The Howard Thurman Podcast

Freedom is the will and ability to act at any moment, Thurman says, “as to influence” or “determine the future.” For him, the experience of freedom relies on one’s ability to create options. Without options, there can be no sense of self. To keep the possibility of choice alive, a person must take responsibility for her life so that one resist becoming a prisoner to the will of others and life events.

Part of the Collection, Man and Social Change Series (1969, California State College, Long Beach, CA)

Tags: action, freedom, inward journey, liberty, option, reaction, responsibility

Description by Dr. Tim Rainey

Recorded in California State College, Long Beach, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “Man and Social Change, Part 1: Man and the Experience of Freedom, 1969 March 19,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/53.

Originally aired on KING-TV based in Seattle, this audio is from the first part of a three-part series in which Roberta Byrd Barr interviewed Howard Thurman about his life and work. This segment concludes the first part of the series; the beginning is available in this related item. All three parts of the interview are available on the Virtual Listening Room site by Boston University.

Part of the Collection, Television Interview with Roberta Byrd Barr (1969, KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

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Description by Spencer Roberts

Recorded in NA

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Creative Encounter, Interview with Roberta Byrd Barr, Part 1 (continued), 1969 Nov 30,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/52.

Originally aired on KING-TV based in Seattle, this audio is from the first part of a three-part series in which Roberta Byrd Barr interviewed Howard Thurman about his life and work. This segment includes the first 45 minutes of the first part. The remainder of the audio is available in this related item. All three parts of the interview are available on the Virtual Listening Room site by Boston University.

Part of the Collection, Television Interview with Roberta Byrd Barr (1969, KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

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Description by Spencer Roberts

Recorded in NA

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Creative Encounter, Interview with Roberta Byrd Barr, Part 1, 1969 Nov 30,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/51.

Sunday evening sermon, second part

Part of the Collection, Lay-clergy Institute (1973, First Congregational Church, Longmont, CO)

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Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in Lay-clergy Institute, Longmont, Colorado

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Dilemma of Love and Hate (continued), 1973 April 1,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/50.

Sunday evening sermon, first part

Part of the Collection, Lay-clergy Institute (1973, First Congregational Church, Longmont, CO)

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Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in Lay-clergy Institute, Longmont, Colorado

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Dilemma of Love and Hate, 1973 April 1,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/49.

Monday evening sermon, second part

Part of the Collection, Lay-clergy Institute (1973, First Congregational Church, Longmont, CO)

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Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in Lay-clergy Institute, Longmont, Colorado

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Dilemma of Life and Death (continued), 1973 April 2,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/48.

Monday evening sermon, first part

Part of the Collection, Lay-clergy Institute (1973, First Congregational Church, Longmont, CO)

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Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in Lay-clergy Institute, Longmont, Colorado

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Dilemma of Life and Death, 1973 April 2,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/47.

Sunday morning service

Part of the Collection, Lay-clergy Institute (1973, First Congregational Church, Longmont, CO)

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Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in Lay-clergy Institute, Longmont, Colorado

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Dilemma of Religious Experience, 1973 April 1,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/45.

Here Thurman uses Matthew 4:1-11 as a framework to discuss the practical world against the possibility of reality. The fluidity of natural order or lack thereof is also discussed as it relates to logic, time, and exceptions to the rules of the natural order.

Part of the Collection, What Shall I Do With My Life? (1971, New York Community Church, New York, NY)

Tags: Christ, Matthew, natural order

Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in New York Community Church, New York City, New York

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “What Shall I Do with My Life, Part 2: The Dilemma in the Wilderness, 1971 March 14,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/42.

Here Thurman highlights the spiritual experience of freedom. The implications of freedom as it relates to the manifestation of God and the awareness of God realized in the individual are also discussed. Just as there is a responsibility in freedom for our actions that determine, shape, and influence the future; there is also a responsibility for one’s reactions to life’s experiences. The most authentic expression of freedom is the endless possibilities of choice. Freedom is the power to accept or reject, it is the power to take initiative over one’s own life.

Part of the Collection, What Shall I Do With My Life? (1971, New York Community Church, New York, NY)

Tags: choice, freedom, God

Description by ShaCarolyn Halyard

Recorded in New York Community Church, New York City, New York

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “What Shall I Do with My Life, Part 1: Freedom of the Human Spirit, 1971 March 7,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/41.