A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred... that of plants and animals as well as that of his fellow man, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.
Albert Schweitzer
When Life Is Sacred
Topic: The Natural World
“The moral person accepts as being good: to preserve life, to promote life, to raise to its highest value life which is capable of development; and as being evil: to destroy life, to injure life, to repress life which is capable of development. This is the absolute fundamental principle of the moral.
A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred… that of plants and animals as well as that of his fellow man, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.“
Albert Schweitzer, OM (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a French-German theologian, organist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran, Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at this time, as well as the traditional Christian view. His contributions to the interpretation of Pauline Christianity concern the role of Paul's mysticism of “being in Christ” as primary and the doctrine of Justification by Faith as secondary.
Reverence for Life
Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 136 [Albert Schweitzer. Reverence for Life. Harper & Row, 1969].
Albert Schweitzer
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Albert Schweitzer, Reverence for Life
Albert Schweitzer (January 14 1875 – September 4 1965) was a German philosopher, philanthropist, physician, theologian, missionary, and musicologist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
–Albert Schweitzer [Biographical – NobelPrize.org].
Additional Quotes from Albert Schweitzer
“If rational thought thinks itself out to a conclusion, it arrives at something non-rational which, nevertheless, is a necessity of thought. This is the paradox which dominates our spiritual life. If we try to get on without this non-rational element, there result views of the world and of life which have neither vitality nor value.”
–Albert Schweitzer [Kulturphilosophie (1923), Vol. 2 : Civilization and Ethics].
“The way to true mysticism leads up through rational thought to deep experience of the world and of our will-to-live. We must all venture once more to be “thinkers,” so as to reach mysticism, which is the only direct and the only profound world-view. We must all wander in the field of knowledge to the point where knowledge passes over into experience of the world. We must all, through thought, become religious.
This rational thought must become the prevailing force among us, for all the valuable ideas that we need develop out of it. In no other fire than that of the mysticism of reverence for life can the broken sword of idealism be forged anew.”
–Albert Schweitzer [Kulturphilosophie (1923), Vol. 2 : Civilization and Ethics].
“May the men who hold the destiny of peoples in their hands, studiously avoid anything that might cause the present situation to deteriorate and become even more dangerous. May they take to heart the words of the Apostle Paul: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” These words are valid not only for individuals, but for nations as well. May these nations, in their efforts to maintain peace, do their utmost to give the spirit time to grow and to act.”
–Albert Schweitzer [The Problem of Peace (1954), Nobel Lecture: The Problem of Peace (4 November 1954)].
“Whoever has looked into the eyes of Jesus as he appears to us in his words knows that true happiness consists of service to this great One and his Spirit — and a life offered to his work. Those who accept this mode of life, who know how to live it, become brothers and sisters.”
–Albert Schweitzer [Reverence for Life (1969)].