What Christianity needs now is anthroposophy

 

Rudolf Steiner, Dornach, Switzerland

July 11, 1920

Today, following on from yesterday's reflections, I would like to say a few words that may serve to summarize some of the things that have been said over time, in order to give a kind of summary explanation of the Mystery of Golgotha. Of course, when speaking about this central point of human life in modern times, one can only give something aphoristic, something episodic, so to speak, a section of all that we have to work through in abundance in order to understand this Mystery of Golgotha.

If one wants to understand the Mystery of Golgotha aright, then one must realize that the whole of the older mystery being, which preceded the Mystery of Golgotha, gradually petered out and had already dried up to a very great extent by the time the Mystery of Golgotha was to take place, that this ancient mystery being, in its very essence, pointed to this central event on earth, to this Mystery of Golgotha. If one allows oneself to be properly affected by what I have tried to present in my book “Christianity as a Mystical Fact”, one will find that in the symbolic-ritual mode of presentation, which was practised in the old mysteries, the most diverse secrets of the world were enacted with dramatic power before the neophyte, before the one to be initiated. But at the center of all the rites and symbolism practiced in the mysteries to deepen human knowledge was the secret of the human being dying within the body, who, so to speak, anticipates death, who dies to everything that he can live if he only orients himself towards the sensory world, and who then, out of an inner soul strength, awakens to a higher life precisely through this passing through dying, through this experience of dying.

The way in which this was presented in the mysteries, in order to stimulate people's inner experience, was very similar to what later actually took place in Palestine as the Mystery of Golgotha. And one could say: at the center of earthly evolution stands the cross raised on Golgotha. There humanity can look and see the Christ going through death, but in an image that has directly spoken an eternal language to the neophytes, to those to be initiated. This Mystery of Golgotha was anticipated in the ancient mysteries, so that these ancient mysteries were in a sense a preparation for the Mystery of Golgotha itself. In a certain sense, it is cosmic, and can take place individually in a single human being.

What takes place in a single human being when they truly undergo the experience of initiation? That which is born with them, which carries the inherited qualities, which can be cultivated in the ordinary sense of the word through ordinary education, descends into the unconscious. It dies away, becomes paralyzed, and out of the depths of the soul arises the higher self of man, the self that does not belong to this physical world, but which is called to carry out a mission in this physical world. What takes place in the inner being of man is an individual process, a resurrection of the better, the higher self of man. Before that, he does not have this higher self in his consciousness. If we now extend this process to the whole earth, if we think of the whole earth as a kind of living being, of conscious living being, as it actually is in reality, then we have to say: Up to the Mystery of Golgotha in the course of the historical development of mankind did not have its higher self, for this higher self did not move into the earth with that which developed out of the earth, and thus did not live in the old pagan wisdom, nor in Jewish wisdom either. It did not live with the earth at all. And now this higher self of the Earth dwelled in the man Jesus of Nazareth, as we know, through the baptism of St. John at the Jordan, and since the fulfillment of the Mystery of Golgotha, it has been an effective impulse in earthly life. Through this, earthly life has attained its higher self. Thus one can say: Microcosmically, a certain special inner process takes place in every human being who only strives for and wants it; macrocosmically, the same process is given for the earth through the Mystery of Golgotha. What the microcosmic awakening of the higher self is in man, the Mystery of Golgotha is macrocosmically. But this already implies that the Christ-being, which dwelt in the man Jesus of Nazareth, was not on earth before, but descended from spiritual, from cosmic heights and united with the earth evolution.

