Howard Thurman: Essential Writings

Modern Spiritual Masters

by Howard Thurman

Howard Thurman was a preacher, educator, poet, theologian and civil rights leader best known for his ethical and cultural criticism. His writing influenced a wide audience, from Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi to young students exploring faith and social responsibility.
Thurman was among the first preachers to conduct Christian services in a nontraditional way, drawing from such eastern religious faiths as Buddhism and Hinduism. His philosophy of interfaith worship and dialogue is reflected in this collection of his essential writings. It reminds us all that out of religious faith emerges social responsibility and the power to transform lives.
Howard Thurman (1900-1981), has been called ""one of the greatest spiritual resources of this nation."" His encounters with Gandhi in India helped instill his commitment to nonviolence. His identification of Jesus as one of the disinherited helped shape the thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr. His embrace of wisdom from other religious traditions emboldened interfaith cooperation and understanding.

Genres: Spirituality, Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2006

About the author

Howard Washington Thurman was an author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century.

Reviews

[Tristan Sherwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, this wasn't what I expected.

For some silly reason I thought I was purchasing a complete collection of Howard Thurman's writings. The fault lies with me, as I should have read the product description.

What this collection represents is a set of extracts from Thurman's various books, which have then been arranged and sorted into this compilation’s three chapters, demonstrating Thurman’s perceptions on the ‘Religious Experience’, ‘The Hunger for Community’ and ‘The Authentic Self’ (to use the book’s own headings.)

There's a positive and negative side because of this arrangement.

I'll start with the negative. This arrangement can make the reading feel awkward and clumsy. The specific passages, although thematically connected, don’t always flow well from one to the other if what you desire to do is read continuously. In retrospect, using this book as a devotional of short readings may be a better way to approach this.

On the positive side. This is an excellent collection of Thurman’s ideas. His prose is beautiful and stimulating, clearly displaying his heart and mind as a civil rights activist, minister and philosopher. It’s easy to see how Thurman’s work influenced the cause and trajectory of other civil rights activists such as the Martin Luther King Jr. His desire for equality, dignity and harmony amongst humanity finds itself fervoured by love; not a complacency with the segregation, but also not with a hate for those who endorse or proliferate that structure. Thurman’s heart was for the reconciliation of all people to each other;

‘Let us now go forth to save the land of our birth from the plague that first drove us into the “will to quarantine” and to separate ourselves behind self-imposed walls. For this is why we were born: Men, all men belong to each other, and he who shuts himself away diminishes himself, and he who shuts another away from him destroys himself.’ – *The Search for Common Ground*

All in all, this book does exactly what it sets out to do, and it does it well.
*Howard Thurman: Essential Writings* has certainly whet my appetite to pick up and digest more of Thurman’s work.

---Tristan Sherwin, author of ‘Love: Expressed’.

[Chris Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the thought of Howard Thurman and his wide range of writing.

[Adam Tierney-Eliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good collection of best parts. While I have done some reading of Thurman (and am doing more now) I found it helpful to have these passages lifted up sometimes as a reminder of what I had read before and at other times as an advertisement of what to read next. Thurman had wide interests and areas of expertise. A book like this reminds us of the breath and depth of his work. Finally, practically speaking, as minister, I appreciate having some of Thurman's most compelling passages easily accessible.

Reader: I approached this the same way I approach a book of poetry...by starting in the middle and browsing, with the understanding that I will read it all in time. It took me quite a while, actually, as I waited for the spirit to move and for the previous passage to digest. The pieces are organized by the editor. However, since they have limited relationship to each other it can be hard going to read in order.

As with many writers of this time, I struggle a bit with the all male pronouns for God. However this should not deter anyone since Thurman is one of the great progressive minds of his generation.

[Gary Horst · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept hearing about mystic/theologian/philosopher and civil rights leader Howard Thurman (1899-1981) quoted by people like Richard Rohr and Parker Palmer, so I thought I should check him out a bit further. This collection of excerpts from several of his books provides a good window into his writings: sometimes esoteric, sometimes very practical. I'm glad for more exposure to him. One quote:
"The experience of love is either a necessity or a luxury. If it be a luxury, it is expendable; if it be a necessity, then to deny it is to perish. So simple is the reality, and so terrifying. Ultimately there is only one place of refuge on this planet for any man - that is in another man's heart. To love is to make one's heart a swinging door."
-p 162 (excerpted from "Disciplines of the Spirit, 127)

[Jeffrey N. Hora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Howard Thurman via the writings of Richard Rohr. This book is an excellent introduction to his writing, thought, and life. The description that comes to mind for me is he was a gentle, positive soul.

I went on a search for more books by him, and most of them are out-of-print, sadly enough. I did discover "Disciplines of the Spirit" and will be reading that next.

I thoroughly recommend this book.

[Brad Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thurman makes justice, community, and love for the enemy seem so easy, though he would never say it’s easy. He speaks from a deep-rootedness in confidence for what Christ taught, and it makes me yearn for the same ease of faith from which risky love springs. In a day when so many fight evil with anger rather than love, his words are refreshing for the wearisome soul. He’s a sage who, though he has questionable theology at times, had a very obvious intimacy with God. Why wouldn’t we want to learn more from one of MLK’s greatest role models?

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful overview of his thought, collected from various books, that I needed. I am now eager to read directly from some of his major works.

[Carl Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so sad I am done with this book. I read through it quickly in Grad School and reread it now devotionally. so good.

[Theon Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do I find myself appreciating so much the writings of an individual whom I view as heretical in some of his theological perspectives. Ever since I first read his classic book Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman has been one of the most influential voices in how I view certain aspects of the Christian Faith. His oft-quoted line, "What then, is the word of the religion of Jesus to those who stand with their backs against the wall?" Is a question that I continue to wrestle with to this day. He provides a helpful corrective on certain theologians who avoid questions of race and racism.
This collection of his writings explore the three central tenets of his scholarship: religious experience, community, and the authentic self. Concerning religious experience, I find myself having the greatest disagreements with Thurman. In particular, I find his view of Christ as a powerful example to follow to be heretical. He fails to acknowledge the divinity of Christ to my satisfaction. This is no small error. However, the section on community I find to be an extremely edifying discussion of race and the Christian Church. Thurman says, "It is one of the great spiritual problems of Christianity in America that it has tolerated such injustices between Negroes and Caucasians, for instance; that in this area of human relations its moral imperative has been greatly weakened. It is for this reason that many people all over the world feel that Christianity is weakest when it is brought face to face with the color bar."
Despite his his theological errors, I believe that Thurman did much to provide a theological foundation from which the Civil Rights Movement could emerge. He exposed the inconsistencies between Christian ethics and Christian practices in America. Martin Luther King, Jr. and several other civil rights leaders actually carried around copies of Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited every day during the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, finding it to be immensely helpful in shaping the budding movement.

[Thomas Bowen]

One odd the most important books in my library.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

" The experience of love is either a necessity or a luxury. If it be a luxury, it is expendable; if it be a necessity, then to deny it is to perish. So simple is the reality, and so terrifying. Ultimately there is only one place of refuge on the planet for any [person] - that is in another [person's] heart. To love is to make of one's heart a swinging door. " p.162