Disciples of Christ Retreat (1971, Santa Barbara, CA)
Description
"All that a man has is his life." This is the central insight explored in the Disciples of Christ Retreat collection. Throughout these lectures, Thurman discusses the dynamics of commitment in religious experience. A person has a life, and that life must be given to something. Thurman describes commitment as life giving itself to life, which summons up energy and meaning into our private worlds, and enabling new possibilities in our outer lives. For Thurman, the process of yielding to God in our deepest place is the source of our freedom, dignity, and our capacity to love.
Contributor
Description by Rodell Jefferson III.
Collection Items
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 1, 1971 July 23
In this first lecture of the Disciples of Christ Retreat collection, Thurman discusses the dynamics of commitment. We are given life, but what is it that we shall give our lives to? Thurman insists that this is a question we all must eventually answer. What we stake our lives on determines the quality of our lives. Thurman says that it takes a great challenge to lift us up from the monotonous ruts we find ourselves in. Commitment to a single end energizes our lives and sparks growth in us. Such…
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 1 (continued), 1971 July 23
In this brief continuation of the first lecture, Thurman continues to talk about a sense of self through a story of his encounter with a crying boy. Investigating to see what was wrong with the boy, Thurman found that the boy was chewing his big toe and was crying because it hurt. He did know it was his own toe. Thurman says that we must grow into awareness and ownership over our bodies, and commitment of one's life is the highest expression of this. And commitment in turn brings meaning and…
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 2, 1971 July 24
Thurman continues his discussion on the dynamics of commitment in this second lecture of the Disciples of Christ Retreat collection. Thurman begins with a number of readings that allude to the ways in which we often find our hearts and minds divided, and how commitment at our very center might bring unity and wholeness to our lives. In resonance with the first lecture, Thurman says that there can be no sense of self if we cannot experience our minds as our own minds. We must have confidence in…
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 2 (continued), 1971 July 24
This is a continuation of the second lecture in the Disciples of Christ Retreat collection. Here, Thurman discusses the possibility of self-deception in religious experience. Even in the private world of the inner life, one must seek out validation. With faith and commitment comes a measure of risk, and thus the mind does not want to be mistaken. Thurman says that pride and arrogance are especially perilous in terms of the movement of the living God. Humility is the proper response to God's…
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 3, 1971 July 24
In this third lecture from the Disciples of Christ Retreat, Thurman discusses the conflict and strife that arises in the dynamics of commitment. To yield our inner authority to God is to give up initiative over our own lives; we belong to God, and not simply our own interests and urges. However, Thurman says, that deep down we know that God might lead us into places we did not plan, and perhaps would not have preferred. Thus, religious experience involves both a yielding of our lives to God, as…
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 3 (continued), 1971 July 24
This is the final few minutes of the third lecture in this collection. Thurman says that commitment must be fed by the "living stuff of my living days," by outer life experiences and encounters, as opposed to solely quiet prayer and meditation. Furthermore, Thurman says that one can fail again and again in their commitments and still find renewal if the commitment is felt to be genuine and of God.
Disciples of Christ Retreat, Lecture 4, 1971 July 25
In this fourth lecture from the Disciples of Christ Retreat, Thurman focuses in on two themes of the inner life. Firstly, one must keep open the door of thy heart, even if other people close their hearts to you. Thurman says that this is our ultimate responsibility, for love can bypass all hate and resistance, and it is impossible to prevent another from loving you. The experience of love is energizing and transformative. Lastly, Thurman loops back to the theme of this collection, "All that a…
Collection Tree
- Disciples of Christ Retreat (1971, Santa Barbara, CA)