But something else is also given. It is given that in order to comprehend the Mystery of Golgotha, a different knowledge is needed, a different realization than that which man gains from the contemplation of external nature, which man receives by looking around in ordinary life. A transformation of man is necessary. And the transformed man can then attain a kind of knowledge through which he comprehends the Mystery of Golgotha. This Mystery of Golgotha stands as a fact of world history, but one must always distinguish between this fact, which stands there in the course of the historical becoming of humanity, and between the comprehension of this fact, what concepts a person can muster to understand this fact, this Mystery of Golgotha. When the Mystery of Golgotha occurred, the ancient mystery wisdom had, in a sense, already faded away. But remnants of it still existed. And those who still possessed such remnants, who still had tradition or even inner vision and could communicate the results of this inner vision to other people, were called upon to contribute something to the understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha. In other words, the ancient mystery wisdom was used to understand the Mystery of Golgotha. On the one hand, there is the fact, the Mystery of Golgotha, and on the other hand, there is what people tried to do to understand this Mystery of Golgotha.

Lest I be misunderstood, I would like to add here again: It is not necessary to be clairvoyant to comprehend the Mystery of Golgotha; but it is necessary to understand the results obtained through clairvoyance with the help of common sense, and thereby to gain in one's soul concepts, perceptions, ideas that go beyond the world of the senses and embrace the supersensible world as well. Just as one does not need to be a spiritual researcher oneself in order to grasp the Mystery of Golgotha, but one needs to take in what comes from spiritual insight in order to understand the Mystery of Golgotha with the help of these concepts, which are meaningless in the face of the mere sensual world, in the same way an understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha could be taken in from the ancient mystery wisdom. That which was originally mystery wisdom was used in the first centuries of Christianity to understand the Mystery of Golgotha. And finally, nothing but mystery wisdom flowed into the Gospels. This is what I have just tried to present in my book 'Christianity as a Mystical Fact'. In a sense, the Gospels were the ancient mystery wisdom applied to the mystery of Golgotha. The best concepts, ideas and inner soul experiences that people had were collected in an attempt to understand this mystery of Golgotha in the right way.

That was in the first centuries of Christianity. But this mystery wisdom has since been completely lost. If it is presented to people today and they are appealed to their common sense, they can no longer understand anything of this mystery wisdom. It speaks in a language that is no longer accessible to the present human being. One only gradually comes to an understanding of the traditions from the mystery wisdom that have been preserved when one recognizes the same field again through newer spiritual science, which was present in atavistic recognition as ancient mystery wisdom. This newer spiritual science can be thoroughly understood by the healthy human mind, but not the old mystery wisdom, which can only be understood when one has worked one's way into the results of the newer spiritual insight. And so it came about that as people lost more and more touch with the ancient mystery wisdom, they also lost the means to comprehend the Mystery of Golgotha. The mystery wisdom dried up, and the Mystery of Golgotha could no longer be grasped.

We see this in a large part of contemporary theology. This theology wants to understand the mystery of Golgotha from the same source of knowledge from which, for example, natural science is built today. We have often said here that people are increasingly pushing for the impossible, trying to completely obliterate the Christ and only understand Jesus of Nazareth, or, as one of these theologians says, the “simple man from Nazareth”. Christ has been lost to theology because, from the point of view of external sensual science, Christ in Jesus simply cannot be understood. The old supersensible science, the heritage of the mysteries, has been lost to man. Even in the centuries before the Mystery of Golgotha, the last great mysteries, such as those in France, were destroyed by the invading Romanism, which is the embodiment of matter-of-factness everywhere. In the last century before the emergence of Christianity, the ancient Druid mysteries were destroyed by Roman troops at a certain site in France. Hundreds and hundreds of initiates were transported from life to death in a few days. One can say that it was an inquisition long before the Catholic Inquisition. And if only history were not a fable convenue, we would know of other things than are usually told about the Roman Caesar, for example, we would know of his persecution of the ancient mystery ways, and we would see in him one of those who set themselves the task of rooting out whatever mystery inheritance had come into the time. Nevertheless, echoes of the old mystery wisdom always remained, even into the Middle Ages and up to the 18th century, and with the help of this old mystery wisdom one could still understand the Mystery of Golgotha in a certain way. The impossibility of understanding the Mystery of Golgotha only arose in the 19th century. And in the 19th century we actually see the modern “theology develop in such a way that more and more the concept of Christ is lost, that fewer and fewer people understand something of the actual essence of the Mystery of Golgotha, namely those people who make an effort to really understand something, who do not accept things at the dictation of an external church.

