Albert Schweitzer and the impact of The Search for the Historical Jesus

Knox Presbyterian Church Burlington Ontario

My parents were married in Knox Presbyterian Church in Burlington Ontario in August 1952. This was my mother’s family church where her father was an elder and most family members attended regularly. One of my aunts  was a life long member of the choir there.

Wedding Day Aug 9.1952

Many of my cousins were baptized in this church and all family funerals were held there. Church life was an important aspect of my mother’s upbringing. and even though this was not the church that I attended I was familiar with the Minister there, Reverend Harold Lowry, and always felt part of the long time  family connection to this congregation.

The Wedding Party 1952

After my parents were married they moved to Galt Ontario (now Cambridge) and became members of Central Presbyterian Church in that city. My elder sister Jan, myself, my brother Douglas and  my younger sister Carol were all baptized in this church and attended the Sunday School there. My mother taught Sunday School and my father became an elder in this congregation.

Central Presbyterian Church Cambridge Ontario photo by Antony Pranata

My sister Janet (seated on the knee of Mrs. Polland Sunday School Superintendent) with Sunday school class Central Presbyterian Church1956

My parents July 1954

Going to church was a a part of my childhood and dressing up for Sunday School and church was a very serious affair with the inclusion of white gloves and hats even for the children. I was notoriously messing up my clothes and getting my gloves dirty on the way to church so that it was customary for my mother to carry an extra pair in her purse to provide me with clean ones if need be before we entered the church. How we looked and behaved at church was a major source of concern for my parents during our early years. An adherence to decorum and tidiness was definitely an expectation of the church and within my family at this time.

It was at this Church that my father was ordained as an elder within the context of the Presbyterian organization of congregational life. The position of elder in this church is a life long lay ordination and is in fact the source of the name of the denomination as the Greek word for elder is πρεσβυτερος [presbyteros] and in English presbyter.

Presbyterianism originated primarily in Scotland and the Scottish Reformation during the formal break with the Roman Catholic Church in 1560.   Although there are differing theological approaches within the Presbyterian denomination Calvinism is the primary tradition within this church which emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of divine grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Each local congregation is  governed by Sessions  made up of representatives of the congregation, or elders.  Elders are lay people who are chosen to take part in local pastoral care and decision-making at all levels. It was into this role that my father stepped when he became a member of my mother’s denomination.

Dad in Montreal attending the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada as an elder and lay delegate 1958

It was during these early years of my father’s association with this church that he came into conflict with the traditional Christian doctrines and started to explore alternatives. When I asked him why he decided to resign his position as elder in the church he said that he had reservations about professing something publicly that he did not believe in unconditionally and with good conscience he made the decision  to disassociate himself from the church. The minister had presented a sermon one Sunday morning concerning the Gnostic traditions which had been rejected by the early church as heretical. Apparently my father got into a heated debate with the minister about the legitimacy of some gnostic views and was then challenged by the reverend about whether or not he believed in Jesus Christ. My father said that he answered yes, but that he also believed in the teaching of the Buddha and did not find them to be contradictory.

Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965

When I asked my father how he had come to these conclusions he replied that he had embarked on a personal study of Christian origins and had read The Quest for the Historical Jesus written by Dr. Albert Schweitzer and published in English in 1910.

Rudolf Bultmann 1884-1976

He also had read another controversial essay by Rudolf Karl Bultmann “New Testament and Mythology” 1941 which my father said also influenced his less than orthodox point of view. Once my father set out on his exploration of Christian mythology and the more esoteric gnostic texts within the Christian tradition he was drawn to the study of other world religions and to the cross cultural and voluminous works  of Helena P. Blavatsky and  The Theosophical Society.

H. P. Blavatsky 1831-1891

It was through the influence of Blavatsky and the Theosophical tenet that “There is no religion higher than Truth” that my father began his studies of Hinduism and Buddhism and started to build up a rather extensive library of religious books and texts from many different traditions.

Edith Hamilton 1867-1963

Three books that I remember specifically that had an early impact on my life as a child that were introduced to me by my father were Mythology: Timeless Tales of  Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton published in 1942, The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha, by Edwin Arthur Burtt in 1955, and The Bhagavad Gita, sometime in 1964 when I was 9 years old.

It is a testament to my father’s open minded attitude toward our religious upbringing that even while we were still encouraged to go to church and attend Sunday School throughout our childhood we were encouraged to read these books and others from his library and were never barred from asking questions concerning anything that we discovered within their covers and were in fact encouraged to do so. Often the family dinner table became the time for discussions about what my father was studying at the time as a member of the Theosophical Society.

Lord Krishna

Krishna and Arjuna

I was so enthralled by the beautiful images of Krishna and Arjuna in the copy of the Gita that my father let us read. He told us to handle it carefully and treat it with respect as we would the Bible so I knew very early on that it was considered to be a holy book. The copy that he had had a dark navy blue hardcover with gilded edges.

What I loved about The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha was that it contained stories that even as a child I could understand, but it was Edith Hamilton’s book on Greek mythology that changed my outlook on religion and spirituality forever. It was as if a door was opened in my mind that once opened could never be closed again.

Perseus

On the cover of the copy of my father’s book was a painted reproduction of a very famous sculpture of Perseus holding up the severed head of Medusa. Not exactly a pleasant image for a 9 years old to be contemplating. However, it wasn’t the grisly nature of the picture on the cover that  affected me most. It was the moment that I realized while reading this book that these stories provided the narrative elements to what would have been the religion of the people of ancient Greece. It was if a light went off in my own consciousness although as a child it felt more like an actual electrical shock. I can actually remember shaking my head and thinking that stories and maybe even the stories I was studying and listening to at Sunday School were just that…stories. What this meant and how this would impact my life I was not to discover fully for many more years.

My mother Jean 1953

Both my parents were extremely influential in the way I looked at the world and what I thought about my place within it. I always knew that I was surrounded by a very large and loving family of Christian believers on both sides of my family tree. I had the benefit of a very strong grounding in the Christian faith with many years of Bible study and participation in charitable church activities and projects. A consciousness of the suffering of others and a compassion for them came from my mother’s deep commitment to and love for the teachings of Jesus Christ.  As a mother and as a Sunday school teacher she was able to show us just how the stories we read in the Bible were applicable to our lives.  I am very grateful for all that I have received from her association with both the Presbyterian and United Church.

The Light of the World by William Holman Hunt 1827-1910

The Bible became a much cherished book in my library and I have read it and studied it all of my life. My love for the teachings of Jesus inspired me to pursue the study of theology and then ritual at university at the graduate level. Religious art has always been a part of  my life. The pictures of Jesus in our family Bible have inspired and challenged me since I was a child. This one by Holman Hunt of Jesus knocking at the door I particularly loved. Many hours were spent looking through Bible story picture books as well as art books that exposed us to some of the most beautiful and significant paintings and sculptures of the Christian tradition. But without doubt the influence of my father and his study of the sacred scriptures of both Hinduism and Buddhism had such an affect on me that I felt compelled to study them myself.  At one point I made the choice to  embrace the study and practice of Dharma and try as I might to integrate it with what I knew and loved of the Christian tradition. As I continue along with this blog I hope to share some of the paths that that decision has taken me.

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