Always the Open Hand (1964-02-21)
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reads a poem sent to him from a friend. This poem speaks from the perspective of Phillip, one of Jesus' disciples. The content of this poem wrestles with the demands of the people upon Jesus, and Jesus' willingness to pour himself out to benefit those who are in need. In the author's engagement with Jesus' life, work, death, and resurrection, we are asked to ponder the human quest of making sense of God's open, relational, and creative nature.
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>
1964-02-21
Description by Dustin Mailman
audio
394-813
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
Supportive Order Inherent in Life (1963-05-17); For Love's Sake (1958-05-30)
In this recording within the We Believe Series; Howard Thurman reads from his text, "The Inward Journey." Thurman's reading speaks to the intricate ways in which human life and experience is ordered in a synchronistic fashion. It is in one's understanding of creation's interrelatedness, Thurman suggests, that one can come to understand that the entirety of one's existence belongs.
In this recording within the We Believe Series; Howard Thurman reflects upon a poem from Eugene V. Debs, speaking to notions of solidarity and love. He notes that notions of love and disease both have a contagious characteristic, and that there is great responsibility in one's choosing of love or disease. To share one's heart, thus one's love, is to invite fellowship and community. To share one's disease, is to invite isolation and individualism.
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>
1963-05-17
1958-05-30
Dustin Mailman
audio
394-783
The Gospel According to Mark, Part 1, 1979 October 21
Thurman reads the Gospel of Mark from Mark 1:1 to 7:30 (Moffatt, New Translation Version)
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>
1979-10-21
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
394-443_A
On Mysticism, Part 12 (University of Redlands Course), 1973
This recording is the eighth 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 reflects upon the life of Jesus, and an encounter he had with the author Margaret Rhodes, in order to make sense of what it means to heal. Here, Thurman indicates that the primary function of healing rests in the healing of one's "identity of belonging." In other words, Thurman is arguing that to heal, and be healed, is to be fully integrated into a life of community.
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
394-098_B
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