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Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)--theologian, physician, Nobel laureate--was a remarkable figure of the twentieth century. An ordained pastor and theologian, he was also a renowned musician. He gave up this success to become a missionary doctor and founded a hospital in Africa. He is famous for his compassionate service and his Reverence for Life philosophy. These selections from Dr Schweitzer's writings provide the perfect introduction to an extraordinary humanitarian.
Reverence for Life: The Words of Albert Schweitzer
(Gathered together for the first time in one place, Nobel ...)
Gathered together for the first time in one place, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Albert Schweitzers words on ecology, human and animal rights, philosophy, war and peace, music and the arts, and forming a global community.
I cannot but have Reverence for all that is called life. I cannot avoid compassion for everything that is called life. That is the beginning and foundation of morality. ~ Albert Schweitzer
Spanning many decades and a host of topics, this rich collection of the words of Albert Schweitzer offers a glimpse into the life and thought of an eminent humanitarian.
Reverence for Life was Schweitzers unifying term for a concept of ethics. He believed that such an ethic would reconcile the drives of altruism and egoism by requiring a respect for the lives of all other beings and by demanding the highest development of an individuals resources. The thread of this inspirational belief appears throughout his deeply insightful writings. Excerpts from previously unpublished letters to John F. Kennedy, Norman Cousins, Bertrand Russell, and others show how truly committed Schweitzer was to creating a global consciousness and cultivating a dignity toward all people. A foreword by former U.S. Ambassador, Roger Gamble, an introduction by the editor, Harold E. Robles, and a brief biographical sketch of Schweitzers life round out this stunning collection of quotations.
Praise for Reverence for Life:
The words of Dr. Schweitzer are timeless. They are not only relevant today, but they will continue to serve as an inspiration to the future. Many thanks to Harold Robles for compiling and sharing with us this collection of Le Grand Docteurs thoughts. ~ PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER
If you are a thinker, if you care about the future of this planet, you need to buy this little gem of a book. ~ JANE GOODALL
Few women or men have demonstrated so completely the indivisibility of commitment to God and commitment to life, both in its misery and in its glory, as Albert Schweitzer. ~ DESMOND TUTU
ALBERT SCHWEITZER (1875-1965) was an Alsatian theologian, musician, and medical missionary. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1952.
HAROLD E. ROBLES served as Founder and President of the Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities in the USA and is now Co-Founder of and Special Advisor to Health Promotion South Africa Trust.
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Published to commemorate Albert Schweitzers only visit...)
Published to commemorate Albert Schweitzers only visit to the United States 60 years ago, this anniversary edition of his autobiography gives 21st-century readers a unique and authoritative account of the man John F. Kennedy called "one of the transcendent moral influences of our century."
Schweitzer is celebrated around the world as a European pioneer of medical service in Africa, a groundbreaking philosopher and musical scholar, and a catalyst of environmental and peace activism. Yet people most revere Schweitzer for his dedication to serving others and his profound and influential ethic of reverence for life. For Schweitzer, reverence for life was not a theory or a philosophy but a discovery?a recognition that the capacity to experience and act on a reverence for all life is a fundamental part of human nature, a characteristic that sets human beings apart from the rest of the natural world.
This anniversary edition coincides with several high profile celebrations of his 1949 visit, as well as the release of a new feature film starring Jeroen Krabbe and Barbara Hershey. In addition to a foreword by Nobel Laureate and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, this edition features a new foreword by Lachlan Forrow, president of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.
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In this groundbreaking work that made his reputation as...)
In this groundbreaking work that made his reputation as a theologian, Albert Schweitzer traces the search for the historical person of Jesus (apart from the Christ of faith) and puts forward his own view of Jesus as an apocalyptic figure who preached a radical message of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Though Schweitzer's own proposals about Jesus no longer command assent, his lasting contribution, comprising the bulk of the book, is the critique of his predecessors. Through examining the works of more than 50 18th- and 19th-century authors and scholars, he shows conclusively that each historical reconstruction of Jesus was largely a fantasy made in their own self-image.
Schweitzer's work has proved the touchstone for all subsequent quests for the "Jesus of history." It also contributed in no small measure to the remarkable resurgence in Jesus studies in the latter part of the 20th century, which culminated in the much publicized and highly controversial findings of the Jesus Seminar.
