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Moment of Crisis, Part 4, 1958 March 2
This installment of Moment of Crisis focuses on Abraham Lincoln. Thurman shares an excerpt from President Lincoln’s memoir that speaks to the personal crisis he faced as he grappled with whether slaves should be freed in the interest of saving the Union. Lincoln, heavily influenced by the founding fathers, believed that slavery was a violation of the mind, spirit, and will of the founding fathers. Still, those who embraced slavery and those in opposition of slavery understood that lives would be…
Conversations with Howard Thurman, September 1980, Parts 1 and 2, Side A
This recording is a part of a wider series of conversations from September to October of 1980 where Howard Thurman met with a variety of young men and women who were discerning their calling to ministry. Thurman poses the intent of this group as an opportunity to "open up for one's self the moving, vital, creative push of God, while God is still disguised in the movement of God's self." Thurman's introductory remarks in this recording mention the tension that rests between isolation and…
Tags: aliveness, Anglican Church, being seen, Browne Barr, calling, choice, commitment, community, creative encounter, creativity, ecology, experience, Fellowship Church, Howard University, identity, imago dei, inner self, integrity of life, Isolation, Kansas, knowing, League of Women Voters, love, Love Boat, Minneapolis, New Mexico, Oak Tree, Olive Schreiner, oneness, order, passkey, religious experience, room with no doors, San Francisco Seminary, scent on one's trail, self-actualization, South Africa, South Dakota, Sue Bailey Thurman, teaching, vitality, Yale Divinity School
The Search for Meaning in the Experience of Freedom (III), 1975 November 4
In this third lecture in the Search for Meaning, Howard Thurman discusses freedom as it relates to personal accountability. Thurman defines freedom as the ability to stand in the present that ultimately determines the future. Freedom is also defined as having a sense of option and alternative. It is the freedom of choice that keeps our soul alive. Additionally, it is our desire and ability to take responsibility for our deeds despite extenuating circumstances that give us true liberation.
What Shall I Do with My Life, Part 1: Freedom of the Human Spirit, 1971 March 7
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…
Quests of the Human Spirit, Part 1, 1962 February 4
In his introductory lecture to “Quests for the Human Spirit,” Thurman describes the quest as an act of bringing to focus the purpose of one’s life. Thurman notes that this is a creative work wherein one’s mental resources are organized into the raw materials needed to energize and pursue growth within the human spirit. Choosing between alternatives on the life journey is a matter of mind and heart – resources that drive the quest. Thurman argues that questing is essential to life because it is…
Disciplines of the Spirit, Part 7: The Discipline of the Act, 1960 November 27
In this seventh lecture in the Discipline of the Spirit series, Thurman uses Matthew 5:39 as a framework for discipline as it relates to our decision to act. Thurman reminds listeners of the responsibility to act or react in integrity centered around core values as we are responsible for the actions we initiate as well as the reactions we initiate in other people. One must always be careful when deciding to act lest our deeds are out of character with our core beliefs.
Tags: action, choice, dilemma, discipline, forgiveness, Ghandi