumptuous fashion that characterizes the trips of Dr. Buchman without a twinge of conscience. However, that gentleman apparently never questions the propriety of lavish expenditures when the money is there and the cause is a good one. Living on faith has not always been an easy adventure, and he has known what it means not to know from whence his next meal was coming; but he has always been sure that "where God guides, He provides," and that "good Christians and good living go together." ^[61]

Geoffrey Williamson in his book Inside Buchmanism faulted the organization for its lack of Charity. "The whole movement is supported by charitable gifts. But when I asked at headquarters whether it dispensed any charity, the reply was a frank and emphatic: "No." No matter how sincere the followers of Buchmanism may be, no matter how zealously they may work for the cause; no matter how honest their beliefs, I cannot understand how they can possibly justify their actions simply by saying: "Where God guides, He provides." I dislike their forced heartiness and the way in which they fawn upon the wealthy and the titled. I dislike their flattery and the way they pander to snobbish instincts. They may possibly claim that they are only exploiting human failings in others to bring people to their meetings. It still revolts me. '^[62]

Polish author Rom Landau in his appraisal of nine cultist credited Frank Buchman with being "the most successful and shrewdest revivalist of our time." Landau found Buchman's movement theologically frivolous. He criticized the Oxford Group's practice of suppressing or "sublimating" the sex impulse and stated with much sarcasm the "Five 'sublimated' Arabs, Italians or Frenchmen, would prove the efficacy of Buchman's sex methods more convincingly than 500 English undergraduates." ^[63][64]

[edit] Moral Re-Armament

Main article: Moral Re-Armament

Prior to World War II, the Group changed its name to Moral Re-Armament (MRA) and believed that divine guidance would prevent war from breaking out.^{[citation needed]} Daphne du Maurier's Come Wind, Come Weather recounted inspirational stories derived from Group experiences during the early years of WWII.

In the post war years Moral Re-Armament (MRA) as it then became called, widened its activities to provide "an ideology for democracy" in the struggle against Communism.^[65]The movement underwent a change of image and emphasis from Christian evangelism to that of a political ideology.^[66][67] In 2001, Moral Re-Armament became Initiatives of Change.

[edit] Decline of The Group

Rev.Sam Shoemaker ousted the Oxford Group (now called MRA) from his New York Parish in November 1941,. The group lost its headquarters in the U.S. and most strong supporter. Shoemaker believed that Buchman had strayed from his principals where "Buchmanism" was meant to make Baptists better Baptists , Catholics better Catholics. He believed Buchman wanted to start a sect.^[68]

Sir Patrick Joseph Henry Hannon a Member of British Parliament and at one time a Group supporter faulted the "Buchmanites" for making claim that they settled three impending work stoppages in the Midlands by promoting the groups principles on management and labor. Sir Patrick's investigations found the trouble had been cured by pay raises plus better working hours.^[69]

It became very controversial and there was much criticism of its tactics. Reinhold Niebuhr called the movement "socially vicious" and "religiously vapid,". The Church of England's Social and Industrial Council condemned M.R.A.'s practices as a means of avoiding responsible living.^[70]The Catholic Church advised its members against afflialiating themselves with the Group. ^[71]

Regardless M.R.A. did prosper and flourish. For a U.S. headquarters, it built a multi-million dollar establishment on Michigan's Mackinac Island, with room for 1,000 visitors. From Caux, Switzerland to London's Berkeley Square to New York's Westchester County, Buchman and his followers had only the best and never did without, this brought criticism to the Group but Buchman's response would be "Isn't God a millionaire?" ^[72]

[edit] After the Death of Buchman

After Buchmans death in 1961, Peter Howard was Buchman's successor and under his rule the group opened a center in Odawara, Japan. He was a political columnist and at one time was a follower of Sir Oswald Mosely and his British Union of Fascists party. He had been assigned to write some pieces about M.R.A. and ended up joining it. The royalties from his writing, $1,120,000 went to the cause. People, at this time , still attended M.R.A.'s rallies at its lavish headquarters at Caux, Switzerland, and Mackinac Island, Michigan; in 1962

Peter Howard warned Britain's Prime Minister Harold Wilson against "satirists and cynics" who "debase our ancient virtue and push pornography and godlessness down the national gullet." The M.R.A. crusade in Holland featured big newspaper ads, written by Howard, condemning the spread of homosexuality ("It can be cured"). ^[73]

In 1965, Up with People was founded by members, and with the support, of Moral Re-Armament. In 2001, Moral Re-Armament became Initiatives of Change.

