Browse Items (118 total)

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reflects upon the Thanksgiving season. He lists a litany of feelings, emotions, materials, and states of being that he is thankful for: air to breath, food to eat, shelter, love, etc. He then discerns the way in which humanity may overlook many of the things that humanity should be grateful for: the ability to have food, all that dies in order for us to live, etc. He then concludes this meditation by discerning the ways in which one could…

In this Thanksgiving sermon, Thurman reads from Oswald McCall's The Hand of God, followed by discussions of what it means to be thankful for all the lives that sustain our own lives. He also explores the "vast feeling continuum" from which all our feelings flow and how we should be faithful in our feelings and words, for our lives are not our own.

In this recording within the We Believe series, Howard Thurman reflects upon the negro spiritual, "There is a Balm in Gilead." Rather than echoing the moan of the prophet Jeremiah, this song provides an answer to the prophet's cries. Rather than asking," Is there a balm in Gilead," Thurman notes that the early singers of this spiritual are affirming that there is indeed a balm in Gilead. From Thurman's perspective, this balm is the moral law which rests within all of humanity. Moral law is the…

In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads from James Cane Allen's "The Choir Invisible," in order to reflect upon the ways in which one can come to understand community. He notes that in one's own quest for identity, that relationships can become utilitarian, only being aware of community "at points of relevancy to our purposes." What Thurman is insisting in this recording, is that when one pushes past the superficial boundaries of separateness, that one can find the…

In this recording, Thurman asks whether our lives are canals, reservoirs, or swamps. Lives like canals connect people, movements, and purposes. Reservoirs have inlets and outlets in order to store up resources and provide them to others when needed. Swamps are without outlet, only taking in and becoming stagnant and rotted.

Thurman asks what form our lives take, and suggests that we become reservoirs, finding ways to replenish our resources "so that there will be an outgoing from us to…

Thurman addresses the manifestations of the principle of alternation in life, ranging from the experiences of the individual to changes that affect the world. This alternation requires a “fallow period” from man, as life wanes, and a period of quiet restoration before it prepares to wax again. Thurman explains that this anxiety-inducing ebb is part of a natural, contradictory cycle, and that when man understands that the flow will come again, they can be at peace knowing that the contradictions…

"Thurman roots the idea of American equality in the historical and religious teaching of old Israel. He examines the temple tax as a symbolic tribute to all men being equal in the eyes of God before returning to the Declaration of Independence. He discusses how equality is weighted by each individual based on their understanding of their own worth." Description from Expanding Common Ground, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University

"Thurman examines the Declaration of Independence and the significance of Locke's thinking that government is linked to all people being free and equal. This spiritual equality and liberty help government exist. Freedom means having a sense of alternative to the options in one's life. " Description from Expanding Common Ground, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University

"For Thurman, life, as a natural and universal right, is a combination of the mind and spirit balanced together in the body. He discusses protecting life thru self-defense and the rationalizing that occurs in times of war. He states that the sacrifice of one's own life, done to aid wrongs and help others, ensures spirit and life continue to the next generation. As long as that spirit continues, the soul continues to exist even though physical life ends." Description from Expanding Common…

"Thurman examines the pursuit of happiness. Life is both existence as well as the outreach of our human spirit and values and meanings. This outreach is so important that, in some cases, we may sacrifice our own existence to protect others. Happiness is something everybody wants. Thurman examines the wording of "pursuit of happiness." Note: the recording ends abruptly. " Description from Expanding Common Ground, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University