Theological Influences: Howard Thurman

I could have listed Howard Thurman among the liberation theologians who have influenced me. I don't know how accurate that label fits Thurman, but the main reason I didn't mention Thurman in that post is because his specific theological impact upon me isn't "the preferential option."

The influence Thurman has had upon me comes, not surprisingly, from Jesus and the Disinherited. Specifically, there is a passage in the book that, upon reading it, caused so many theological pieces to fall in place for me. The passage in question plays a huge, pivotal role in my book The Slavery of Death to describe the impact of grace upon the psyche, fear and neurosis in particular. The passage has been so important to my thinking I've shared it many times before on the blog. In analyzing why African Americans were so attracted to Jesus, Thurman writes:

The core of the analysis of Jesus is that man is a child of God...This idea--that God is mindful of the individual--is of tremendous import...In this world the socially disadvantaged man is constantly given a negative answer to the most important personal questions upon which mental health depends: "Who am I? What am I?"

The first question has to do with a basic self-estimate, a profound sense of belonging, of counting. If a man feels that he does not belong in a way in which it is perfectly normal for others to belong, then he develops a deep sense of insecurity. When this happens to a person, it provides the basic material for what the psychologist calls the inferiority complex. It is quite possible for a man to have no sense of personal inferiority as such, but at the same time to be dogged by a sense of social inferiority. The awareness of being a child of God tends to stabilize the ego and results in a new courage, fearlessness, and power. I have seen it happen again and again.

[Seeing oneself as a child God establishes] the ground of personal dignity, so that a profound sense of personal worth can absorb the fear reaction. This alone is not enough, but without it, nothing else is of value. The first task is to get the self immunized against the most radical results of the threat of violence. When this is accomplished, relaxation takes the place of churning fear. The individual now feels that he counts, that he belongs. 

I've used this passage in so many ways. Beyond my discussion of the "eccentric identity" in The Slavery of Death, I've used this insight of Thurman to argue that self-esteem is a religious problem, and that the choice facing us in life boils down to neurosis versus grace.