Thurman on Thurman (continued), 1959

Description

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 without doing for others. Thurman finishes saying that this i the only kind of God that he can worship: A God that speaks to this deep need for inclusivity, for "I could not be happy in heaven if my brother's in hell."