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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JohnDavidBurgess (talk | contribs) at 21:57, 14 November 2007 (→‎The discussion about racial attitudes lacks objectivity: new section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Stance on racial relations

I partly reverted the edit by 66.98.152.31, since it violates the NPOV ("Sadly, this has been proven to be true; every area where Whites have left, has invariably degenerated to savagery again. This is not racist ranting, but the honest truth. Look at South Africa during apartheid and then look at the same country now; look at Rhodesia under the whites and how nobody starved, not Whites or native Africans. Now, under Native African misrule, the whole nation might well starve."). I left part of 66.98.152.31's quotation since it illustrates a maybe little-known side of Albert Schweitzer. From a quick google on "Albert Schweitzer" and racism it seems probable that Schweitzer actually made a statement like this. Nevertheless, it would be great if someone (66.98.152.31?) could add the corresponding citation. To give a more balanced picture of Albert Schweitzer I added the other quotation which I found on http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1864 (Section 5). Maybe someone who has access to the book could check and extend (publisher, year) the given citation? Ringler

I removed the remainder of the quote discussed above, which called Africans an "inferior race", said that Whites must be the Masters, and that Africans must not be treated as equals. Despite being frequently repeated in some quarters, this quote is a fabrication. I've read almost everything Schweitzer wrote that has been translated into English, and nothing remotely like it appears in print. To accomodate the removal of the fabricated quote and to provide some context, I altered the first sentence of the remaining paragraph. I also added a short paragraph discussing what some view as Schweitzer's paternalistic attitude. [This is my first Wikipedia entry, so forgive me if my changes to someone else's entry are a breach of etiquette.]
The anonymous editor has persisted in adding that material every few weeks. Frequently it is interesting to check out these anonymous people and see what other edits they have made. It quickly becomes obvious that some people have a big ax to grind. P0M 22:57, 19 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

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Curate or pastorate?

Re: timeline section: Calvinists (Reformed) do not have "curates." he was either an assistant or associate pastor when at strausburg. --—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kenneth claus (talkcontribs) . 16 April, 2006

It is known that in French and English both words “vicar” and “curate” have an opposite signification: “vicaire” means “curate” and “curé” means “vicar”. Then Albert Schweitzer was not a reformed but a Lutheran “pasteur” and I know that among the Lutherans, at least in Alsace, there are “vicaires”. Therefore it is correct to say that Schweitzer had been a “curate”. Gustave G. 02:23, 19 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Schweitzer : German or French ?

The article shouldn’t mention Schweitzer as a German, since his passport was French. But the best is to make him an Alsatian. Like many people of this region in this time, Schweitzer tried in fact to find a way beetween France and Germany. Moreover this quite Alsatian position on nationality brought him to consider himself as a citizen of the world. So Alsace may be considered as his real fatherland.

To see how tangled the problem is :

Schweitzer was born a German in 1875. The Alsace region (French since Louis XIV) had just been taken by Bismarck in 1870 after German-French war. Schweitzer went to the German school, but he spoke French at home, and moved to Paris in 1893 to study philosophy and music. After that he came back to German Alsace, then to proper Germany. When Alsace re-became French in 1918, his nationality turned to French. He married a German person, but corresponded with her in French. Then Schweitzer established his hospital in a French colony, wrote books in German and receved Nobel price as a Frenchman. Apart from that, his cousin Anne-Marie Schweitzer was also the mother of Jean-Paul Sartre !

His biography made him one of this person beetween two worlds... but it seems he took advantage of it.

See this page from the Fondation Schweitzer in Lambaréné to consider the nationality problem

Both ... but officially German during 43 years (1875-1918) and French during 47 years (1918-1965).... so the best way to respect his origin and culture is to put "Alsacian"
Paris75000 19:27, 27 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
There is a difference between citizenship and ethnic nationality. Someone may be a Frenhc citizen, but at the same time of German ethnicity. As his name proves (and his writings), he was an ethnic German (German people), so the article should mention him as a German. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.83.128.172 (talk) 23:07, 14 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Problem with sentence(s)

The first two sentences under "Theology" read thusly:

"As a young theologian he published The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906), by which he gained a great reputation. He later on met Vlad Zakharchenko and they wrote this book, he interpreted the life of Jesus in the light of Jesus' own eschatological convictions."

That second sentence is surely missing some content. From what I can tell, the name of the book he wrote with Zakharchenko, and some connecting words.

Probably a sloppy edit at some point cut them out.

I can't make any repair myself, knowing nothing on the topic. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will assist here.

Thanks


71.143.0.125 19:22, 19 August 2007 (UTC)BLenz[reply]

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The web page has been saved by the Internet Archive. Please consider linking to an appropriate archived version: [1]. --Stwalkerbot 21:39, 29 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion about racial attitudes lacks objectivity

The problem with this section is that it presumes that regarding certain African nations unfit for decolonization makes someone a racist. This is a fashionable belief but it is certainly not without dispute, intellectual or otherwise. It is perfectly consistent that a person believe that colonization confers a benefit on the colonized and not in turn believe the colonized are inherently inferior. Those who do so believe would assert that some civilizations are more advanced than others and that a paternal attitude towards the less advanced is appropriate. Whether one agrees with this point of view is irrelevant. The tone of this section takes the proposition that colonialism is uniformly racist and insupportable as a given. This is not objective, and thus inappropriate for this article.