(Albert Schweitzer's social and ethical philosophy is best...)
Albert Schweitzer's social and ethical philosophy is best expressed in The Philosophy of Civilization. Not widely available in recent years, this edition will give contemporary readers the opportunity to discover his prophetic thought.
In Book I, The Decay and Restoration of Civilization, Schweitzer argues that the essential feature of every culture is its world view, and that a culture can be healthy and stable only as its world view is optimistic and ethical. Without this outlook, it is impossible to avoid the world's destruction.
In Book II, Civilization and Ethics, he reviews the world's major ethical systems in search of the essential principle of "the moral," after which the world and life-affirming ethic of "reverence for life" is set forth. Through Schweitzer's guidance, man will strive for spiritual and ethical self-fulfillment which in turn may be actualized in all the processes of the world, making us a truly civilized people. Schweitzer's ultimate goal is to help us recognize that the source of universal misery and catastrophe is the absence of a theory of the universe.
The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle (The Albert Schweitzer Library)
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Immediately after the Gospels, the New Testament takes ...)
Immediately after the Gospels, the New Testament takes up the history of the early Christian Church, describing the works of the twelve disciples, and introducing Paul, the man whose influence on the history of Christianity is beyond calculation. Teacher, preacher, conciliator, diplomat, theologian, rule giver, consoler, and martyr, his life and writings became foundations for Christianity. Paul inspired a vast, serious, and intelligent literature that seeks to recapture his meaning, his thinking, and his purpose.
In his letters to early Christian communities, Paul gave much practical advice about organization and orthodoxy. These treated the early Christian communities as something more than a group of people who believed in the same faith: they were people bound together by a common spirit unknown before. The significance of that common spirit occupied the greatest of Christian theologians from Athanasius and Augustine through Luther and Calvin.
In The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle Albert Schweitzer goes against Luther and the Protestant tradition to look at what Paul actually writes in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians: an emphasis upon the personal experience of the believer with the divine. Paul's mysticism was not like the mysticism elsewhere described as a soul being at one with God. In the mysticism he felt and encouraged, there is no loss of self but an enriching of it; no erasure of time or place but a comprehension of how time and place fit within the eternal. Schweitzer writes that Paul's mysticism is especially profound, liberating, and precise. Typical of Schweitzer, he introduces readers to his point of view at once, then describes in detail how he came to it, its scholarly antecedents, what its implications are, what objections have been raised, and why all of this matters. To students of the New Testament, this book opens up Paul by presenting him as offering an entirely new kind of mysticism, necessarily and exclusively Christian.
"There is at least one other point that Albert Schweitzer scores here... The hard-won recognition that divine authority and human freedom ultimately cannot be in conflict must never be taken for granted, and the irony that the thought of Paul has repeatedly been invoked to undo that recognition truly does make this insight one of 'the permanent elements.'"?from the Introduction
(The selections contained in this volume were made by Rich...)
The selections contained in this volume were made by Richard Kik. The original edition Vom Licht in uns was published by Verlag J.F. Steinkopf, Stuhgart. It contains sayings of things highly spiritual nature as well as a description of the life of Richard Kik. One such selection is The beginning of all spiritual life is fearless belief in truth and its open confession. Albert Schweitzer (14 January 1875 4 September 1965) was a German-French theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine), at the time in the German Empire. Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well the traditional Christian view, depicting a Jesus Christ who expected and predicted the imminent end of the world. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life" expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, now in Gabon, west central Africa (then French Equatorial Africa). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ reform movement (Orgelbewegung). Schweitzer's passionate quest was to discover a universal ethical philosophy, anchored in a universal reality, and make it directly available to all of humanity. This is reflected in some of his sayings, such as:"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace." "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."
Place for Revelation: Sermons on Reverence for Life (English and German Edition)
(Written amidst the destruction of World War I, these coll...)
Written amidst the destruction of World War I, these collected essays examine human attitudes toward fellow humans, animals, and possessions, and offer meditations on the importance of self-sacrifice and service to others
Memoirs of Childhood and Youth (Albert Schweitzer Library)
(In this charming autobiographical essay, Albert Schwenzer...)