What, then, can it actually be when we consider the science of initiation in the present day in relation to the Mystery of Golgotha? It can only be that mystery wisdom be found again, so that through this new mystery wisdom the Mystery of Golgotha can once more be understood by people. It is really so: if evolution were to continue in the same way as it has led to Western natural science, to Galileism, to Copernicanism, then the Mystery of Golgotha would completely disappear from the increasingly barbaric life of the West. This is what should be taken most seriously in the present day. If the official ideal of knowledge as it is held today were to become generally accepted, we would have a situation in the West in which, relatively soon, there would be a civilization — if one could still call it that — that one would actually have to call barbarism, that no longer knows anything, that no longer speaks of the Mystery of Golgotha. It could be that within this barbarism, the cult of the Roman Catholic Church, for example, would have been preserved by external means of power. But those who think would no longer associate any meaning with the actions that take place there. They would perceive them as external things, as the ceremonies that the ancient Germans performed in relation to their Odin and so on were perceived as external things in a certain period. That would rob the evolution of the earth of its meaning, for this evolution of the earth can only have its meaning through the effect of the Mystery of Golgotha.

I would like to express this as I have often done. Let us assume that a Martian came down to this earth who had not experienced anything of the earth, because among the Martians nothing would have been experienced of the earth's conditions, and he would see everything that is present on the earth here. He would find it quite incomprehensible. But at the moment when he would see a reproduction of Leonardo's 'Last Supper' and contemplate what is depicted there, he would be able to connect it with life on earth. I often wish to mention this because in this picture, in a particularly expressive representation, everything that belongs to the Mystery of Golgotha is in fact of universal significance, of such significance that by correctly understanding it, one grasps the meaning of life on earth. But first one needs the concepts, the ideas, in order to understand that which is fact. These concepts and ideas are lacking in today's external education. They must be known again. They must live again from within people; and they have disappeared in such a way that we should not long for a renaissance of old ideas today. That would not help today's humanity. We do not need a renaissance, we need a naissance, we need a complete rebirth of spiritual life, not a revival of the old, but a birth of a new one we need.

In contrast to this, anthroposophically oriented spiritual science, as it is meant here, can refer to its actual foundations. What then is the basis of this anthroposophically oriented spiritual science? Let us look at the world around us. We see it developing in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. In recent times, natural science has produced a great deal about what takes place in the development of the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms. It will continue to produce much that sheds light on the evolution of the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. These natural sciences have not produced anything special about the human being. For if you really delve into what natural science has produced about man from a description of his anatomy, his physiology and so on, you will find that this natural science actually only considers what makes man appear as the final link in the animal series. As a natural science, it is quite right, but it only considers what makes man appear as the highest link in the animal series, as it were, as the most perfect animal. But natural science does not consider anything that actually makes man appear to us as man, that sets him apart from the other kingdoms of the universe that surround him. Our spiritual science is truly concerned, not in an amateurish way, but in a conscientious and searching way, with a deepening of what natural science has to say about the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal. And if people today would only listen to what anthroposophy has to say, they would not think that anthroposophy is a cult, that it is something cultivated by a few “aunts”. Rather, they would see that it is something quite different, that in terms of the rigour of science and research it can fully compete with the methods of natural science, and that what it produces is only richer than what external science gives.

Is it not actually laughable when natural science fights against anthroposophy? Anthroposophy does not take anything away from natural science. It stands before natural science and says: Yes, you are right in the field you are researching. It only adds what it then researches about the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. And who has the right to deny what they have not yet researched, if one does not dispute what they have researched! One cannot really imagine a stronger tyranny than that which is exercised over what one has not researched and does not want to research. But where does anthroposophically oriented spiritual science end up when it researches the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms in its method? It comes to realize that what can be found by the scientific method, by observing the external sense world, can certainly be applied to the knowledge of man, but only in such a way that it explains in concepts what is dying in man: how man dies, how he already begins to die when he is born, how he is in descending development. If you want to understand the withering away of man that begins at birth, and that comes to an end in a single moment at death; if you want to study this entire descending development, then look at nature, then research all the laws of nature. And when you have investigated all the laws of nature and apply them to man, then you get the dying laws of man, then you get that which dies (knows) in man.

