Catholic Faith and Anthroposophical Knowing

The death of the Pope has prompted me once again to ask myself: what actually is the difference between Catholic faith and anthroposophy? When I put it like that, then of course the first difference is that anthroposophy is not a faith and also not a religion. So what is the point, really, of comparing them? I also do not want to compare them, but of course there are many people who originally were in the Catholic Church, perhaps also simply remain in it, do not have themselves removed from its records, and then nevertheless find anthroposophy and prefer that. And then the question arises: what actually is the difference? I believe that in the time of Rudolf Steiner, anthroposophy was forbidden for Catholics. I do not know how far that went, but it was not permitted to feel oneself Catholic and at the same time to be an anthroposophist. That must surely sometimes have been the case, but officially anthroposophy, of course, was not considered something divine, people thought. The great, greatest difference is that in anthroposophy the knowing of karma and reincarnation has come. And that is still entirely rejected by the Christian churches. Although in the New Testament there are indeed passages where one actually must read that the idea was alive at the time. For there is the passage where John the Baptist, when asked whether he was Elijah, says: no, I am not. How could he be Elijah, if there were no reincarnation? That will undoubtedly be answerable by theologians, what that then is supposed to mean. But one can also of course read it in such a way that the question was: are you the reincarnated Elijah?

The Pope and Francis

On Easter Monday, the Pope died. I found it an interesting remark by Putin who said: I don’t know how it is with the Catholics, but with us it is such that when someone dies at Easter, that is a sign that it was a significant life. I then thought of Toon Hermans who died on Good Friday. That undoubtedly is also a sign. So I wanted to dedicate this video to, yes I don’t want to say the Pope, but to that which is also evoked by his death. Because it is, of course, no matter how you look at it, the death of a world leader. And that gave me reason to reflect again on: how do you actually relate to it, to the existence and meaning of the Pope.

The Rose Cross

‘He already sees himself close before the silent place, which fills his spirit with peace and hope. And on the arch of the closed gate, he beholds a mysterious image. He stands and contemplates and whispers soft words of devotion that well up in his heart. He stands and contemplates. What does that mean? The sun sings and the ringing fades away. He sees the sign magnificently erected, which stands as comfort and hope for the whole world, to which many thousands of spirits have pledged themselves, to which many thousands of hearts have fervently pleaded, which destroys the power of bitter death, which waves in many a victory banner. A refreshing spring penetrates the weary limbs. He sees the cross and casts his eyes downward. He newly feels what salvation has sprung forth there. He feels the faith of half a world. But he is penetrated by an entirely new meaning, as the image now appears before his eyes. There stands the cross, tightly entwined with roses. Who has added roses to the cross?’

Good Friday and Easter

Isn’t it remarkable that the Easter celebration—and, naturally, also Ascension and Pentecost, which are connected to it—are still determined, their timing, in connection with the cosmos? That is truly something extraordinary for the abstract mind. That it hasn’t already been said long ago: well, let’s do it like Christmas. Easter was, as primordial Easter, on the weekend of April 5. So, let’s just fix it there and do it that way every year. No, cosmic phenomena are taken into account. Namely, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. And that means that—we are, of course, accustomed to this—we cannot say, Easter is always on the weekend of April 5. Then you might also have to say, we won’t do the weekend, but we’ll fix the dates.

Rudolf Steiner, the Initiate

Now it is more than a week after the hundredth anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death.And what struck me – I haven’t watched that much, but I think you watch what you are meant to watch – what struck me is that there is a tendency – and I of course already knew this tendency, but it became very clear again – that there is a tendency to view Rudolf Steiner as a brilliant person. As someone who, at the beginning of the twentieth century, brought many new things, also many valuable things, that he was truly incredibly talented. But, yes, not an initiate by virtue of a holy soul. I didn’t really notice that anyone wants to represent that.

People want a Rudolf Steiner whom they can criticize, just like all the great scientists and philosophers and artists can be criticized.

Political Dementia

Yes, of course we can’t avoid talking about politics. Even though I’m actually not that interested in it, but you kind of have to. I’ve always found politics to be an exceptionally difficult field, I’ve said that before. Because you’re dealing with extremes, and even when you have a centrist party, that in itself is also still extreme. And you actually can’t, at least I can’t, find a party of which you say, well, that really represents most of what I also think. I suppose everyone has that, and of course people have very different views.But in our time it’s become very difficult to still take politics seriously. I remember the time of Van Agt and Den Uyl.

War in Europe?

Before Christmas, Rutte gave a speech stating that European countries should spend more money on defense, with a somewhat alarming message that war is looming. I don’t believe he said “directly,” but rather within a number of years. Around the same time or shortly after, reports emerged that everyone should have an emergency kit at home to survive a disaster for 72 hours. Those 72 hours seem rather arbitrary to me because if there really is a disaster, I’m not sure if that would be enough. But perhaps research has shown that if you can manage for 72 hours, you are usually saved. 

The Living Rudolf Steiner 100 Years after his Death

Today marks 100 years since Rudolf Steiner passed away, and there will likely be many events and commemorative activities. I want to contribute to this, but I would like to preface it with something. 

About 20 years ago, maybe a little less, I watched a film about Rudolf Steiner—it was a DVD. In this film, there was likely an effort to make Rudolf Steiner more widely known. And in it, there was an image that deeply moved me: a bookshelf with a portrait of Rudolf Steiner inside it. 

Yes, of course, that is something very ordinary, and one cannot expect him to appear himself, as he had already been dead for a long time. But there it was—his photo. And that made a profound impression on me. I suddenly felt: this is not right at all, because here, Rudolf Steiner is being remembered, but he is actually being treated as if he is dead. He passed away back then, and yes, we no longer have him. And of course, as anthroposophists, we know that he continues to live. But this photo showed something else. Rudolf Steiner is dead. He is no more. 

The Threefold Human Body

Last time, I spoke about the threefolding of the human being into body, soul, and spirit. In 1917, which is many years later, when the book Theosophy appeared, Rudolf Steiner published a writing in 1917 with the title Von Seelenrätseln. And in it, he comes with a, yes, actually more or less groundbreaking insight. It all seems very self-evident once one knows it. But one must imagine that at that time, in the period in which Rudolf Steiner lived, this was not at all something that was known. And actually, even now, it is still not, except that the anthroposophists now know it because Rudolf Steiner brought this insight. And so one might feel that it is something self-evident. 

The Intelligent Age

It escaped my notice until last week that there is now a new title, a new term, for what was previously called the Great Reset. There is a new one—yes, I think it is a working title—and that is the Intelligent Age. I find that an intelligent title, only I would like to give it a completely different meaning than the one usually associated with it. I imagine the title played a role at the meeting in Davos. Klaus Schwab wrote a book about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and if you know that book, then you know: it is mainly about digitalization and artificial intelligence and what all of that will bring about in this century.