This image is the cover for the book Four Volumes on Christianity

Four Volumes on Christianity

Four of the Nobel Peace Prize–winning author’s most influential, insightful, and inspiring works on theology and ethics in the modern world.

Famous for founding the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in what is now the West African country of Gabon, Albert Schweitzer’s ethical philosophy of “Reverence for Life” became one of the most influential ideas of the twentieth century. These four volumes chart the development of Schweitzer’s philosophy from his student days to his career as a globally revered intellectual.

The Essence of Faith: While studying for his PhD at the Sorbonne, Schweitzer developed his views on theology through an analysis of Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of religion. In The Essence of Faith, Schweitzer explores Kantian ideas to arrive at an inspiring meditation on God, faith, and the limits of human understanding.

Pilgrimage to Humanity: In Pilgrimage to Humanity, Schweitzer discusses his philosophy, his ministry in Africa, and his pursuit of world peace. He also explores the important contributions to civilization made by figures such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, J. S. Bach, and Jesus of Nazareth.

The Quest of the Historical Jesus: In this landmark work of Biblical criticism, Schweitzer deconstructs the traditional myths of Jesus’s life by offering rigorous textual analysis and historical evidence. By establishing the social and political climate of Jesus’s time, Schweitzer not only dismantles the previously dominant images of Jesus, but also presents a compelling new theory of his own.

The Light Within Us: In The Light Within Us, Schweitzer’s longtime friend Richard Kik has compiled many of his most insightful and inspiring quotations. Drawn from his many writings, these quotations share Schweitzer’s thoughts on service, gratitude, God, missionary work, and much more.

Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer, OM (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German—and later French—theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary in Africa, also known for his interpretive life of Jesus. He was born in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire. He considered himself French and wrote in French. Schweitzer, a Lutheran, challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well as the traditional Christian view.
 
He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize 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).

Philosophical Library/Open Road