Jesus and the Disinherited

Join us for this timely, provocative, and insightful study of Howard Thurman’s powerhouse book, “Jesus and the Disinherited,” at 7 p.m. Wednesdays March 3-31 on Zoom. We will explore the ministry, message, and perspective of Jesus as a representative for the disenfranchised and oppressed. Week One will include a comparison of the ministry and message of Jesus vs. the apostle Paul; subsequent weeks will address Jesus’ teachings with respect to Fear, Deception, Hatred, or Love in response to oppression and injustice.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85856902282

From the back cover:

“First published in 1949, Jesus and the Disinherited is a brilliant and compassionate look at God’s work in our lives. As we struggle today with issues of poverty, racism, and spiritual disengagement, Howard Thurman’s discerning reading of the message of renewal through self-love as exemplified in the life of Jesus resonates powerfully once again.

“Challenging our submersion into individual and social isolation, Thurman suggests a reading of the Gospel that recovers a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. He argues that within Jesus’ life of suffering, pain, and overwhelming love is the solution that will prevent our descent into moral nihilism. For although scorned and forced to live outside society, Jesus advocated a love of self and others that defeats fear and the hatred that decays our souls and the world around us.”

About Howard Thurman:

Howard Thurman was a 20th century Christian mystic, minister, and theologian. The grandson of slaves, he was also a longtime friend and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. After meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in India in 1935, Thurman was profoundly affected by Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence. These he shared with King, who adopted nonviolence as a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement. It is said that King carried Jesus and the Disinherited around in his shirt pocket and read it as a source of wisdom and inspiration during his 29 times in jail.

After his meeting with Gandhi, Thurman experienced a vision of a church that would be open to “seekers of all colors and creeds.” He wanted to see if “experiences of spiritual unity among peoples could be more compelling than the experiences which divide them.” In 1944, he cofounded and co-pastored with a white minister name Alfred Fisk, the Church of the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, the first major interracial, interdenominational church in the United States.

The book is required for this class and is available in the Unity Renaissance bookstore and most book retailers, including Mahogany Books, a Black-owned bookstore in Washington D.C.