The Rudolf Steiner Archive

71. On Life Between Death and Rebirth: The Apostle Paul and the Great Initiates

[ 1 ] Dr. Rudolf Steiner of Berlin, Secretary General of the German Section of the Theosophical Society, once again delivered two lectures on April 12 and 13 in the Prinzensaal of Café Luitpold, which were warmly received by the select audience. First, he spoke on “Life Between Death and Rebirth.” He elaborated on the theosophical teachings concerning life in the “afterlife”—that is, the soul’s gradual liberation from the desire for the sensory world, its progression from the realm of base desires through the realm of emotions to the realm of the spirit, and its “maturation” in the higher worlds of inner life. According to the mystics, the more a person seeks to free themselves from the sensory world during their lifetime and the more they develop their inner life, the easier their ascent into the higher world of the spirit will become. In the second lecture, the speaker addressed the topic “The Apostle Paul and the Great Initiates.” He sought to explain how the teachings of the great mystics are also reflected in Paul’s writings. From the Greek mysteries, Paul had come to know the idea of Chrestos and Logos—the substantial essence of the world and the creative force—which was to be brought to the initiate’s consciousness through the “die and become” of the mysteries, through the mystical death and resurrection. The experience on the road to Damascus then led him to believe that this Logos had appeared to all in the form of the spiritually resurrected Jesus of Nazareth and that its power flows abundantly to all who feel connected to Jesus through faith. The appearance of the Logos in Jesus and the confession of Christ thus constitute the essence of Christianity. In his mystical development, Paul had sensed the difference between observing the law out of duty and living an ethical life out of a higher inclination—a state that arises when Christ, the Logos, the reflection of the divine law, comes to life within a person, and when the person is elevated to a higher state in which he is free to govern himself. – Dr. Steiner repeatedly pointed out in his lectures—including on the occasion of the Schiller anniversary—the theosophical ideas found in our German classical authors, whose works he earnestly recommended reading.