This recording has two parts. In the first message, Howard Thurman describes human desire to "be relieved of the pressure of anxiety that comes from finding no escape from the things that make life hard." Quiet times of meditation can give us the space to take a long look at our own situation and "give wings to our longings." The peace we can experience during crisis is contained within the crisis itself, which means it must end, without us knowing whether the situation will be better or worse than before. But we leave that worry in the peace of God, the peace that "invades the spirit." In the second message, Thurman discusses a strange section of Psalm 139 in which the author talks about hating with "perfect hate." Thurman suggests that hate is sometimes used positively, to shield our tender selves from the world or to offer a foundation upon which to stand. Yet hatred is always destructive and vengeance destroys both hated and hater.

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

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Descriptions by Liz Miller and Spencer Roberts

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Varieties of Peace (1962-01-12); "I Hate Them With Perfect Hate " (1961-03-10),” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1247.