Christianity as Mystical Fact and the Mysteries of Antiquity

272 Pages·1942·0.61 MB·English

by  Rudolf Steiner

Introduction i
CHRISTIANITY
AS MYSTICAL FACT
ii CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT
C L A S S I C S I N A N T H R O P O S O P H Y
Theosophy
Intuitive Thinking As a Spiritual Path
How to Know Higher Worlds
The Spiritual Guidance of the Individual and Humanity
The Souls’ Awakening—A Mystery Drama
Anthroposophy (A Fragment)
Introduction iii
C A
HRISTIANITY S
M F
YSTICAL ACT
R U D O L F S T E I N E R
Translated by ANDREW WELBURN
ANTHROPOSOPHIC PRESS
iv CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT
This volume is a translation ofDas Christentum als mystische Tatsache
und die Mysterien des Altertums (Vol. 8 in the Bibliographic Survey)
published by Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland.
Copyright © Anthroposophic Press 1997
Afterword by Michael Debus, translation © James H. Hindes 1997
Published by Anthroposophic Press, Inc.
3390 Route 9, Hudson, N.Y. 12534
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steiner, Rudolf, 1861–1925.
[Christentum als mystische Tatsache und die Mysterien des
Altertums. English]
Christianity as mystical fact / Rudolf Steiner : translated by
Andrew Welburn.
p. cm. — (Classics in anthroposophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-88010-436-8 (pbk.)
1. Christianity and other religions. 2. Mysteries, Religious. I. Title.
II. Series.
BR127.S785 1997
299'.935—dc21 96--52717
CIP
Cover painting and design: Barbara Richey
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of the publisher, except for
brief quotations in critical reviews and articles.
Printed in the United States of America
Introduction v
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION by Andrew Welburn ix
CHAPTER 1
The Mysteries and Mysteriosophy 1
The Mysteries and Initiation 1
Birth and Rebirth 6
The Hidden God 15
CHAPTER 2
The Mysteries and Pre-Socratic Philosophy 22
Heraclitus of Ephesus 22
Pythagoras of Samos 35
CHAPTER 3
Platonic Mysteries 40
The Mystery of Immortality 40
The Mystery of Creation 52
The Mystery of Love 58
CHAPTER 4
Myth and Mysteriosophy 63
The Structures of Myth 63
From Myth to Philosophy 67
Myths of Initiation 72
The Myth and Mysteries of Eleusis 82
vi CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT
CHAPTER 5
The Egyptian and Other Eastern Mysteries 86
The Egyptian Mysteries: Becoming Osiris 86
The Life of an Initiate: Buddha and Christ 91
CHAPTER 6
The Evidence of the Gospels 101
Parables and Signs 102
The Mysteries and the Jews 106
Jesus and the Preaching of the Kingdom 107
CHAPTER 7
The “Miracle” of Lazarus 110
CHAPTER 8
The Apocalypse of John 123
The Seven Letters 123
The Son of Man 127
The Book with Seven Seals 130
The Seven Trumpets 133
666: The Beast and the Abyss 136
The Mystery-Temple 137
CHAPTER 9
Jesus in His Historical Setting 140
CHAPTER 10
The Essence of Christianity 144
From the Mysteries to Christianity 144
The Gnostic Crisis 147
The Esoteric Tradition 149
Introduction vii
CHAPTER 11
Christian and Pagan Wisdom 153
Philo Judaeus: The Mystery of the Logos 153
Plotinus and Neoplatonism 158
Mysticism and Fact 160
CHAPTER 12
Augustine and the Church 162
APPENDIX
Original Prefaces and Additional Materials 171
Foreword to the First Edition (1902) 172
Foreword to the Second Edition (1910) 176
Points of View 179
Additional Remarks (1910) by Rudolf Steiner 185
AFTERWORD by Michael Debus 189
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES 211
FURTHER READING 233
INDEX 235
viii CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT
Introduction ix
INTRODUCTION
Christianity As Mystical Fact was a significant book in
Rudolf Steiner’s biography, being the first in which the
well-known philosopher of freedom and Goethe scholar
came forward with an interpretation of Christian begin-
nings and of the continuing relevance of Christianity to
modern life—an interpretation he continued to develop
and deepen over the next twenty-five years.1 But it was
even more significant for raising issues that have domi-
nated the whole discussion of Christianity in the remain-
der of our century. It was among the first books to
confront the crisis of the evidence about Christianity that
had been uncovered by the biblical criticism of the last
century, and even more the questioning of the uniqueness
1. Important landmarks in the development of his ideas are in partic-
ular his lectures on the Gospels:The Gospel of St. John(two cycles,
1908–1909), Anthroposophic Press, Hudson, NY, 1962;The Gospel
of St. Luke (1909), Anthroposophic Press, 1988; The Gospel of St.
Matthew (1910), Anthroposophic Press, 1985; andThe Gospel of St.
Mark (1910–1911), Anthroposophic Press, 1986; alsoFrom Jesus to
Christ (1911), Rudolf Steiner Press, London, 1991;Building Stones
for an Understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha (1917), Rudolf
Steiner Press, 1985. See also the bibliographical suggestions at the
end of this book.