Community and Innocence, 1961 February 26

Description

In this first sermon on "Community and the Will of God," Thurman describes community as a structure and a goal that is inherent in life. Everything is striving to fulfill itself in community. This movement towards harmony is what binds and interconnects the lives and actions of living beings. With this intertwining comes the reality of personal responsibility. To know that we are connected to others in this way is to lose a degree of innocence. Drawing on the story of the Garden of Eden, Thurman says that human beings are trying to work their way back to the garden, not as innocents who are ignorant to the world, but as people consciously dedicated to the work of harmony.