In this charming autobiographical essay, Albert Schwenzer tells of his first nineteen years in Upper Alsace and his youthful discoveries of religion, music, and the inspiration of friendship. Even in his boyhood there were traces of what was to become his "reverence for life": as a boy, he writes, he managed to dissuade several companions from going fishing because of the pain he felt the deed gave to both the worm and the fish. In poignant vignettes, Schweitzer also describes his unhappiness at discovering that he had better food or better clothing than chose around him. Memoirs of Childhood and Youth offers wonderful insights on Dr. Schweitzer's childhood journey that
eventually led him to dedicate himself to medical service in African colonies.
This new translation also has rarely seen photographs of Schweitzer, both as a youth and as an adult.
Albert Schweitzer was a French-German theologian, organist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician.
Background
Albert Schweitzer, the son of an Evangelical Lutheran minister, was born on January 14, 1875, in Kaysersberg, Alsace, which was then under German rule. Albert's early life was both comfortable and happy. He spent his childhood in the Alsatian village of Gunsbach, where his father, the local Lutheran-Evangelical pastor of the EPCAAL, taught him how to play music.
Education
When Albert was 10 years old, he went to live with his granduncle and grandaunt in Mulhouse so that he could attend the excellent local school. He graduated from secondary school at the age of 18. During these 8 years he learned directly from his elderly relatives the demanding ethical code and rigorous scholarly outlook of their early-1800s generation.
Schweitzer's first language was the Alsatian dialect. At the Mulhouse Gymnasium he received his "Abitur" (the certificate at the end of secondary education) in 1893. He studied organ in Mulhouse from 1885 to 1893 with Eugène Munch, organist at the Protestant cathedral, who inspired Schweitzer with his profound enthusiasm for the music of the German composer Richard Wagner. In 1893 he played for the French organist Charles-Marie Widor (at Saint-Sulpice, Paris), for whom Johann Sebastian Bach's organ music contained a mystic sense of the eternal. Widor, deeply impressed, agreed to teach Schweitzer without fee, and a great and influential friendship thus began.
From 1893 Schweitzer studied Protestant theology at the Kaiser Wilhelm University in Strasbourg. There he also received instruction in piano and counterpoint from professor Gustav Jacobsthal, and associated closely with Ernest Munch (the brother of his former teacher), organist of St William church, who was also a passionate admirer of J. S. Bach's music. Schweitzer served his one-year compulsory military service in 1894. Schweitzer saw many operas of Richard Wagner in Strasbourg (under Otto Lohse) and in 1896 he managed to afford a visit to the Bayreuth to see Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal, which deeply impressed him. In 1898 he went back to Paris to write a PhD dissertation on The Religious Philosophy of Kant at the Sorbonne, and to study in earnest with Widor. Here he often met with the elderly Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. He also studied piano at that time with Marie Jaell. He completed his theology degree in 1899 and published his PhD thesis at the University of Tübingen in 1899.
It is not known exactly when, but sometime around 1909, Schweitzer gave up his successful career to study medicine at the University of Strasbourg with the aim of serving in Africa. He had declared his intention for such work back in 1905 and had been studying in private since then. Working hard, he completed his courses by December 1911, receiving his degree in Doctorate of Medicine in 1912.
Career
During early years Schweitzer became an accomplished musician, beginning his career as an organist in Strasbourg in 1893. Charles-Marie Widor, his organ teacher in Paris, recognized Schweitzer as a Bach interpreter of unique perception and asked him to write a study of the composer’s life and art. The result was J.S. Bach: le musicien-poète (1905). In this work Schweitzer viewed Bach as a religious mystic and likened his music to the impersonal and cosmic forces of the natural world.
In 1905 Schweitzer announced his intention to become a mission doctor in order to devote himself to philanthropic work.. With his wife, Hélène Bresslau, who had trained as a nurse in order to assist him, he set out for Lambaréné in the Gabon province of French Equatorial Africa. There, on the banks of the Ogooué (Ogowe) River, Schweitzer, with the help of the natives, built his hospital, which he equipped and maintained from his income, later supplemented by gifts from individuals and foundations in many countries. Interned there briefly as an enemy alien (German), and later in France as a prisoner of war during World War I, he turned his attention increasingly to world problems and was moved to write his Kulturphilosophie (1923; “Philosophy of Civilization”), in which he set forth his personal philosophy of “reverence for life,” an ethical principle involving all living things, which he believed essential to the survival of civilization.
