Schweitzer, Albert

Schweitzer, Albert (1875–1965). Christian theologian and mission doctor. A superb musician and organist, he made a name in academic circles when he published Das Messianitats- und Leidensgeheimnis (1901; The Mystery of the Kingdom of God, 1925). In this he argued that ‘Jesus’ is embedded in the interests and presuppositions of the gospel writers, and to an extent, therefore, remains to us as ‘One unknown’. What at least can be said is that Jesus shared the apocalyptic expectations of his contemporaries, and that he saw himself as the one who was to inaugurate the Final Kingdom, not least through his sacrificial suffering. This ‘messianic secret’ was not divulged to any until the so-called ‘Confession at Caesarea Philippi’. His extreme call for moral perfection was unrealistic if understood as a programme for life and history, but not if it was intended as an ‘interim ethic’, to be maintained in the short interval before the inauguration of the kingdom.

Schweitzer developed this perspective further in Von Reimarus zu Wrede … (1906; The Quest for the Historical Jesus, 1910), and in Geschichte der Paulinischen Forschung … (1911; Paul and his Interpreters, 1912). These works set an inescapable agenda for subsequent work on the New Testament; yet his most enduring work was Die Mystik des Apostels Paulus (1930; The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle). Meanwhile a profound experience of the unity of all life, evoking reverence for life, led him to establish a mission hospital at Lambaréné in Gabon, where he based himself for the rest of his life. Although criticized for his stern paternalism, his commitment and his work for reconciliation were recognized with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.