Howard Thurman

People may be more divided than ever. But Howard Thurman says God can still transcend every barrier and heal every wound. Family feuds, church splits, racial tensions, political polarization, systemic injustice, and international conflicts can all be overcome if we keep turning to God. Thurman’s message is rooted in his belief that true spirituality will transcend individualism and alleviate injustice and suffering. As spiritual advisor to civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and James Farmer, Thurman made the connection between faith and action. In these selections from his many books, Thurman reflects on the power of silence, contemplative prayer, the need for community, and the call to “live in the world as it is and still believe in the possibility of redemption.” Whether you are new to his writings or have long admired his work, this little book offers a fresh approach to Thurman’s spiritual vision of reconciliation, justice, and a hope grounded in the transformative work of love in the world.

This final volume of his collected "sermon series," concerns what is likely the most cherished aspect of Thurman's thought, his emphasis on meditation, introspection, and self-discovery as the key to the religious life. He often spoke and wrote of his belief in a pervading sense of a divine presence, a presence that existed both within and outside of organized religions and religious institutions and could be found everywhere. But its most important location was within each of us.

Famously known as the text that Martin Luther King Jr. sought inspiration from in the days leading up to the Montgomery bus boycott, Howard Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited helped shape the civil rights movement and changed our nation's history forever. In this classic theological treatise, the acclaimed theologian and religious leader Howard Thurman (1900-1981) demonstrates how the gospel may be read as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. Jesus is a partner in the pain of the oppressed and the example of His life offers a solution to ending the descent into moral nihilism. Hatred does not empower--it decays. Only through self-love and love of one another can God's justice prevail.

This is the first volume of "Walking with God," the best of Howard Thurman's "sermon series," previously unpublished sermons that Thurman organized about a common theme. The sermons presented in Moral Struggles and the Prophets, all delivered in the 1940s and 50s, cover Jesus, Paul, and the great prophets of Israel, as well as figures who exemplified the "moral struggle" and others who "walked with God," including Albert Schweitzer, Tolstoy, Blake, Buddha, St. Francis, and Meister Eckhart.

The Growing Edge is a book of Howard Thurman's sermons. For Thurman, the sermon is an act of worship in which the preacher exposes his spirit and mind as they seek to reveal the spirit of the Living God upon them. Thurman presents his sermons in six sections: Concerning Enemies, Concerning Prayer, Concerning God, Concerning Peace, Concerning Festivals, and Concerning Christian Character.

Deep River: An Interpretation of Negro Spirituals is a non-fiction book written by Howard Thurman, originally published in 1945. The book explores the history and significance of African American spirituals, also known as Negro spirituals, which were created and sung by enslaved Africans in America. Thurman delves into the cultural and spiritual roots of these songs, analyzing their lyrics and melodies to uncover their deeper meanings and messages. He also discusses the role that these spirituals played in the lives of enslaved Africans, serving as a means of communication, resistance, and hope. Throughout the book, Thurman draws on his own experiences as an African American and a minister, providing a personal and insightful perspective on the power and importance of these spirituals. Deep River: An Interpretation of Negro Spirituals is a seminal work on African American music and culture, and remains a vital resource for scholars, musicians, and anyone interested in the history and legacy of the African American experience. This is a new release of the original 1945 edition. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Deep Is The Hunger: Meditations For Apostles Of Sensitiveness is a book written by Howard Thurman. It is a collection of meditations and reflections that aim to help individuals who are sensitive and empathetic navigate the challenges of life. Thurman, who was a prominent African American theologian and civil rights leader, draws on his own experiences and insights to offer guidance and inspiration to readers. The book covers a wide range of topics, including love, faith, fear, and the importance of self-care. Through his writing, Thurman encourages readers to embrace their sensitivity and use it as a source of strength and compassion. Deep Is The Hunger is a timeless and thought-provoking book that offers valuable insights and wisdom for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of themselves and the world around them. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

These brief meditations incorporate the hope, celebration, love, compassion, and blessing of the Christmas season and encourage us to find them throughout the year. Features include the poem, "The Work of Christmas," "When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone... The Work of Christmas begins..."; and "I Will Light Candles This Christmas," "Candles of joy, despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair keeps watch. Candles of courage for fears ever present, Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days...""I know that the experiences of unity in human relations are more compelling than the concepts, the fears, the prejudices, which divide. Despite the tendency to feel my race superior, my nation the greatest nation, my faith the true faith, I must beat down the boundaries of my exclusiveness until my sense of separateness is completely enveloped in a sense of fellowship. I will light the candle of fellowship this Christmas, a candle that must burn all the year long." - The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations by Howard Thurman

This is the landmark publication of the early writings of this pioneering voice for social justice. The ""Papers of Howard Washington Thurman"" is a four-volume, chronologically arranged documentary edition spanning the long and productive career of the Reverend Howard Thurman, one of the most significant leaders in the history of intellectual and religious life in the mid-twentieth-century United States. The first to lead a delegation of African Americans to meet personally with Mahatma Gandhi, in 1936, Thurman later became one of the principal architects of the modern, nonviolent civil rights movement and a key mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1953 ""Life"" magazine named Thurman as one of the twelve greatest preachers of the century. The four volumes of this collection, culled from more than 58,000 documents from public and private sources, will feature more than 850 selections of Thurman's sermons, letters, essays, and other writings - many published here for the first time. Each volume will open with an editorial statement, followed by an introductory essay to guide the reader through the dominant themes in Thurman's thought: his understanding of spirituality and social transformations, his creative ecclesiology, and his conception of civic character and the national democratic experiment. Precise annotations to each document illumine Thurman's personal, professional, and intellectual development and place the texts into their historical context. The volumes are further augmented with detailed chronologies and representative illustrations. Volume I (June 1918 - March 1936) documents Thurman's early years in his native Daytona, Florida, his formal education and his leadership in the student movement, and his years at Howard University as a professor of philosophy and religion and dean of Rankin Chapel as well as his historic trip to India and meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1936. The texts, images, and editorial commentary presented here reveal the early development of the vision that drove Thurman's career as an educator, theologian, minister, and advocate for social justice and informed the twenty-three books that he began publishing in the mid-1940s. This volume provides rich insights into Thurman's thinking and spiritual growth and offers a window onto the landscape of the defining issues, events, movements, institutions, and individuals that shaped his formative years. The texts presented here make for compelling reading, as Thurman's dialogue with the world of public theology is the story of a nation that was taking stock of its political and religious heritage. The historic publication of his collected papers will make an invaluable contribution not only to American intellectual history and to the history of religion, but to 'America in Search of a Soul', as Thurman titled one of his sermons. This documentary edition is made possible through the efforts of the Howard Thurman Papers Project, a division of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta. This project is funded through support from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.; the Henry Luce Foundation; the Pew Charitable Trusts, Inc.; and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

A spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr.; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States, Howard Thurman offered a transcendent vision of our world. This lyrical collection of select published and unpublished works traces his struggle with the particular manifestations of violence and hatred that mark the twentieth century. His words remind us all that out of religious faith emerges social responsibility and the power to transform lives.