Schweitzer returned to Africa in 1924 to rebuild the derelict hospital, which he relocated some two miles up the Ogooué River. A leper colony was added later. By 1963 there were 350 patients with their relatives at the hospital and 150 patients in the leper colony, all served by about 36 white physicians, nurses, and varying numbers of native workers.
Schweitzer never entirely abandoned his musical or scholarly interests. He published Die Mystik des Apostels Paulus (1930; The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle), gave lectures and organ recitals throughout Europe, made recordings, and resumed his editing of Bach’s works, begun with Widor in 1911 (Bachs Orgelwerke, 1912–14). His address upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Das Problem des Friedens in der heutigen Welt (1954; The Problem of Peace in the World of Today), had a worldwide circulation.
Despite the occasional criticisms of Schweitzer’s medical practice as being autocratic and primitive, and despite the opposition sometimes raised against his theological works, his influence continues to have a strong moral appeal, frequently serving as a source of encouragement for other medical missionaries.
Schweitzer, the pastor's son, grew up in this exceptional environment of religious tolerance, and developed the belief that true Christianity should always work towards a unity of Faith and Purpose.
Albert had tremendous influence on theology, but he certainly did not maintain orthodox Christian theology. He concluded that book with Jesus having brought about His own crucifixion; he also left Christ without a resurrection. Schweitzer’s position was that Jesus held the idea that He was the Messiah, that He had a “messianic consciousness” and that He thought He could bring about the end of the world by forcing His own death; that, according to Schweitzer, was His glory. Jesus died as a martyr to His belief in His “messianic character. ”
Just before Schweitzer’s death, he joined the International Unitarian Association, making it perfectly plain that he did not believe in Jesus’ deity. This is a great tragedy; but it shows that a person can be a humanitarian without necessarily being a Christian. Many people have been concerned with human need, even though they themselves have not been Christians.
The irony of this is that Schweitzer went to Africa and taught the natives to sing “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” There were natives who were certainly converted by Schweitzer’s own presence there, but Schweitzer himself certainly did not hold, in any intellectual way, to the deity of Christ. Schweitzer is a paradoxical figure, to say the least.
Views
Schweitzer was sometimes accused of being paternalistic, colonialist and racist in his attitude towards Africans, and in some ways his views did differ from that of many liberals and other critics of colonialism. For instance, he thought that Gabonese independence came too early, without adequate education or accommodation to local circumstances. Edgar Berman quotes Schweitzer as having said in 1960, "No society can go from the primeval directly to an industrial state without losing the leavening that time and an agricultural period allow." Schweitzer believed dignity and respect must be extended to blacks, while also sometimes characterizing them as children. He summarized his views on European-African relations by saying "The African is indeed my brother but my junior brother." Chinua Achebe has criticized him for this characterization, though Achebe acknowledges that Schweitzer's use of the word "brother" at all was, for a European of the early 20th century, an unusual expression of human solidarity between Europeans and Africans. Schweitzer eventually emended and complicated this notion with his later statement that "The time for speaking of older and younger brothers has passed". Later in life he became more convinced that "modern civilization" was actually inferior to or the same as previous cultures in terms of morality.
Quotations:
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
"Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON."
"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."
"The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others."
"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve."
"Any religion or philosophy which is not based on a respect for life is not a true religion or philosophy."
Membership
Albert was a Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society.
Personality
Schweitzer was a vegetarian.
Interests
Writers
Schweitzer made a profound study of Nietzsche and Tolstoy, recoiling from Nietzsche's adulation of the all-conquering "superman" and being greatly attracted to Tolstoy's doctrine of love and compassion.
Connections
On 18 June 1912, Albert Schweitzer married Helene Bresslau, daughter of one of his professors.
Their only daughter, Rhena, was born in January 1919 in Europe. In 1924, when her father returned to Africa she remained behind with her mother in Königsfeld, her father’s birth place, where he had built their family home.
During her childhood, she saw little of her father. But much later, she left for Africa and joined her father, taking over the administration from him, a task that she continued to perform even after his death.