Growing old, Steiner, Rudolf

For many centuries, the teaching of Mani was hidden behind the distorted picture that had been created by the adversaries of Manichaeism in East and West. In the course of the twentieth century, new light was shed on Manichaeism by the discovery of several Manichaean scriptures. These have shown that Manichaeism was a true, distinct world religion that, in the question of good and evil, for instance, offers insights that complement and deepen Christianity.

Also in the twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner brought Anthro-posophy, Spiritual Science, which is a continuation of a stream of esoteric Christianity that has run through human history ever since the resurrection of Christ. Anthroposophy is centered on a new, deepened idea of Christianity that, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner, is so great and all-encompassing that it can be understood in its full depth only gradually.

In this book, Christine Gruwez explores the essence of Mani's revelation and then shows what Rudolf Steiner has communicated regarding Mani and his teaching. This generates an image of two spiritual streams that, each from its own beginning, are moving toward a future when a Christianity of the deed shall become reality.

C O N T E N T S:

Introduction

1. Mani and Manichaeism: The Historical Dimension

Manichaeism Rediscovered
Mani, the Apostle of Jesus Christ
Mani's Scriptures:
-- The Organization of a Manichaean Community
-- Liturgy and Prayer
-- The Message of Mani
-- The Creation Story
-- The Figure of Jesus

2. Rudolf Steiner and Manichaeism

Rudolf Steiner's approach to Manichaeism
Rudolf Steiner's Sources:
-- St. Augustine and Other Church Fathers
-- Standard Works in German
Rudolf Steiner and Manichaean Teaching
-- The Question of Dualism
-- Characteristics of Mani's Dualism
-- Mani's View of Matter
-- Rudolf Steiner on the "Spirit-Matter Principle" in Manichaeism
-- Rudolf Steiner on the Manichaean Cosmogony
-- The Manichaean Creation Myth and Its Rendering by Rudolf Steiner
-- Rudolf Steiner on Dualism and Manichaean Dualism
-- Rudolf Steiner and the Individuality of Mani
-- Rudolf Steiner and the Acta Archelai
-- A Second Version
-- The Son of a Widow
-- Mani and the Paraclete
-- Mani's Spiritual Stature and Rank

3. The Mission of Evil: Rudolf Steiner and the Mani Intention

Evil as Ill-Timed Good
Manichaeism and the Future of Christianity: Form and Life
The "I" as Double-Edged Sword
Initiation into the Mystery of Evil

4. Mani as Artist and the Significance of Art in Manichaeism

Mani, All-around Artist:
-- The Ritual Meal as Prototype of Manichaean Art
-- The Significance of the Picture
-- Rudolf Steiner on the Source of Art and Artistry
-- Conclusion

Epilogue: Anthroposophy and Manichaeism as Deed

Appendix 1: Manu and Mani
Appendix 2: The Manichaean View of Jesus and Christ

In these exciting lectures given in 1922, Rudolf Steiner explores the practical consequences of Christian theological spiritual facts as they unfold in human consciousness. Starting with the early Gnostic understanding of the Christ event from within, Steiner shows how medieval theology reached an exoteric view of the spiritual world. It was this view that, coupled with the rise of abstract intellectuality, led to the separation of faith and knowledge that denied humanity access to suprasensory worlds. Using examples from Dionsyius the Areopagite, John Scotus Eriugena, Paracelsus, and Goethe, Steiner then lays the foundations for a path to the suprasensory that would unite faith and knowledge, through the spirit, in a full trinitarian understanding of the human being and the cosmos.

Part two consists of lectures given in England that deepen our understanding of the Trinity as this may be known through the spirit. The first lecture deals in a remarkable way with practice and stages of meditation. On the basis of such meditation, Steiner shows how we can begin to understand the cosmic origin of the human being and the meaning of The Mystery of Golgotha for humanity and the cosmos. Above all, he stresses, meditation will allow us to realize the foundations of true knowledge: Ex deo nascimur (We are born of God); In Christo morimur (In Christ we die); Per spiritum sanctum reviscimus (Through the Holy Spirit we are reborn).

This work is a translation of lectures 1 to 4 and 8 to 11 of Das Geheimnis der Trinit t: Der Mensch und sein Verh ltnis zur Geisteswelt im Wandel der Zeiten (GA 214).

Today's schools fill children's heads with information instead of helping them develop their natural human faculties and capacities. They place too much stress on memory, leading to inner exhaustion instead of real learning for a healthy, fulfilling life.

The important lectures in this volume were given in Dornach, Switzerland, to leading educators, including many from England. As a result, he was invited to Oxford to expand on some ot the themes presented in these talks.

Steiner begins by placing Anthroposophy as the foundation for understanding the principles behind Waldorf education. In what follows, he describes an education based on the human as a continually developing being of body, soul, and spirit. From this perspective, Waldorf education depends on the teacher's ability to observe and respond to each stage of a child's development. Steiner shows how Waldorf education emphasizes the efficient use of children's inner energies and how children can be nurtured through their natural stages of development by giving them just what they need at the right time--an approach that Steiner calls "soul economy."

These detailed and accessible lectures give parents and teachers the keys to a much-needed renewal of education for our children and their future.

C O N T E N T S

Editor's Introduction
Introductory Note by Rudolf Steiner

1. The Three Phases of the Anthroposophic Movement (December 23, 1921)
2. Education Based on Knowledge of the Human Being, part 1 (December 24, 1921)
3. Education Based on Knowledge of the Human Being, part 2 (December 25, 1921)
4. Education Based on Knowledge of the Human Being, part 3 (December 26, 1921)
5. Health and Illness, part 1 (December 27, 1921)
6. Health and Illness, part 2 (December 28, 1921)
7. Children before the Seventh Year (December 29, 1921)
8. The Waldorf School (December 30, 1921)
9. Children from the Seventh to the Tenth Years (December 31, 1921)
10. Children in the Tenth Year (January 1, 1922)
11. Children from the Tenth to the Fourteenth Years, part 1 (January 2, 1922)
12. Children from the Tenth to the Fourteenth Years, part 2 (January 3, 1922)
13. Adolescents after the Fourteenth Year (January 4, 1922)
14. Esthetic Education (January 5, 1922)
15. Physical Education (January 6, 1922)
16. Religious & Moral Education (January 7, 1922)

Appendix: Questions & Answers
The Foundations of Waldorf Education
Rudolf Steiner's Lectures and Writings on Education
Index

German source: Erziehung und Unterricht aus Menschenwesens. Eine Einf hrung in die anthroposophische P dagogik und Didaktik. Weihnachtskurs f r Lehrer (GA 303).