Howard W. Thurman

“Once the neighbor is defined, then one’s moral obligation is clear.” (JatD, 89)

“It is not only the socialist but also the affirmation mystic or the man seeking the fullness of the vision of God who must say truly, ‘While there is a lower class, I am in it. While there is a criminal element, I am if it. While there is a man in jail, I am not free.’”

“Despite all of the crassness of life, despite all of the hardness of life, despite all of the harsh discord of life, life is saved by the singing of angels.” (MOC, 11)

“...however dark the moment or the days may be, the redemptive impulseof God is ever present in human life.” (MOC, 16)

‘This is heaven.’ And I said, ‘Where is it?’ And he answered, ‘On earth.’ And I said, ‘When shall these things be?’ And he answered, ‘In the Future.’ - Olive Schreiner

“I dreamed I saw a land. And on the hills walked brave women and brave men, hand in hand. And they looked into each other’s eyes, and they were not afraid. And I saw the women also hold each other’s hands. And I said to him beside me, ‘What place is this?’ And he said,

“Thru prayer, meditation and singleness of mind, the indiv’ life may be invaded by strength, insight, and courage sufficient for his needs...he need not seek refuge in excuses but can live...life with ever-increasing vigor and experience...an ever-deepening sense of fulfillment.

(3/3) “These early singers suggested tht there is but 1 way by which the human spirit may b protected from the fearful jeopardy....This can only b achieved by workng, strugglng, and prayng, to the end tht the great energies of God might be realized thru one’s whole life.” MOC,41.

(2/3) “....To live without doing violence to another human being in the living! This task is a task difficult and searching....the temptation is always on the side of retaliation, of self-preservation, even if it means leading death in some form to the other person’s door.

“One of the oldest and least known of the Negro spirituals is this: I don’t want nobody’s bloodstains on my hands. I don’t want nobody’s bloodstains on my hands. I’m going to work, fight and pray, And live more holy every day. I don’t want nobody’s bloodstains on my hands. (1/3)

“I affirm my hunger for God: the desire for fulfillment, the ache for understanding, the sense of peace. CHRISTMAS IS MY SEASON OF AFFIRMATION (The Mood of Christmas, 24)

“The work of Christmas begins:To find the lost, to heal the broken,to feed the hungry,to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among brothers, to make music in the heart.” (The Mood of Christmas,23)

Through the ages the message of him whose coming is celebrated at Christmastime says again and again...that however dark the moment or the days may be, the redemptive impulse of God is ever present in human life.

The symbol of Christmas—What is it? ....It is the promise of tomorrow at the close of every day, the movement of life in defiance of death, and the assurance that love is sturdier than hate, that right is more confident than wrong, that good is more permanent than evil.

The quality of Christmas—What is it?.... It is the sense of plateau with a large rock behind which one may take temporary respite from winds that chill.

The mood of Christmas—What is it? It is a quickening if the presence of other human beings into whose lives a precious part of own’s own has been released.

We’re back!

This idea-that God is mindful of the individual- is of tremendous import in dealing with fear as a disease.

It is the similarity of a social climate @ the point of a denial of full citizenship which creates the prob for creative survival.

The striking similarity btw the social position of Jesus in Palestine and that of the vast majority of American Negroes is obvious...