What was Going On at Albert Schweitzer College?

This small college in Switzerland was supposed to be your average liberal arts college, yet it seems to have had a close connection with the Theosophical Society and major figures within it.
 
I stumbled on the connection while looking into the founder of Theosophy, Helena Blavatsky.
 
The Theosophical Society publication was called "Aryan Path". Vol 32 published in 1961 ran a story on the college by a Florence E Pettit which informed the readership of what a great job the college was doing in matters of spirituality and religion.
 
The next step was to look at Ms Pettit. In 1974, she had a book published titled, "Shrines of Psychic Power" which is catalogued in the National Library of Australia under spiritualism and parapsychology.
 
Taking it a step further, I looked to see if Albert Schweitzer himself had any interest in these subjects and found this:
 
 albert schweitzer and theosophy

I want to post a link to a terrific essay by Greg on the Albert Schweitzer College, which I discovered only yesterday. I highly recommend anyone who hasn't read it to do so, as there is MUCH food for thought.

http://coverthistory.blogspot.com.au/2005/07/oswald-and-albert-schweitzer-college.html

Hasan Yusuf wrote:I want to post a link to a terrific essay by Greg on the Albert Schweitzer College, which I discovered only yesterday. I highly recommend anyone who hasn't read it to do so, as there is MUCH food for thought.

http://coverthistory.blogspot.com.au/2005/07/oswald-and-albert-schweitzer-college.html

Thanks Hasan,

I should point out that I no longer support the notion that Dr. Kurian interviewed Oswald. Still pretty comfortable with the rest of it...

greg parker wrote:Thanks Hasan,

I should point out that I no longer support the notion that Dr. Kurian interviewed Oswald. Still pretty comfortable with the rest of it...

No problem, Greg. I'll put up a link to it on my blog when I find the time.

A fine piece, Greg.  

I'm curious, though.  It predates Evica's A Certain Arrogance, which I have on my shelf and need to read.  I flipped through its notes and index, though, and it doesn't seem he was aware of your article.  Did you ever communicate with him?  What do you think of his book?

Albert Rossi wrote:A fine piece, Greg.  

I'm curious, though.  It predates Evica's A Certain Arrogance, which I have on my shelf and need to read.  I flipped through its notes and index, though, and it doesn't seem he was aware of your article.  Did you ever communicate with him?  What do you think of his book?

Albert,

He got in touch with me at one stage when I was posting similar pieces at the Ed Forum (in fact, I think that's where this one came from). It was just a short email congratulating me on the research. I'd never had any previous contact with him.

Some time later, a friend got in touch saying some of my research appeared to be in GME's book, uncited.  I wrote back saying I'd heard from him, but he hadn't mentioned he was going to use anything. 

Soon after that, the book got pulled and re-released with a mention of me in source notes. I also got another email from GME advising that had happened. I have always assumed my friend had "talked" to GME on my behalf. Back then, I wasn't concerned about anyone using my material - and in this case, I also knew he wasn't well (though I didn't know just how sick he was).

He did fall short of actually citing me, and the whole thing made me a bit wary of who was using my material and how it was being used. Another incident really hammered that home. I made an off-the-cuff remark on the Ed Forum in answer to a question and it is now all over the net as hard fact - mainly on what appear to be anti-Semitic sites. All I did was try an answer a question - but it was a guess, and couched in enough qualifying language to be recognised as such. It is also one that I now know was probably wrong.

What do you think of his book?

Been a long time since I read it. From memory, it fell short of answering some of the questions I had, but otherwise I thought it was okay.

Thanks, Greg.  As I said, I haven't read the book yet, though I've seen this work cited and was familiar with its major tenets.  It's all really intriguing stuff.  You should get more credit for sniffing out this trail of evidence.

Albert Rossi wrote:Thanks, Greg.  As I said, I haven't read the book yet, though I've seen this work cited and was familiar with its major tenets.  It's all really intriguing stuff.  You should get more credit for sniffing out this trail of evidence.

Thanks Albert.

What I was looking forward to was on-line access to his research material, which I thought was supposed to be happening. Don't know where that's up to, or even if it's still on the agenda.

It's not specifically mentioned in this thread, but the ASC was owned and operated by the IARF - the International Association for Religious Freedom - itself a baby of the Unitarian Church. It was Unitarians who basically operated the college and supported it through the Friends of Albert Schweitzer College.

With the above in mind, read on...

Inspired by the writings of Theodore Parker the Swedish writer Klas Pontus Arnoldson founded in Gothenburg in 1871 the Unitarian association Sanningenssökarna (“The Truth Seekers”) – later also found in Stockholm. This association also published the periodical Sanningsökaren (“The Truth Seeker”). Two other Unitarian associations were founded in 1882 (one of them in Stockholm). In 1888 Unitarians asked the Swedish King for permission to establish yet another Unitarian association in Gothenburg but was turned down because Unitarianism was not regarded as a Christian religion. Later many Unitarians turned to theosophy.
http://archive.is/qLFYf#selection-309.0-309.623

So there is the connection of the ASC to Theosophy. I suspect the connection between Unitarianism and Theosophy - though not as strong - was also present in the US.

With thanks to Malcolm Blunt.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hZqMTNHWz8iRrdgEqf-wjlYmSFxnMij0/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dPENC_23vGEy32CpXnsbzKz91QR01lrt/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10zvE_CB06Ms3dRsYGO_iMdt1mJNuIukA/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HPU0-b2tqaupcUA4Wt7tW9tfhymBZchF/view?usp=sharing

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=2233#relPageId=2&tab=page

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=2228#relPageId=3&tab=page

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=2230#relPageId=3&tab=page

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There’s someone on there from my tiny little hometown in New Hampshire, and I know where her house was. On the town landowner listing there are still a couple Lawrences but at a different address. I’ll be back there at some point maybe I’ll poke around for records on Susan C.