Christianity as Mystical Fact, and the Mysteries of AntiquitySteiner, Rudolf
Religion
Christianity as Mystical Fact, and the Mysteries of Antiquity
Steiner, Rudolf
Anthroposophy; Christianity and other religions; Mysteries, Religious; Mysticism
Heraclitus speaks vehemently against Homer and Hesiod, and the learned
men of his day. He wished to show up their way of thinking, which
clings to the transitory only. He did not desire gods endowed with
qualities taken from a perishable world, and he could not regard as a
supreme science, that science which investigates the growth and decay
of things. For him, the eternal speaks out of the perishable, and for
this eternal he has a profound symbol. "The harmony of the world
returns upon itself, like that of the lyre and the bow." What depths
are hidden in this image! By the pressing asunder of forces, and again
by the harmonising of these divergent forces, unity is attained. How
one sound contradicts another, and yet, together, they produce
harmony. If we apply this to the Spiritual world, we have the thought
of Heraclitus, "Immortals are mortal, mortals immortal, living the
death of mortals, dying the life of the Immortals."
It is man's original fault to direct his cognition to the transitory.
Thereby he turns away from the eternal, and life becomes a danger to
him. What happens to him, comes to him through life, but its events
lose their sting if he ceases to set unconditioned value on life. In
that case his innocence is restored to him. It is as though he were
from the so-called seriousness of life able to return to his
childhood. The adult takes many things seriously with which a child
merely plays, but one who really knows, becomes like a child.
"Serious" values lose their value, looked at from the standpoint of
eternity. Life then seems like a play. On this account does Heraclitus
say, "Eternity is a child at play, it is the reign of a child." Where
does the original fault lie? In taking with the utmost seriousness
what does not deserve to be so taken. God has poured Himself into the
universe of things. If we take these things and leave God unheeded,
we take them in earnest as "the tombs of God." We should play with
them like a child, and should earnestly strive to awaken forth from
them God, who sleeps spellbound within them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account