The Howard Thurman Podcast

In this first sermon, Thurman sets out to explore the meaning of religious experience, and the religious experience of Jesus specifically. For Thurman, religious experience is a private and intimate experience, and yet it also seems to involve everything that is. Religious experience is not static, but rather a dynamic experiencing that our minds cannot capture totally. Nevertheless, the mind trie...

In this first installment of Readings From Deep is the Hunger, Howard Thurman uses Matthew 5 as a framework to discuss the sufficiency of God as we wrestle with the concepts of kindness, mercy, and humility. Thurman goes on to discuss the need for God as we navigate challenges internally and externally with the world around us. Part of the Collection, Featured Thurman Recordings Tags: Description...

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In this recording within the We Believe series, Thurman draws upon the novel "The Choir Invisible" by James Lane Allen, to reflect upon God's relationship to humanity. Thurman deeply leans into the mystery that is associated with humanity's actualized potential. He notes that our arrival to our actualized potential is inevitable; however, we shall not know the time or place of this...

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, a...

In a message reflecting on his visit to Quaker meetings, Thurman reads from Quaker poetry about the emphasis on silence, inner reflection, meditation, and seeing God's presence in the world around us. He also reads an excerpt about practicing faith for oneself instead of as a demonstration to others. Part of the Collection, We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965) Tags: meditation, quiet, sil...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reads three poems written by various authors speaking to subjects of war, conscientious objection, aggression, and violence. Each of these poems are read as a reflection upon the Memorial Day holiday. The first poem, by John Drinkwater, deals with aggression as it is related to war. The second poem, by Badget Clark, deals with a young man&#39...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads two reflections on the Christmas season. The first is from "McCall's Magazine," and reflects upon the implications Christmas day has in relation to the Christian life. Though Christmas day is filled with generosity and affection, Thurman asks the question if those celebrating Christmas could take five minutes to prote...

In this recording, Thurman discusses the different types of joy and its nature. He also suggests where we can find joy in life, how we can give it to others, and how it can be found even in moments of suffering and pain. Thurman uses some examples to illustrate his points. In one example, Moses and elders return from the presence of God to take on regular tasks like eating with additional joy. In...

Thurman explains the mood, quality, and symbol of Christmas. This contrasts with viewing Christmas as merely a day on the calendar, or a commemoration of an event. He uses sharp imagery to describe each of these features. For example, the mood of Christmas is “an iridescent of sheer delight that bathed one's whole being with something more wonderful than words can ever tell.” The quality is “t...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for black bodies in America, pledg...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for America, likens himself to an...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for America, likens himself to an...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads an excerpt from Stephen Vincent Benet's book, "John Brown's Body." According to Thurman, he reads this text every year the Friday before Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The quotation that is read comes from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln. In it, Lincoln ponders God's will for black bodies in America, pledg...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman speaks to what it means to live a life that is truly one's own. Drawing from Catherine Coblentz' "Blue Cat of Castle Town," and a story of a dog who has lost its bark, Thurman challenges the listener to discern what their true voice is, how one comes to singing their own song. Thurman agrees that the process of finding...

In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reads from a letter that his friend from Canada sends him. Within the letter, the listener hears of a young boy who makes the decision to participate in a blood transfusion for his sister. In agreeing to participate in the transfusion, the boy misunderstood, and assumed that he would have to die in order to save his younger sister's life....

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 enslav...

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 this recording within the We Believe series, Howard Thurman draws from a quotation written by Kabir, who is a Hindu Mystic. The line Thurman repeats from the Kabir quotation throughout this reading is, "I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty," which is utilized as a way of speaking to our deepest longings resting within ourselves. Thurman notes that if one is seeking...

In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads from his text, Meditations of the Heart, which reflects on Matthew 21:29 and asks: "What does it mean to be a person of your word?" He responds to this question by discerning the function of language, and how language creates meaning. This deep reflection on the nature of linguistics makes the listener ask, what is it abo...

In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads from James Cane Allen's "The Choir Invisible," in order to reflect upon the ways in which one can come to understand community. He notes that in one's own quest for identity, that relationships can become utilitarian, only being aware of community "at points of relevancy to our purposes." What Thurman is i...

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...

This recording has two parts. In "Prayers," Thurman reads two prayers. The first is about responsibilities, needs, and our desire to help others without knowing how. The second is Psalm 139. In "When I Awake," he discusses the relatedness of all humans to other humans, past and present. He suggests that we are never alone because of these connections and because we are all part of...

This recording has two parts. In "If I Ascend Up to Heaven," Thurman explores the idea that God is present in the joys of life and the darkest of times. He also dwells on the idea that we often feel isolated from others, but that no one is isolated from God. In "The Patience of Unanswered Prayer," Thurman explores the value of learning the patience of unanswered prayer. He suggests...

This recording has two parts. In "The Function of Stillness", Thurman describes the importance of rest, of taking time for renewal and restoration, in whatever form that takes. In "Miracle of Prayer", he suggests that prayer takes many forms and purposes, but its true value is in the ability for the human spirit to be in the presence of God. Part of the Collection, We Believe (Tele...