Now, on the other hand, it must be said that at the moment of birth, not only is there a dying away, but also an ascending (red). You cannot find this ascending development through today's scientific observation, however much you may have shaped it into an ideal. That which is being revived in the human being, which is always there alongside this dying away, cannot be grasped from the sensory; it can only be grasped from the supersensible. Anthroposophy must add the knowledge of the supersensible to the sensory so that the human being can be understood at all. You can see from this that if you want to get to know man at all, you have to appeal to the science of the supersensible. You only get the human being as a mortal being when you look at the sensual. The Christian religions, which have never been concerned with real knowledge, saw the rise of natural science, which deals with mortal man; so, as I already indicated yesterday, they deal with the immortal, with that which does not die, and place it before the soul egoism of man.

The matter is different when one deals with what an ascent, an evolution is, with what becomes and becomes and becomes more and more from the birth of man and what reaches its culmination on earth when man passes through the gate of death. Since one must appeal, because one must appeal, not to feeling, not to faith, but to knowledge, one must speak of the Unborn, of the Unbirth, a word of which I have often said that it must gradually enter our vocabulary. Just as with the word “immortal,” so too the word “unborn” must enter into the vocabulary of modern people, for we are no more born in relation to our higher being than we are dying in relation to this higher being. But the traditional religions were only concerned with what is sensory science. They negate death with a mere word, with mere hopes and with mere faith. They do not point to what can be spiritually recognized; they condemn what can be spiritually recognized through supersensible methods and research.

This is essentially a characteristic of what we call here anthroposophically oriented spiritual science. It is essentially dependent on ascending to the supersensible. But by ascending to the supersensible, it brings to humanity something that is akin in essence to the ancient mystery wisdom, which can therefore lead again to an understanding of the mystery of Golgotha. Therefore, in the context of the whole course of development of the present day, we are dependent on seeking anthroposophically oriented spiritual science in order not to let the insights of the Mystery of Golgotha disappear altogether.

No matter how much what is done today at our universities as natural science approaches its ideals, it cannot stop the disappearance of the Mystery of Golgotha. No matter how much that which is developing as history approaches its ideal, it cannot stop the disappearance of the mystery of Golgotha. And one can actually say that for the one who looks into what prevails in our public education today, it is quite clear: everything tends to make the understanding of the mystery of Golgotha disappear. The traditional religions will never be able to stop this disappearance, because they only preserve the empty words of that which once had a meaning, but which can no longer make sense to the human mind unless it is rediscovered through consciously applied spiritual research. From this you can see how intimately connected the progress of understanding the Mystery of Golgotha is with the evolution of true spiritual knowledge. Such things would not be said if they did not impose themselves as something that must necessarily be grasped by the present. If one were to develop this spiritual science only out of subjective curiosity about the supersensible, one would feel far too modest to say that the progress and understanding of Christianity depends on the advancement of this anthroposophically oriented spiritual science. It is only because this fact is so absolutely compelling, because one cannot escape it if one has a real sense of what is happening, that one speaks it out and is not afraid of being accused of immodesty and perhaps fantasy by those people who do not want to look at the seriousness of the times.

