The Rudolf Steiner Archive

99. From Jesus to Christ

[ 1 ] “From Jesus to Christ”—that was the topic on which Dr. Rudolf Steiner from Berlin spoke on Friday evening in the auditorium at Georgsplatz. The speaker proceeded from the premise that spiritual science should be understood in the same way as natural science, and that, like the latter, it must be based on facts. In order to create the necessary instrument for experiencing facts in the spiritual realm, the spiritual researcher must develop the soul organs that enable him to experience the spiritual world. And the first thing the spiritual researcher encounters on his path into the spiritual world is “the experience of Christ.” This had not been possible in pre-Christian times, since this possibility arose only with the life of Christ on this earth. The speaker illustrated the great significance this event on Earth had for human development by drawing a comparison with the development of the individual human being, who, up until about the age of 35, shapes his or her life in an upward trajectory based on the predispositions brought with him or her at birth, but is then, in a sense, guided by the culture brought to him or her from the outside. And just as a person reaches the middle of their life around the age of 35, so too had all of humanity reached the middle of its development during the Greco-Roman period. Here, too, a new impulse for humanity’s spiritual ascent would have had to be provided from outside; otherwise, the possibility of humanity’s normal further development would have been ruled out. The event on Golgotha provided this impulse. Just as culture enriches the human soul after the age of 35, so too did the great event at the turning point in human development—the Christ event—give humanity the opportunity to experience the spiritual world in full consciousness. At the conclusion of his two-hour, fascinating lecture, the speaker received a warm round of applause.

[ 2 ] From Jesus to Christ. Lecture by Dr. Rudolf Steiner at the Anthroposophical Society. On Friday evening, Dr. Rudolf Steiner spoke on the above topic in the auditorium before a large audience. The speaker first emphasized the nature of spiritual research in order to prepare his listeners to understand the aforementioned topic and to explain the relationships between its various aspects. The starting points—the general principles of spiritual research—begin where the findings of natural science stand today. The seeds of spiritual research are already present in the findings of natural science. Spiritual research goes beyond sensory perception. One might call spiritual research, so to speak, “spiritual chemistry.” It is not possible using ordinary faculties. The spiritual researcher requires attention and complete devotion to the object he has arbitrarily placed at the center of his practice. In this way, he can experience himself with his soul outside the body. The spiritual researcher recognizes the things that are based on the connection between soul and body. Among these things is also the theme: From Jesus to Christ. Suppose humanity had never learned of the event on Golgotha; then the spiritual researcher would still have the history of human development to explore. He must investigate which higher forces intervene to advance humanity. Natural science merely establishes how human beings have walked the earth and what physical transformations have taken place. It is spiritual science that investigates the spiritual transformation. This reveals a great difference between the soul’s experience today and that of the past. The spiritual researcher’s perspective broadens to encompass other worlds, in which, through the rebirth of the spirit, the soul undergoes repeated earthly lives. Lessing had already advocated this in his The Education of the Human Race. Thus, the spiritual researcher recognizes a pivotal point in spiritual life around the time Jesus lived. He recognizes Christ as present in the world. He can perceive Him with his own powers as a result of his spiritual and soul training. The ancient spiritual researchers before the birth of Christ first had to enter the spiritual world where Christ was in order to find Him. This fact shows that the human soul has undergone a development. Since Golgotha, the soul has been able to enter into a conscious relationship with Christ.