[edit] Influences

Because of its influence on the lives of several highly prominent individuals, the Group attracted highly visible members of society, including members of the British Parliament and other European leaders^[74] and such prominent Americans as the Firestone family, founders of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Ohio.^[75] Though sometimes controversial (the Group attracted opposition from the Roman Catholic Church^[76]), the Group grew into a well-known, informal and international network of people by the 1930s. The London newspaper editor Arthur J. Russell joined the Group after attending a meeting in 1931.^{[citation needed]} He wrote For Sinners Only in 1932, which inspired the writers of God Calling.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Oxford Group a program for alcoholism

Akron, Ohio, Jim Newton an Oxford Group member found that one of Firestone's sons was a serious alcoholic. He took him first to a drying-out clinic and then on to an Oxford Group conference in Denver. The young man gave his life to God, and thereafter enjoyed extended periods of sobriety. The family doctor called it a ‘medical miracle’.

Firestone Senior was so grateful that, in January 1933, he invited Buchman and a team of sixty to conduct a ten-day campaign in Akron. They left behind them a strong functioning group which met each week in the house of T. Henry Williams. Among them were an Akron surgeon, Bob Smith, and his wife Anne. Bob was a secret drinker.^[77]

Rowland Hazard, claimed that is was Carl Jung who caused him to seek a spiritual solution to his alcoholism, which led to Rowland joining the Oxford group. He in in turn introduced a friend of a friend by the name of Ebby Thacher to the Oxford group as a means of dealing with his alcoholism who in turn introduced another Alcoholic by the name of Bill Wilson to the Oxford group.^[78]

Reverand Sam Shoemaker ran the Calvary Rescue Mission that catered mainly to saving down and outs and drunks. Sam Shoemaker taught the concept of God being that of ones understanding to the new iniatates. ^[79]

The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, William G. ("Bill W.") Wilson and Dr. Robert H. ("Dr. Bob") Smith, were initially Oxford members and derived many AA principles from it.^[80] Wilson stated: "The early AA got its ideas of self-examintation, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Group and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else."

Wilson described his first encounter with the Oxford Group at Shoemakers Calvary Rescue Mission as such: "Penitents started marching forward to the rail. Unaccountably impelled, I started too ... Soon, I knelt among the sweating, stinking penitents. ... Afterward, Ebby ... told me with relief that I had done all right and had given my life to God."^[81] Bills spiritual awakening took place a few days later, at Towns Hospital where he had been readmitted for the fourth time, it was as he underwent a cure that utilized a number of drugs including [[Belladonna] that he had a revelation what he would describe as the seeing of a great white light.^[82]

Later while visiting Akron , Bill realized he order to remain sober he needed another alcoholic to work on. Oxford Group members put him in touch with Bob Smith who was struggling with drinking. After that initial meeting Bob and Bill set out to cure other alcoholics, utilizing the Oxford methods. Dr. Bob and other members of the Akron team would arrange ongoing visits with problem drinkers giving both spirtual guidance plus a set of dietary instructions. Bill Wilson ran meetings in New York exclusively focusing on alcholics, this brought criticism from other Oxford members and eventually Wilson and his alcoholics were asked to leave the Oxford Group. Though the alcoholics that belonged to the Akron Group received much support, it was with much sadness that they separated two years later as a show of support for the New York group. These two groups went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous.^[83]

For more details on this topic, see articles on Alcoholics Anonymous and the History of AA.

[edit] Confusion with Oxford Movement

The Oxford Group is occasionally confused with the Oxford Movement, an effort that began in the 19th century Anglican Church to encourage High Church practice and demonstrate the Church's apostolic heritage. Though both had an association with members and students of the University of Oxford at different times, the Oxford Group and the Oxford Movement were unrelated.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Frank N.D. Buchman at "An Illustrated Alcoholics Anonymous Bibliography"