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 tries to freeze it into doctrine, dogma, and theology – the language of rationality. But Thurman says religious experience cannot be reduced to the practical and empirical. Ultimately, religious experience is our awareness of the presence of God, and nothing we do gives us control over that presence. For it is God that gives of Godself freely and lovingly.

Part of the Collection, The Meaning of the Religious Experience (1976, [Disciples of Christ Retreat], Santa Barbara, CA)

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Description by Rodell Jefferson III.

Recorded in Santa Barbara, CA

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Meaning of the Religious Experience, Part 1, 1976 July 23,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1283.

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

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Description by Unknown

Recorded in NA

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Readings from the Inward Journey - 1 Corinthians 13, 1970 Jan 10,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1276.

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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 arrival. Rather than giving quick answers, Thurman encourages us to look to the horizon for the next goal, trusting that the same God who cares for the birds of the air is the same God that cares for humanity, and is moving humanity towards a shared goal.

Part of the Collection, We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965)

Tags: actualized potential, gate, goal, horizon, love, tension, youth

Description by Dustin Mailman

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Ideals and Goals (1964-02-14),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1272.

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.

Part of the Collection, We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965)

Tags: christology, communion, disciples, Feeding of the Five Thousand, healing, Incarnation, Jesus, kenosis, Last Supper, miracles, Phillip, poem, Spirit of Love

Description by Dustin Mailman

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Always the Open Hand (1964-02-21),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1271.

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, silence

Description by Spencer Roberts

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Readings from Quaker Poetry (1963-11-29),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1270.

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's decision to fight in the Civil War. The third, and final poem, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, speaks to conscientious objection while hiding a black child from people of power. Each of these poems emphasize Thurman's commitment to an anti-war ethic, pacifism, and the religion of Jesus.

Part of the Collection, We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965)

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, aggression, America, anti-violence, anti-war, Badger Clark, citizenship, civil war, consciousness, death, Edna St. Vincent Millay, evil, Herman Hagedorn, holidays, John Drinkwater, poem, prayer, soul, war

Description by Dustin Mailman

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Selections for Memorial Day (1964-05-29),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1269.

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 protect the weak, feed the hungry, love thy neighbor, etc. The second excerpt is written by Thurman, himself. In it, Thurman works with the tension between gratitude and critique during the Christmas season. He asks the question of how one can both show gratitude while also resisting materialism and hyper-industrialism.

Part of the Collection, We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965)

Tags: angels, Christmas, contagion, creativity, crown, ethics, gifts, Golden Rule, holidays, Jesus ethic, materialism, potential, Relatedness, values

Description by Dustin Mailman

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “A Salutation to Christmas (1961-12-22),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1268.

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 another example, a friend of Thurman's uses the loss of his legs to demonstrate that "there is a creative power that enables him to not only to endure what he has gone through, but to find how to use this thing as an updraft." [Note: this recording was originally broadcast on March 15, 1963 and then re-aired on April 12]

Part of the Collection, We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965)

Tags:

Description by Spencer Roberts

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Joy is of Many Kinds (1963-04-12),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1267.

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 “the calm purple of grapes.” The symbol is “the promise of tomorrow at the close of every day” and “that good is more permanent than evil.”

Part of the Collection, Religious & National Holidays

Tags: Christmas, mood, quality, symbol

Description by Erik Mattson

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Christmas Meditation, 1975 February 13,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1266.