Editing Albert Schweitzer (section)

==Theology==
[[File:Strasbourg Tram.JPG|thumb|right|[[Saint Nicholas Church, Strasbourg|Saint-Nicolas]], Strasbourg]]
In 1899, Schweitzer became a deacon at the [[Saint Nicholas Church, Strasbourg|church of Saint Nicholas]] in Strasbourg. In 1900, with the completion of his licentiate in theology, he was ordained as [[curate]], and that year he witnessed the [[Oberammergau Passion Play]]. In the following year, he became provisional Principal of the Theological College of [[Saint Thomas Church (Strasbourg)|Saint Thomas]], from which he had just graduated, and in 1903 his appointment was made permanent.{{NoteTag | He officiated at the wedding of [[Theodor Heuss]] (later the first President of West Germany) in 1908.{{sfn|Oermann|2016|p=101-102}}{{sfn|Brabazon|2000|p=422}}{{sfn|Pierhal|1956|p=63}}{{sfn|Pierhal|1957|p=63f}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Bulletin |journal=Bulletin des Presse- und Informationsamtes der Bundesregierung &#91;...&#93; &#91;Englische Ausgabe&#93; = the Bulletin |location=Bonn, West Germany |publisher=Press and Information Office | issn=0032-7794 |volume=9–10 |year=1962|page =[https://books.google.com/books?id=o03jAAAAMAAJ&q=schweitzer+wedding 36]}}</ref>}}

In 1906, he published ''Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung'' [History of Life-of-Jesus research]. This book, which established his reputation, was first published in English in 1910 as ''[[The Quest of the Historical Jesus]]''. Under this title the book became famous in the English-speaking world. A second German edition was published in 1913, containing theologically significant revisions and expansions: this revised edition did not appear in English until 2001. In 1931, he published ''Mystik des Apostels Paulus'' (''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle'');<ref>{{cite journal|author=Avey, Albert E.|author-link=Albert Edwin Avey|title=Review of ''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle''|journal=The Philosophical Review|volume=43|issue=1|year=1934|pages=84–86|doi=10.2307/2179960 |jstor=2179960 |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/phr/content/phr_1934_0043_0001_0084_0086}}</ref> a second edition was published in 1953.

===''The Quest of the Historical Jesus'' (1906)===
{{Main|The Quest of the Historical Jesus}}
In ''The Quest'', Schweitzer criticised the liberal view put forward by liberal and romantic scholars during the first [[quest for the historical Jesus]]. Schweitzer maintained that the life of Jesus must be interpreted in the light of Jesus' own convictions, which reflected late Jewish [[eschatology]] and [[apocalypticism]].  Schweitzer writes:
{{blockquote|The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the kingdom of God, who founded the kingdom of heaven upon earth and died to give his work its final consecration never existed. He is a figure designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in a historical garb. This image has not been destroyed from outside; it has fallen to pieces...<ref>{{cite book | last = Schweitzer | first = Albert | author-link =Albert Schweitzer |title=The Quest of the Historical Jesus |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uzRXxvPsylkC&pg=PA478 |year=2001 |publisher= Fortress Press |page = 478 |isbn = 9781451403541 }}</ref>}}

Instead of these liberal and romantic views, Schweitzer wrote that Jesus and his followers expected the imminent end of the world.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hf5Rj8EtsPkC&pg=PT11|title=Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth|date=20 March 2012|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-208994-6|pages=11–|quote=I agree with Schweitzer's overarching view, that Jesus is best understood as a Jewish prophet who anticipated a cataclysmic break in history in the very near future, when God would destroy the forces of evil to bring in his own kingdom here on earth.|authorlink=Bart D. Ehrman}}</ref>
Schweitzer cross-referenced the many New Testament verses declaring imminent fulfilment of the promise of the World's ending within the lifetime of Jesus's original followers.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Pcisys | url = http://home.pcisys.net/~jnf/schauth/rq2.html | title = Review of "The Mystery of the Kingdom of God" }}</ref> {{Failed verification|date=October 2019}} He wrote that in his view, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus speaks of a "tribulation", with his "coming in the clouds with great power and glory." In Mark 13:30 
Jesus says "This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." In Matthew 16:28 Jesus says “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Obviously, Jesus and his followers truly believed that he would return within the disciples lifetime and specifically states the timeframe that it will happen, but it has not! "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (Matthew, 24:34) or, "have taken place" (Luke 21:32). Similarly, in 1st Peter 1:20, "Christ, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you", as well as "But the end of all things is at hand" (1 Peter 4:7) and "Surely, I come quickly." (Revelation 22:20). Either Jesus, his disciples and/or the noted chapter authors were and remain seriously mistaken; the promised second return timeframe has long ago passed.
[[File:The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle Book-Cover.jpg|thumb|upright|The cover of Albert Schweitzer's ''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle'']]

