Browse Items (290 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 sermon, Thurman explores the temptations of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. He urges listeners to think about the responsibility they have over their individual lives. Thurman says that Jesus went into the wilderness to wrestle the question: "What shall I do with my life?" How shall we live true to our conscience, even as we are caught in the demands of forces we cannot control? What is worthy of our ultimate commitment? It is our decisive choices, for and against, that make up the meaning…

In this third installment of “What Shall I do With My Life”, Thurman addressed the experience of community from the fluidity of consciousness. The line of delineation between life and death, love and hate, war and forgiveness are all discussed with regards to our own self-consciousness. Our experience of community is one with the unity of life and the aliveness of life. Still, it is the desire of man to stabilize those things that we need to guarantee our physical existence. Since the…

Here Thurman uses Matthew 4:1-11 as a framework to discuss the practical world against the possibility of reality. The fluidity of natural order or lack thereof is also discussed as it relates to logic, time, and exceptions to the rules of the natural order.

Here Thurman highlights the spiritual experience of freedom. The implications of freedom as it relates to the manifestation of God and the awareness of God realized in the individual are also discussed. Just as there is a responsibility in freedom for our actions that determine, shape, and influence the future; there is also a responsibility for one’s reactions to life’s experiences. The most authentic expression of freedom is the endless possibilities of choice. Freedom is the power to accept…

In this recording, Thurman reflects on the ways in which our needs are so often met by people we do not know and how we are indebted to those unknown benefactors. In turn, we must try to be generous with others even when there is no possibility of merit or recognition.

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 this audio recording, Howard Thurman shares the background and the intentions of the Howard Thurman Educational Trust. Thurman traces his own educational journey through the hardships of segregation and financial struggles, which were only overcome by the support of friends, family, and strangers. After a fateful encounter with a man that helps pay his ticket to high school, Thurman makes a promise to God: for every year of his life, he will try to do for some student that that man had done…