Thurman focuses on one of the central affirmations of Fellowship Church: "I affirm my need of a growing understanding of all men as sons of God." A growing understanding is one in which there is no total answer, but rather it is a response that is creative and in process. It is a present state that contains the potential of the future. Thurman says that the "sons of God" contains two meanings. On one hand, we are children of life deeply involved in our own self-preservation, which leads us into conflict, competition, and the destruction of other lives. But at the same time we are children of God who are capable of transcending this urge in order to meet purposes beyond physical survival. Thurman describes this as the moral dimension in our lives. Returning to the affirmation, Thurman suggests that we become more aware of our relations as human beings. We are always living and relating as children of life, and yet we are always capable of transcendence as children of God, committed to values and goals that go beyond our little lives.

Part of the Collection, NA

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Description by Rodell Jefferson III.

Recorded in Fellowship Church, San Francisco, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Meaning of Commitment: Sons of God, 1951 February 4,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/918.