2-21 (page 48, lines 7-13) “ . . . Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon become as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Sometimes this was a tedious process we hope no one else will be prejudiced for as long as some of us were.” (A.A., p. 48, lines In the third paragraph on page 52, the authors make a powerful case for the existence of God: 2-22 (page 52, para. 3, lines 1-4) “When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God. Our ideas did notwork. But the God idea did.” (A.A., p. 52, para. 3, lines Once again we need to make a decision. We have to decide whether or not we believe in a Power greater than human power ab Spirit of the Universe”—a God of our understanding. In the second paragraph on page 53, the Big Book authors write: 10