"How Precious Are Thy Thoughts..." (1961-01-13); Try Me and Know My Thoughts (1961-03-17)
In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reflects upon the line "How precious are thy thoughts, O God," found within Psalm 139. Thurman uses this verse in order to poetically wax the miracle that is having a mind. In this recording, Thurman suggests that because the mind orders the body, that it is significant to discern what the mind of God consists of. It is in the discerning of God's mind that one finds the content of devotional posturing: wisdom, tenderness, and love.
In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads from a Gaelic Blessing, and the concluding stanza in Psalm 139, attempting to make sense of the content of a faithful human existence. He uses these reflections in order to emphasize his understanding of the interrelatedness of life, and the ways in which action and reaction are essential to both human flourishing and human suffering. Here, Thurman places great emphasis on responsibility, indicating that to live a life is to participate in a responsible act.
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>
1961-01-13
1961-03-17
Dustin Mailman
audio
394-793
Intentional Living (1961-06-23); Man's Relation to Social Order (1963-10-04)
In both of these recordings within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads from his text, "Meditations of the Heart." In them, we hear Thurman reflecting upon citizenship and right action. Thurman's central question throughout these reflections is: What does it me to be a full, free, and responsible citizen? He claims that by having a moral praxis that rejects hatred in every way it manifests itself, one is able to resist means that contradict the end they are seeking.
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>
1961-06-23
1963-10-04
Dustin Mailman
audio
394-786
Salute to the New Year (1962-01-05); The Strength to be Free (1960-07-01)
In this recording within the We Believe Series; Thurman draws from his work "Meditations of the Heart" to reflect upon the meaning of a new year. He suggests that each passing year is a "year that has fulfilled itself and passed on," and is filled with change, fresh starts, grace, and hard lessons. In the passing of the previous year, Thurman suggests, there is an "opportunity to love life more wisely," noting that both the past and the future are "Golden Ages."
In this recording within the We Believe Series; Thurman draws from his work "Meditations of the Heart," to reflect upon the content of freedom, as the July 4th holiday approaches him and the original audience. He waxes over the variety of expressions of freedom: freedom as release from a current moment, freedom as a wide-open road, freedom as responsibility which leads to growth in wisdom. While discerning these forms of freedom, Thurman returns to a mantra, "Give me the strength to be free and to endure the burden of freedom and loneliness of those without change."
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>
1962-01-05
1960-07-01
Dustin Mailman
audio
394-766
Meister Eckhart (3); The Inner Light (4), 1961 Oct 15, 22, Side B
This sermon is the fourth of nine in a series of sermons given in Marsh Chapel that are titled "The Inward Journey." Utilizing the intersections between Jane Steger, Jacob Boehme, and Meister Eckhart, Thurman explores what Steger calls "the inner light." He notes that the inner light within humanity is first, the "ground of God that is present in humanity," and second, a phenomenon that is "imposed upon the personality" without consent. He holds this definition in juxtaposition with a religious experience he once had, illustrating the intimate, yet universal, nature of the religious experience.
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>
1961-10-22
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-649_B
GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(-7915565.7490374 5213612.6443988))
A Faith to Live By, Part 4: Man, 1952 October 5
In the first of two sermons entitled “Man,” Thurman considers what it means for the human to be a spirit-possessing being. The spirit is fundamental to understanding all things that a person thinks and feels. It is what enables the human to respond to one's experiences. Thurman imagines spiritual consciousness as an elevated level of awareness, whereby a person resists being imprisoned within moments and events so that possibilities beyond immediate experience become visible. Here, one can speak back to whatever is “total” in life and thus respond to life “totally.” Such acts are evidence, Thurman says, of what the psalmist means when declaring that humans have been made a “little lower than God.” He ends this message by asking all to consider what he or she will do with the inspiration of the spirit. Divine presence within the body, he avers, is what has the power to turn “the destiny of the race.”
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>
1952-10-05
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
audio
394-564_A
GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(-13627798.925371 4550756.1096806))
Conversations with Howard Thurman, September 1980, Parts 7 and 8, Side B
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." In this recording, Thurman explores what it means to live one's life with a robust sense of responsibility and freedom. He notes that there is a crucial decision to be made when considering responsibility and freedom: saying yes or no to the life that rests within oneself. Following these sentiments, Thurman provides space for students to ask questions, to which they asked questions of was it means to "follow the scent of the spiritual life," "why the savior of all world religions must die," and predestination.
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>
1980-09-20
Description by Dustin Mailman
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
audio
394-361_B
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.
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>
1975-11-04
Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
audio
394-275_A
On Mysticism, Part 2 (University of Redlands Course), 1973
This recording is the second lecture in our collection of ten that Howard Thurman gave at the University of Redlands in 1973 on the topic of mysticism. Thurman indicates that this lecture functions as a means to point the listener towards practical approaches to mysticism through lenses of psychology, philosophy, and religious experience. In this recording, Thurman notes that innate within the human identity are the categorizations of "Space Binder" and "Time Binder." Space Binder speaks to meaning making in reference to the external world. Time Binder speaks to the transcendent reality of existence that both observes and reacts. Each of these designations function as tools to make sense of one's participation in reality, while also transcending the limits of human conception.
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>
1973-02
Description by Dustin Mailman
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
audio
394-094_B
GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(-13042600.321303 4037296.9410534))
Man and Social Change, Part 1: Man and the Experience of Freedom (continued), 1969 March 19
Freedom is the will and ability to act at any moment, Thurman says, “as to influence” or “determine the future.” For him, the experience of freedom relies on one’s ability to create options. Without options, there can be no sense of self. To keep the possibility of choice alive, a person must take responsibility for her life so that one resist becoming a prisoner to the will of others and life events.
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>
1969-03-19
Description by Dr. Tim Rainey
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
audio
394-046_B
GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(-13148225.246838 3999563.3243138))
Man and Social Change, Part 1: Man and the Experience of Freedom, 1969 March 19
Freedom is the will and ability to act at any moment, Thurman says, “as to influence” or “determine the future.” For him, the experience of freedom relies on one’s ability to create options. Without options, there can be no sense of self. To keep the possibility of choice alive, a person must take responsibility for her life so that one resist becoming a prisoner to the will of others and life events.
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>
1969-03-19
Description by Dr. Tim Rainey
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
audio
394-046_A
GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(-13148225.246838 3999563.3243138))