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.