Today the times are so serious that one cannot but knock at the door of the deepest truth, behind which lie those truths that humanity needs today. Western civilization, with its American offshoot, will degenerate into barbarism if the understanding of Christ is not preserved. But as humanity has done it, and as it is still minded to continue it today, the understanding of Christ will disappear. Only in those who today realize that it is necessary to arrive at a new understanding of the spirit, at a new path in the knowledge of the supersensible, only in them is there a true, earnest and strong will to preserve the understanding of the Christ Mystery for humanity. But there will be no social life, as it is understood today out of dull, often perverse instincts, if the understanding of Christ is completely lost. For this social life will only develop if people can live together in one mind. What can this commonality be? This commonality can only be what Paul already referred to with the words: “Not I, but the Christ in me.” As many people as will be able to say, “Not I, but the Christ in me”, will be able to come together as members of one humanity, without distinction of nationality or other differentiations, and establish a new social life.

We see that many people are striving towards this today. We see individual nations once again unfurling the flag of nationality, as it were. What is the essence of such a development? I have already characterized it here from certain points of view. The essence is the old religion of Yahweh. It consisted in Yahweh being the leader of the people, and indeed the one Yahweh was a leader of the Jewish people. Today, when nations put their nationality first, they all come only to the Yahweh, only each has its own form of Yahweh. It cannot be the true Jahve, but only a mirror image. A figure can be mirrored many times. Actually, it is the case that people in the present, because they have lost the old mystery wisdom that could point to the mystery of Golgotha, have all more or less accepted the Jahve religion under the leadership of the liberal-secular “chief rabbi” Wilson! He who spoke of the mirage of the “League of Nations,” that is, of an abstraction in place of the concrete Christ impulse that runs through human minds, has found faith, until he destroyed it, through his own behavior, admittedly very soon, among those who are still able to think a little.

What matters is that people find their way out of Jahvistic nationalism and towards a universal grasp of Christ, towards that which reveals man only as man, but does not impoverish him in relation to nationality, but rather enriches him. This is only possible if we first pave the way to an understanding of the supersensible. Only when we have the ideas and concepts that lead into the supersensible can we also understand the mystery of Golgotha, which is an event that has to do with the supersensible, not with the sensual world. What has taken place in the sensual world from the mystery of Golgotha is only the outer reflection. What really happened is not grasped by anyone who only grasps the outer reflection; it is only grasped by someone who can raise his thoughts, his ideas, into the supersensible world. What does one grasp then, if one does not want to raise oneself to the supersensible in the newer way?

If we imagine the beginning of the earth here (see drawing), then we grasp that if we only elevate ourselves to what is the content of natural science today, that which was once the wisdom of the ancient mysteries, then descends, and which will have reached its nadir in the third millennium (O). No matter how much natural science we pursue, in the West we are barbarians and in the 3rd millennium we will also be barbarians in America. We then only grasp that which dies in earthly life, and we only live that which dies in earthly life. We then try to derive everything from the observation of the earthly, but we only come to the mortal. We need to grasp the point where the cross is raised on Golgotha and to comprehend what happened there, what was still grasped by the remnants of the old mystery wisdom, but which gradually faded, which is now already dark, and which must now be illuminated (blue) by what arises on the new, on the anthroposophical path as a path into the supersensible. The rescue, the understanding of the event of Golgotha, is closely related, as it were, to the anthroposophical deepening of humanity, to a new real knowledge of the essence of man. Hence the name anthroposophy, which means: wisdom that arises when man finds himself in his higher self.

