Browse Items (118 total)

In this 1954 sermon, Thurman takes on the topic of commitment. Every expression of life is ordered around some structure or design, and Thurman reasons that human life is no different. To be committed is to put the demands of one purpose above all else, which in turns put all the resources of the universe at the disposal of the individual. Thurman says that the universe is in fact so life-giving and dynamic that even evil commitments are nourished, but they are not ultimately sustained. Thurman…

In this recording, Thurman discusses how timetables and schedules can affect us in negative and positive ways. Timetables can sometimes be oppressive, and so "we become busy." In other cases, they allow us to become more efficient and thus find more time to cultivate our inward part. Thurman ends by focusing on the importance of cultivating habits that "steel us within" so that we might find inner tranquility among the turmoil of life.

In Part One of this two part recording, Howard Thurman shares a series of readings and stories that have been significant to him throughout his life. Put alongside one another, one can get a sense of Thurman's concerns and interests, ranging from God's mysterious hand in the working of history, the dynamics of life and death, to the insistent search for truth against all other temptations. Ultimately, this recording offers us a window into Thurman's thought and reflection by way of those things…

In Part Two of the "Thurman on Thurman" recording, Howard Thurman speaks about the story of the Syrophoenician woman in the Gospels. Thurman says that this story means a great deal to him because, for him, it is a clue into the inclusiveness of the faith. For Thurman, seeking out God's inclusivity is a responsibility to his own religious experience. Thurman says that the Syrophoenician woman's ultimate message to Jesus and to us is that the world is one, and that Jesus could not do for Israel…

In his conclusion to “The Witness of God,” Thurman discusses how deep faith is experienced at the moment that one chooses to accept the faith that God gives. Such faith is brought to life by a penetrating sense of confidence in God’s will. In the candid words of Thurman’s mother who soberly said to him during a moment of disquiet, “God will take care of us,” she echoes, he believes, the ultimate expression of all that humanity could offer regarding the meaning of life and death.

In this concluding sermon on the Religion of the Prophets, Thurman highlights some key themes in the prophets. For Thurman, the genius of the prophets were founded upon the idea of the sovereignty of God. God is both fact and act, working in the unfolding of history. God has been expressed through creation, through Abraham's faith, through Moses' exodus, and ultimately through the redemption of the universe. The prophets called their people again and again to be in covenantal relationship with…

Here Thurman speaks to the moment of truth as it relates to God’s purpose for our lives. Discovering the authentic meaning of our lives helps us to uncover the bearing our experiences have on that meaning. It is the experience by which the mind and the spirit and yes, the soul of man gets a confirmation that enables him to live into the meaning of his life not only with a sense of responsibility but with dignity and power.

In this first installment, Thurman speaks about 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.

In this third installment of The Moment of Crisis, Thurman brings the life of Jesus into the conversation. The crisis is still being discussed as the moment in time when one senses he is being pulled in two different directions. One direction is interpreted as that which would move him to new territories physically and mentally. The other direction seeks to conserve and hold the line against all change. When Paul was met with a moment of crisis, his resolution came through breaking with the…