Joy is of Many Kinds (1963-04-12)
In this recording, Thurman discusses the different types of joy and its nature. He also suggests where we can find joy in life, how we can give it to others, and how it can be found even in moments of suffering and pain.
Thurman uses some examples to illustrate his points. In one example, Moses and elders return from the presence of God to take on regular tasks like eating with additional joy. In another example, a friend of Thurman's uses the loss of his legs to demonstrate that "there is a creative power that enables him to not only to endure what he has gone through, but to find how to use this thing as an updraft."
[Note: this recording was originally broadcast on March 15, 1963 and then re-aired on April 12]
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
Description by Spencer Roberts
audio
394-809
Christmas Meditation, 1975 February 13
Thurman explains the mood, quality, and symbol of Christmas. This contrasts with viewing Christmas as merely a day on the calendar, or a commemoration of an event. He uses sharp imagery to describe each of these features. For example, the mood of Christmas is “an iridescent of sheer delight that bathed one's whole being with something more wonderful than words can ever tell.” The quality is “the calm purple of grapes.” The symbol is “the promise of tomorrow at the close of every day” and “that good is more permanent than evil.”
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
Description by Erik Mattson
audio
394-808
Readings from Stephen Vincent Benet's John Brown's Body (1964-02-07)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for black bodies in America, pledges his allegiance to the union, and likens himself to an old hunting dog when reflecting upon his tenacity while fighting in the Civil War.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1964-02-07
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-807
Readings from Stephen Vincent Benet's John Brown's Body (1960-02-05)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for America, likens himself to an old hunting dog when reflecting upon his tenacity while fighting in the Civil War, and attempts to find spiritual grounding in the midst of unrest and war.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1960-02-05
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-804
GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(-10243685.651967 4061411.0319819))
Readings from Stephen Vincent Benet's John Brown's Body (1963-02-08)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for America, likens himself to an old hunting dog when reflecting upon his tenacity while fighting in the Civil War, and attempts to find spiritual grounding in the midst of isolation and civil unrest.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1963-02-08
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-803
Readings from Stephen Vincent Benet's John Brown's Body (1962-02-09)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for black bodies in America, pledges his allegiance to the union, and likens himself to an old hunting dog when reflecting upon his tenacity while fighting in the Civil War.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1962-02-09
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-802
Sing Your Own Song (1964-03-06); The Right Thing This Day (1958-05-23)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman speaks to what it means to live a life that is truly one's own. Drawing from Catherine Coblentz' "Blue Cat of Castle Town," and a story of a dog who has lost its bark, Thurman challenges the listener to discern what their true voice is, how one comes to singing their own song. Thurman agrees that the process of finding one's own song is difficult; however, Thurman maintains that finding your own song is one of the most integrous journeys that one can take.
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reflects upon an excerpt from his own writing, Deep is the Hunger. He reads a story of sailors and a chaplain stumbling upon the dead body of an enemy, and collectively discerning what they are to do with the said body. Drawing from this story, Thurman invites the listener to discern what is at stake when considering what it means to live a good life, which is followed by the discovery of what Thurman calls a "basis for action." Thurman explains that this form of discernment is something that is at the center of our being, and is worth deep exploration.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1964-03-06
1958-05-23
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-801
The Moment of Truth (1963-04-19); Pearl without Price (1971-12-4)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reads from a letter that his friend from Canada sends him. Within the letter, the listener hears of a young boy who makes the decision to participate in a blood transfusion for his sister. In agreeing to participate in the transfusion, the boy misunderstood, and assumed that he would have to die in order to save his younger sister's life. Thurman sees this boy's misunderstanding as a "moment of truth." The moment of truth speaks to one's sense of courage, responsibility, creativity, and sacrifice. Embedded into this moment of truth is a reaction that comes from the tension between one's personal and public life. Thurman invites the listener to discern what their "moment of truth" is and challenges the listen to what their "moment of truth" is calling them to do.
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reads from his book, "Meditations of the Heart." In this reflection, Thurman reflects upon what it means to look at life critically. When things are going well, the difficult and the not-difficult aspects of life blend together; however, when one is in desperation, one is able to critique and names the parts of life that are difficult. This conversation speaks to Thurman's wider work concerning the tension goodness and innocence.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1963-04-19
1962-03-23
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-800
The Blind Man (1958-10-03); Heaven, Heaven (1958-11-21)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reflects upon the spiritual, "The Blind Man Sat By the Way," which he calls a "sorrow song." When holding this song in tension with the biblical narrative of Jesus healing the blind man, Thurman comes to the conclusion that the blind man in the sorrow song was never healed. Drawing from the experience of people who were enslaved in America, Thurman reveals that there is no mentioning of the blind man being healed in the song because there was no healing upon the horizon for those who were singing the song. He continues by reflecting upon numerous stories from his life in order to further ask the question, "What do we do with frustrations when there is no freedom in sight?"
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reflects upon and attempts to reclaim the old spiritual song, "Heaven, Heaven." Thurman critiques popular conceptions of the song, stating that it overlooks the reality that every person has to navigate societal expectations with a level of compromise. The question he asks in light of compromise, however, is "At what point is the line drawn?" Here, Thurman considers the deeper question of compromise being a means of deception, and that the ethical dimension of compromise is housed in the tension between deception as a means of survival and deception as a means of ethics.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1958-10-03
1958-11-21
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-799
Balm in Gilead, Part 1 (1958-10-10); Balm in Gilead, Part 2 (1958-10-17)
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 restraint one has in themselves to take the raw material of pessimism and transform it into optimism.
In this recording within the We Believe series, Howard Thurman builds upon his previous reflection upon the negro spiritual, "There is a Balm in Gilead." Here, he echoes the words from his professor and mentor, George Cross, when he remarks, "The contradictions in life are not final and ultimate." Here, Thurman is asserting that when one conceptualizes life as static, one is imprisoning oneself; however, when one conceptualizes life as dynamic, one is pursuing a life of freedom and fullness. Thurman explains to the listener that in this dynamistic perspective, one finds the energy and strength that is associated with optimism; thus, one is able to find tools to heal.
Thurman, Howard
<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
1958-10-10
1958-10-17
Dustin Mailman
audio
394-798