Germans crowd ranks on list of best Christian leaders in millennia

When scholars contacted by The Evangelist chose the top non-Roman Catholic Christian leaders of the past two millennia, they looked toward Germany for their nominees. In addition to Martin Luther, the German monk who sparked the Protestant Reformation (see main article), the experts selected these four Germans:

* ALBERT SCHWEITZER (1875-1965) "because of his versatility and flexibility in the service of the Gospel," said Dr. Doris Donnelly, professor of theology at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. "He understood that he had been enormously gifted and made good on those gifts by pursuing them faithfully in spite of the objections of people around him. His important book, 'The Quest of the Historical Jesus,' disputed 19th-century liberal views of Jesus and took seriously the messianic eschatology of the Gospels. He became a noted authority on Bach. But most startling of all -- and most appreciated by me -- was his decision to study medicine at the age of 35 and become a medical missionary in Africa. Theologians and church people of all denominations still quibble about the orthodoxy of his Christian views, and they may well be ambiguous. What shines for me, though, is his hospital at Lambarene, a symbol of a life of service and dedication from one who could have achieved fame and glory far, far from the poverty and primitive conditions of Africa, but who chose, instead, to return his gifts to those he considered most needy."

Also nominating Schweitzer was Rev. Ben Fiore, SJ, a professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, who called him "one of the pioneers in the historical-critical approach to the New Testament. That method spread throughout biblical scholarship and is still in use. It has opened up to the readers of the Bible new understandings of the authors of the texts, their audiences and the meaning the texts carried for them. It is a method that still dominates biblical studies today. Schweitzer was also a very fine musician whose keyboard interpretations brought joy to many listeners and set new standards of interpretation. Finally, his work as a missionary in Africa brought his intellectual work down to earth as he served people in direct and humble ways. A Nobel Prize brought worldwide recognition to this most deserving man of faith."

* DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (1906-45) "for many reasons," said Dr. Jeffrey Marlett, assistant professor of religious studies at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. "The most significant, of course, was that he, and few others, saw the evil of National Socialism for what it was and realized that some sort of opposition was necessary. The Nazis executed him for complicity in one of the plots to assassinate Hitler. Beyond that, though, he had begun to explore what it meant to live in a 'God-less' world -- a world where human self-centeredness reigned so supreme that it obliterated, or at least attempted to, any sense of our 'created-ness.' For Bonhoeffer, this was symbolized by the Crucifixion, where, he argued, God 'let Himself be pushed out on a cross.' That, he figured, stood as an indictment against the age. Fifty years after his death, it seems that Bonhoeffer was particularly prescient in his estimation of how evil lies within human lives."

* IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) was selected by Jude P. Dougherty, dean of the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., because "his epistemological inquiry, although a challenge to tradition and productive of some catastrophic results, nevertheless turned out to be an important catalyst for the development of Western philosophy."

* FRIEDRICH SCHLEIERMACHER (1768-1834) was named by Dr. William R. Barnett, associate professor of religious studies at Le Moyne College in Syracuse. "More than any other theologian," said Dr. Barnett, Schleiermacher "can be regarded as the founder of modern theology as well as the founder of the modern study of religion. He was the first thinker to adopt primarily a phenomenological method that stressed the importance of religious experience as more fundamental than and prior to religious thought (doctrine) and ethics (morality). Today, both Protestant and Roman Catholic theology in the main stream is indebted to Schleiermacher's theological method and to his courage in trying to meet the challenge of modern modes of thought to traditional religious belief and practice." (JB)