Browse Lecture Series (36 total)

The following lecture series are available in full or part. Additional series will be made available as recordings are processed. Please note that many recordings are not part of series. To browse all recordings, click here.

Moment of Truth (1958, Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Boston, MA)

In this series, Thurman discusses the solitary nature of the moment of truth. These moments that illuminate our lives and change the course of our realities are moments that must be experienced in solitude through our own eyes. Experiencing firsthand the light that shines into our darkness has the power to do what external pressure and punishment cannot. Ever-present in our moments of truth is revelation, conviction, and decision that guides our responses.

He also discusses the moment of…

Contributors: Descriptions by ShaCarolyn Halyard

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Featured Thurman Recordings

This collection highlights individual lectures, sermons, interviews, prayers, and meditations given by Howard Thurman throughout his professional career.

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The Temptations of Jesus (1962, United Church of Canada, London, ON, Canada)

Howard Thurman’s “The Temptations of Jesus” is a five-part sermon series concerned with how the spiritual attitude orients human encounters with dilemmas. In these presentations, Thurman reflects upon the biblical record of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness – bread, tempting God, and power – his decision to travel to Jerusalem, and his contemplation of death in the Garden of Gethsemane. This series shows that choosing divine purpose over egotism requires aligning with the will of God by…

Contributors: Descriptions by ShaCarolyn Halyard

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Quests of the Human Spirit (1962, Marsh Chapel, Boston University, Boston, MA)

”Quests for the Human Spirit” is an eleven-part lecture series focused on the creative process of self-actualization. Thurman shows how this process centers and affirms a person’s purpose in life. Discussing pursuits like freedom, stability, values, identity, and integrity, he illuminates the importance of questing in identity formation.

Contributors: Descriptions by Dr. Tim Rainey

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Man and Social Change Series (1969, California State College, Long Beach, CA)

In the three lectures comprising this series, Thurman discusses the effects of personal experience on social change. He illuminates points regarding individual freedom, the expression of togetherness in community, and nonviolence as the individual’s attempt to broaden one’s circle of concern.

Contributors: Descriptions by Dr. Tim Rainey

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Dilemmas of the Religious Professional, Hester Lecture Series (1971, Golden Gate Seminary, Strawberry, CA)

“Dilemmas of the Religious Professional” is a four-part lecture series by Howard Thurman focused on the religious professional who is distinguished by a sense of divine calling and unique challenges. The lectures address the uniqueness, duties, prayers, and words of persons elected into religious professions.

Contributors: Descriptions by Dr. Tim Rainey

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