Schweitzer concluded his treatment of Jesus with what has been called the most famous words of twentieth-century theology:

{{quote|"He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew him not.  He speaks to us the same word:  'Follow thou me' and sets us to the task which He has to fulfill for our time.  He commands.  And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is."<ref>''The Quest of the Historical Jesus''. Macmillan. 1910. p. 403.</ref>}}

===''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle'' (1931)===
In ''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle'', Schweitzer first distinguishes between two categories of [[mysticism]]: primitive and developed.{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 1}} Primitive mysticism "has not yet risen to a conception of the universal, and is still confined to naive views of earthly and super-earthly, temporal and eternal". Additionally, he argues that this view of a "union with the divinity, brought about by efficacious ceremonies, is found even in quite primitive religions".{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 1}}

On the other hand, a more developed form of mysticism can be found in the Greek mystery-cults that were popular in first-century A.D. society. These included the cults of [[Attis]], [[Osiris]], and [[Mithras]]. A developed form of mysticism is attained when the "conception of the universal is reached and a man reflects upon his relation to the totality of being and to Being in itself". Schweitzer claims that this form of mysticism is more intellectual and can be found "among the [[Brahman]]s and in the [[Buddha]], in [[Platonism]], in [[Stoicism]], in [[Spinoza]], [[Schopenhauer]], and [[Hegel]]".{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 2}}

Next, Schweitzer poses the question: "Of what precise kind then is the mysticism of Paul?" He locates Paul between the two extremes of primitive mysticism and developed mysticism. Paul stands high above primitive mysticism, due to his intellectual writings, but never speaks of being one with God or being in God. Instead, he conceives of [[Adoption (theology)|sonship]] to God as "mediated and effected by means of the mystical union with Christ".{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 3 }} He summarizes Pauline mysticism as "being in Christ" rather than "being in God".

Paul's imminent [[eschatology]] (from his background in [[Jewish eschatology]]) causes him to believe that the kingdom of God has not yet come and that Christians are now living in the time of Christ. Christ-mysticism holds the field until God-mysticism becomes possible, which is in the near future.{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 13}} Therefore, Schweitzer argues that Paul is the only theologian who does not claim that Christians can have an experience of "being-in-God". Rather, Paul uses the phrase "being-in-Christ" to illustrate how Jesus is a mediator between the Christian community and God. Additionally, Schweitzer explains how the experience of "being-in-Christ" is not a "static partaking in the spiritual being of Christ, but as the real co-experiencing of His dying and rising again". The "realistic" partaking in the mystery of Jesus is only possible within the solidarity of the Christian community.{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 13 }}

One of Schweitzer's major arguments in ''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle'' is that Paul's mysticism, marked by his phrase "being in Christ", gives the clue to the whole of Pauline theology. Rather than reading [[justification by faith]] as the main topic of Pauline thought, which has been the most popular argument set forward by [[Martin Luther]], Schweitzer argues that Paul's emphasis was on the mystical union with God by "being in Christ". [[Jaroslav Pelikan]], in his foreword to ''The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle'', points out that:

{{blockquote|the relation between the two doctrines was quite the other way around: 'The doctrine of the redemption, which is mentally appropriated through faith, is only a fragment from the more comprehensive mystical redemption-doctrine, which Paul has broken off and polished to give him the particular refraction which he requires.{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = xvi}}}}

====Paul's "realism" versus Hellenistic "symbolism"====
Schweitzer contrasts Paul's "realistic" dying and rising with Christ to the "symbolism" of [[Hellenism (Greek culture)|Hellenism]]. Although Paul is widely influenced by Hellenistic thought, he is not controlled by it. Schweitzer explains that Paul focused on the idea of fellowship with the divine being through the "realistic" dying and rising with Christ rather than the "symbolic" Hellenistic act of becoming like Christ through [[deification]].{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 16}} After baptism, Christians are continually renewed throughout their lifetimes due to participation in the dying and rising with Christ (most notably through the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|Sacraments]]). On the other hand, the Hellenist "lives on the store of experience which he acquired in the initiation" and is not continually affected by a shared communal experience.{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 17}}

Another major difference between Paul's "realism" and Hellenistic "symbolism" is the exclusive nature of the former and the inclusive nature of the latter. Schweitzer unabashedly emphasizes the fact that "Paul's thought follows [[Predestination|predestinarian]] lines".{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 103 }} He explains, "only the man who is [[Election (Christianity)|elected]] thereto can enter into relation with God".{{Sfn | Schweitzer | 1931 | p = 9 }} Although every human being is invited to become a Christian, only those who have undergone the initiation into the Christian community through [[baptism]] can share in the "realistic" dying and rising with Christ.