You can't really find a more concise name than “anthroposophy” if you want to describe knowledge that is not about humans, like ordinary history, anthropology or the like. But if we want to point to what is known in man: when man does not see through his eyes or hear through his ears, but wants to recognize through his soul and spirit, when we want to point to what the higher man can know, then it must be called not “science of man” but “science of man”, as the science of the higher man, as anthroposophy. And anthroposophy transposed into the macrocosm is Christology! What happens to the individual human being when he proves suitable to absorb anthroposophical knowledge, happens to universal humanity when it increasingly decides to grasp the event of Golgotha in its true spiritual essence. Is it not, on the other hand, most peculiar that those who most violently oppose this clear confession of the Mystery of Golgotha are precisely those who claim to officially interpret the Mystery of Golgotha for humanity? But this fact exists and must be faced. We must look at it, we must not close our eyes to it, but by opening our eyes to it, we must get ideas about how to approach a truly honest advancement of Christianity. However, I still hear the words that a famous church prince, Cardinal Rauscher, once spoke in the Austrian House of Lords in the 1860s: “The Church knows no progress!” This basically states the Church's program, the program that I was able to give you a rough idea of yesterday. I believe that those who deal with such things as the emergence of new spiritual ideas, even those who deal with anthroposophically oriented spiritual science, take far too little account of what it actually means when the traditional religious denominations rise up against something that can only found the progress of Christianity. Unfortunately, it is far too little known that, for example, an author of every such Catholic book, even if it is about philosophy and logic, has to get the imprimatur of the archbishop! And if you know it, you take it as a randomly picked fact and are not at all aware of the implications of it. Therefore, one does not judge in the right way what is now running up against the anthroposophically oriented spiritual science that has been inaugurated from here. And that is why I am obliged to refer you again and again to what the enemies of the truth, the enemies of the truth to be striven for today, repeatedly and repeatedly put forward.

Today I need only read you a small sample, but you will be able to have enough of this small sample if you have an appreciation of what is actually happening when, on the one hand, you hold in your heart what anthroposophically oriented spiritual science honestly wants in relation to Christianity, and on the other hand, you see how those who call themselves Christians encounter this spiritual science. Here is an announcement of the publication – it has appeared in a violet cover – which is a summary of the “Spectator” articles:

(Sent in.) “The secret of Dornach.” “After six years of existence, 'The Mystery of Dornach' is now finally being uncovered more and more thoroughly by a number of Catholic newspapers: first by the Basellandschaftliche Sonntagsblatt, then recently by the Protestant Schulblatt and the Catholic Schweizerschule, and today by a series of articles in the 'Schweizerisches Protestantenblatt' under the title 'Theo- und Anthroposophie'. This is how esu explains, among other things:...” You really can't read all this anymore, you can't get it all anymore, what is being brought up by the other side! “It was only a few years ago, in 1914, that an anthroposophical branch broke away from the Theosophical Society in Basel, whose head and representative is Dr. Rudolf Steiner, who built a theosophical place of worship and a theosophical or anthroposophical university for mystics and adepts in Dornach at a cost of several million. This new foundation is called the “Secret Order of the Star in the East”, also the Goetheanum, formerly the Johanneum. Dr. Steiner has published numerous writings about this sect, and in Basel he occasionally gives propaganda lectures that are well attended (so far), as well as in various cities in Switzerland, Germany, Russia and Austria.

This sample is again from a strictly Catholic newspaper, the “Basler Volksblatt”! You see, things are sent out into the world that lie in such a frivolous way that they are capable of presenting as the signature of Dornach that which I have fought against from the very beginning – the “Star of the East”. So they lie in the most frivolous way, by attributing to us what we have fought from the very beginning as nonsense, as frivolity. This is “Catholic truthfulness” here in the area, because it seems that it is seen as Catholic truthfulness, because at the same time you will find a report about the Dorneck-Thierstein militia. It says:

"From the area. Dorneck-Thierstein Shield Force (introductory) The general assembly of the Dorneck-Thierstein Shield Force, which met in Grellingen on June 27, 1920, had now proven that all the pessimistic ‘ifs and buts’ that had been held against it in the past were not yet in place in our Schwarzbubenland. What a joyful surprise went through the hall when the Reverend Mr. Pfarrer and editor M. Arnet...». Dr. Boos has called him a liar and a spiritual poisoner here. I do not know whether anything has been done on that side in response to this statement by Dr. Boos – from here, from this place – which happened some time ago. Has anything been done? (Interjection from Dr. Boos: No, nothing!) So nothing has been done yet, even though Father Arnet von Reinach was called a liar and a poisoner of minds from this very spot. And now: “What a joyful surprise went through the hall when the Reverend Mr. Pfarrer and editor M. Arnet from Reinach and the Reverend Mr. Pfarrer Hauß from Münchenstein stepped into our midst with a small group of guards. The enthusiasm was even greater when Father Gallus Jecker, Superior of the Mariastein Monastery, appeared in the simple Benedictine robe,” and so on, and now comes the following: ”Reverend Father Arnet of Reinach was given the floor for his presentation. In short and pithy sentences, as a true sentinel, he outlined the main features of the storms that the Catholic But time and again, enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, men arose to take up the fight against falsehood and unbelief, so that in the end the Catholic Church always achieved the final victory.

