Browse Lecture Series (35 total)

In this series, Thurman explores the dynamics of the Inner Life. For Thurman, the Inner Life is the ultimate resource for our outer living. To navigate the inner world is to commune with God in the way that only we can. Through the God of our inner life, we find the supreme source of renewal, approval, and our infinite worth as children of God.

This collection holds four sub-collections that each represent a version of Jesus and the Disinherited from different periods in Thurman's life. The series range in date from 1959 to 1976.[In Progress]

"[Jesus and the Disinherited] is the centerpiece of the Black prophet-mystic's lifelong attemot to bring the harrowing beauty of the African-American experience into deep engagement with what he called 'the religion of Jesus.' Ultimately his goal was to offer this humanizing combination as the basis for an emancipatory way of being, moving toward a fundamentally unchained life that is available to all the women and men everywhere who hunger and thirst for righteousness, especially those 'who…

The Lay-clergy Institute hosted by the First Congregational Church in Longmont, Colorado, is described as "a gift to the community, and provide opportunities to consider, discuss, and act on a wide array of philosophical and social issues." The program is now called the Mind & Soul Series.According to their website, "The First Congregational United Church of Christ has a long history of active social justice and bringing challenging conversations and topics to the forefront in our…

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.

In this series, Thurman explores the dynamics of mysticism through the lives of notable figures throughout history. The mystic's insight is that God is the creator of all of life, and indeed dwells in the human spirit as the deepest thing within a human being, which is always reaching out to touch the deepest in others. Throughout this sermon series, Thurman illustrates the ethical implications of this insight, as well as the discipline necessary to live out mystical religion. Ultimately, "Men…

In this series, Thurman uses the lives of the Apostle Paul, Jesus Christ, and Abraham Lincoln as examples of moments of crisis. He concludes the series with a message on the response of religious communities to the marginalized in society.

[Note: Part 1 of the series is not available]

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…

The Mysticism and Social Action collection is a series of recordings from the Lawrence Lecture at Berkeley Unitarian Church in California in 1978. In this collection, Thurman illustrates different understandings of mysticism and his own childhood mystical experiences. For Thurman, mystical experience is not an endpoint in religious experience, but rather opens up towards involvement in the social world. Thurman's lecture is also followed by a Q&A discussion in which Thurman touches on related…

KNBC was the call sign for NBC's radio broadcast station in San Franscisco from 1947 to 1962."Dr. Thurman, the pastor of San Francisco's intercultural and interracial Fellowship Church, recently inaugurated a weekly program of spiritual "Meditations" on KNBC (Sundays, 10:00 -10:15 a.m., PST)"[Description from NBC Chimes (January 1953) archived in American Radio History]