I have a lot of books on the go. Always. If they don't have a bookmark in them there is a stack waiting to be read at the opportune moment. This means that some books take a long time to be completed, bumped by a newly arrived hold at the library or general lack of discipline.
One of the "in progress" books is Albert Schweitzer by James Brabazon, what appears to be the definitive biography of one of the great figures of the 20th century. I became curious about him when I read that Rachel Carson revered him for the development of his "reverence for life" principle, one she held dear. I realized that I was aware of Schweitzer as a significant person yet knew little about him. I vaguely recall hearing as a young that he was a Christian but not the correct sort, even though he devoted most of his adult life to medical service in Africa.
This biography is a 500-pager and I'm only about a third of the way in yet I'm almost overwhelmed by the story of his life-long brilliance. Actually, as a young boy he was a wretched student and his pastor father despaired that he would eventually be unemployable. Then his astonishing brain, coupled with boundless energy, took hold. He became exceptional at mathematics, a skill he applied to his appreciation of the music of Bach. Schweitzer became an organ virtuoso, even pioneering new ways to build them, and was central to a Bach revival in the late 19th century. He excelled at philosophy and also loved theology, eventually becoming a pastor himself.
I now appreciated that the reason I was warned off Schweitzer was that he wrote The Quest of the Historical Jesus, a book that shook the theological world because he concluded that Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish person, not God Incarnate, who died but did not rise, although he may have believed that he would. Schweitzer wanted to wade through the accretions of the religion that developed around Jesus as the Messiah and reconnect with his essence.
Well, how is that for a barely acceptable summary of the thesis of the book? The reverberations from Schweitzer's conclusions were considerable and he was shunned by many. Yet he loved Jesus and was determined to become his disciple with the fullness of his own life. He felt that his choice to go to Africa as a medical missionary was a small reparation for the colonial exploitation of European empires. It's hard to imagine any more passionate Christian in terms of devoted service even though he was dismissed as not a Christian by many.
I do not share Schweitzer's analysis of the gospels and Jesus' mission and on Easter morning I will celebrate the Risen Christ. Yet I can admire his devotion and the breadth of his contributions to culture in ways I couldn't in my twenties. He took up his own cross to follow Jesus with a courage that impresses me.
I decided to write this blog entry even though I'm only 170 pages in but I look forward to reading on and sharing more of what I glean along the way.