“Very little of the great cruelty shown by men can really be attributed to cruel instinct. Most of it comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit. The roots of cruelty, therefore, are not so much strong as widespread. But the time must come when inhumanity protected by custom and thoughtlessness will succumb before humanity championed by thought. Let us work that this time may come.”

German polymath from Alsace

Albert Schweitzer was a German thinker from Alsace, active as a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. He became known for a life that joined scholarship, faith, and practical service. As a Lutheran minister, he questioned both the secular historical-critical portrait of Jesus and the traditional Christian reading of him. He is also known for his work on Pauline Christianity, especially his view that Paul’s mysticism of being in Christ is central, while justification by faith is secondary.