Faith without understanding leads to materialism

  

Rudolf Steiner: 

In earlier times the etheric heart and the physical heart were more a single entity. Now the etheric heart can be excited to activity in an etheric way: the two are no longer so inwardly, dynamically bound together as they were before.

Later, still other human organs will loosen themselves from the etheric. But, with regard to human development as well, something very important results from the fact that the heart is gradually separating itself from its etheric part, and will have completely separated itself in the third millenium, about the year 2100. We can describe the characteristics of this by saying since the recent past, humanity must seek in the path of spiritual life something which in former times came about of its own accord as a result of the natural relationship between the physical heart and the etheric heart. This etheric heart, separated from the physical heart, will only gain its correct relationship to the spiritual world if man seeks spiritual knowledge, if man seeks anthroposophically oriented spiritual thoughts. These must be sought to an ever greater extent.

Now, something most remarkable is present in our time. How often is it said when reference is made to anthroposophical spiritual science: Yes, but this has a systematic interconnection, this is complicated, one must do a lot of thinking about it! Christianity, they say, makes all this much simpler: it has faith! But this faith, which does not want to soar up to real thoughts about the spiritual world, is extraordinarily dangerous just since the time of the separation of the etheric heart from the physical heart. For this faith, which does not want to gain a real understanding of the spiritual world, which really only wants to develop a simple relationship-in-feeling toward the spiritual world, is materializing the heart of mankind, is a means by which culture is being led into materialism in a sphere where one would not think that this would occur. It is just the religious people who are so dreadfully materialistic in our time, because they lean on mere faith. Faith must be soaked through and spiritually permeated by real ideas about the spiritual world, and it is an Ahrimanic trick to impress this on people in the age of confusion — that they are not by any means to come to a real vision of the spiritual world, but are to remain stationary in mere faith.

Related post: Memories of Baylor University

Source: April 5, 1919. GA 190