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Dilemmas of Religious Professional (II) (Hester Lecture) [Side B], 1971 Feb 10

Thurman, Howard, 1900-1981

In this lecture, Thurman considers the challenges facing those who must simultaneously be religious experts and persons involved in the experience of leading a religious life. The dilemma of incessantly performing priestly duties, he shows, demands that public demonstrations of spiritual competence be exhibited in the service of “needy humanity” even as the professional works out one’s private formation. Thurman emphasizes, however, that intimacy with communities must not come at the expense of inward encounters with the divine but through the inward spiritual life that inspires “yearning and outreach” for human connection.