So here is the “fight against falsehood” taken up in the most frivolous way, with lies told about the opposite of what is fact! Then one speaks in such phrases: “After the speaker had briefly discussed the Theosophical question, he pointed out mainly that our Catholic people should study more Catholic reading instead of novels of all kinds.” Then it goes even further: “Reverend Mr. Pfarrer Hauß spoke with convincing sharpness on the basis of examples about the necessity of the shield defense groups. Fr. Gallus O.S.B. warmly and ideally welcomed the awakening of the Catholic youth. Every village should have a protective forest of enthusiastic Catholics, young and old, to protect the village and the community from these terrible avalanches of unbelief. Regarding theosophy, Rumpel pointed to the Catholic conference of north-west Switzerland in Dornach. He was of the opinion that this day would be particularly suitable for founding the anti-theosophical movement, which is developing not only on the Catholic but also on the Protestant side, so that the entire Christian-minded Swiss population can be effectively influenced in the near future. The agitation center in Dornach must be fought at all costs. The main points of the annual program of the Dorneck-Thierstein shield-bearers are briefly mentioned: “Promotion of the Catholic press” – this Catholic press, which delivers such samples! – “through individual work in the communities, mainly at the turn of the quarter. Strong support for the fight against Steiner's ‘theosophy’, fight against materialism, the Jewish domination of the press and literature, socialism and liberalism. Promotion of the missionary work. Support for the Catholic school issue (choice of Catholic teachers, etc.). Fight against civic education. Elimination of fire brigade rehearsals on Sundays” and so on.

You see what is called ‘truth’ here! But the matter is hidden in all sorts of masks. At the same time, here you will find a report from Arlesheim about some kind of meeting where it says: “It [the school and community center] can also continue to serve cultural purposes in a different way, by housing Arlesheim's two largest public libraries, those of the Verkehrsverein and the Catholic Volksverein. Finally, it also wants to help alleviate the housing shortage and provide more accommodation than before. Did they dream that the increase in accommodation would one day give way to a “mysterious” foreign infiltration from the Dornach hill? The citizens and residents of Arlesheim will therefore see things clearly at the next municipal assembly, as they once did when refusing a certain building subsidy to the Anthroposophists and so on.

Now, basically, by citing such examples, one only describes the “truthfulness” of a large part of contemporary humanity, because ultimately these are the leaders, and the led are sometimes not so much better than the leaders. They are usually much better when the leaders are like that. But since they still want to be led, even if they are better, nothing special can come of it.

Unfortunately, it always has to be against one's own will that such things are mentioned here. But it must always be stated on the one hand what anthroposophically oriented spiritual science wants and should do, especially in the face of the mystery of Golgotha, and on the other hand, what is running against it. And there is a great deal of opposition, and what can be mentioned here is only some of the worst of it. All the more reason for us to take what we have grasped of the anthroposophical impulses and absorb it into our hearts and our will. For it depends on whether people decide to seek the path to the spirit again whether or not there will be a Christianity in the future. Christianity must be based on the words of Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Only in truth can one find wisdom – that was the motto we wrote when we tried to have “principles” printed for the Anthroposophical Society. But can contemporaries who speak untruth in this way in any way invoke Christ Jesus, who was certainly not the error, untruth and death! Let us understand in the right way what the Christ-word is: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Therefore, let us take up the sense for truth in our hearts, in our minds. Only in this way will we find the possibility of promoting and cultivating a right further development of Christianity. Untruth will certainly not be able to do that.

Source: The Rudolf Steiner Archive  July 11, 1920