Anarchosophy Revisited
From: Tarjei Straume
Date: Sun Feb 1, 2004 3:43 am
Subject: Anarchosophy Revisited
I have just discovered another anarchist Steiner
bomb in John's apocalypse. Before I get to that, I'll remind
you once more of my previous articles about this topic:
ANTHROPOS ANARCHOS
http://www.uncletaz.com/anthranark.html
WHY "PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM" BY RUDOLF
STEINER IS THE ANARCHIST BIBLE
http://www.uncletaz.com/steinerbomb.html
RUDOLF STEINER AND ANARCHISM
http://www.uncletaz.com/anththranarch.html
Related articles:
ORIGIN OF FREEDOM AND EVIL
http://www.uncletaz.com/origfreed.html
THE CHILDREN OF LUCIFER AND THE BROTHERS OF
CHRIST (Give me Liberty or give
me death.)
http://www.uncletaz.com/childlucifer.html
Six years ago, I took the liberty of coining
a more appropriate word for Rudolf Steiner's individualistic
anarchism: Anarchosophy.
"Until now, I have myself
always avoided using the words 'individualistic' or 'theoretical
anarchism' to describe my world view. Because I care very little
for such labels. But if I, to the extent it is possible to determine
such things, should say if the word 'individualistic anarchist'
can be applied to me, I would have to answer with an unequivocal
'yes'."
- Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kultur- und Zeitgeschichte 1887-1901,
GA 31, p. 261.
In order to demonstrate this individualistic
anarchism, or anarchosophy, in Rudolf Steiner's philosophy, I
have been focusing for the most part on the tenth chapter of
the PoF, where RS writes as follows:
"The moral laws which
the metaphysician who works by mere inference must regard as
issuing from a higher power, are, for the adherent of monism,
thoughts of men; for him the moral world order is neither the
imprint of a purely mechanical natural order, nor that of an
extra-human world order, but through and through the free creation
of men. It is not the will of some being outside him in the world
that man has to carry out, but his own; he puts into effect his
own resolves and intentions, not those of another being. Monism
does not see, behind man's actions, the purposes of a supreme
directorate, foreign to him and determining him according to
its will, but rather sees that men, in so far as they realize
their intuitive ideas, pursue only their own human ends. Moreover,
each individual pursues his own particular ends. For the world
of ideas comes to expression, not in a community of men, but
only in human individuals. What appears as the common goal of
a whole group of people is only the result of the separate acts
of will of its individual members, and in fact, usually of a
few outstanding ones who, as their authorities, are followed
by the others. Each one of us has it in him to be a free spirit,
just as every rose bud has in it a rose."
- Die Philosophie der Freiheit 1894, GA #4: kap. 10: Freiheitsphilosophie
und Monismus.
This anarchosophy also comes to expression
in "The Book of Revelation and the Work of the Priest"
(GA 346 ). First, let me quote a passage from the apocalypse
(in the KJV):
"And I saw heaven opened,
and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many
crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name
is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven
followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white
and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with
it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on
his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And
I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud
voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,
Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great
God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains,
and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of
them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and
bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings
of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war
against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And
the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received
the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These
both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon
the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the
fowls were filled with their flesh."
- Revelation 19: 11 - 21
No wonder biblical texts like this one awaken
murderous hawks and Religious Right conservatives, the fire-and-brimstone
people. It looks like heavenly fascism, doesn't it, especially
the bit about the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords"?
Think again. What Rudolf Steiner arrives at here is not heavenly
fascism, but its opposite: Divine anarchism, anarchosophy. Let's
first check out Steiner's understanding of "His eyes were
as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he
had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself." Here
is an excerpt from Lecture 10 in the apocalypse-priests cycle
(Dornach 14 September 1924, GA 346):
In older languages the self
was not specifically designated, for it was contained within
the verb. The 'I' was not directly mentioned. The verb was used
to show what one was doing, and this was what indicated that
one was speaking about oneself. It only came about in later times
that the human being gave his self a name, and in our German
language that name contains the initials of Jesus Christ, which
is an important symbolic fact. [Iesus Christus: I CH]
[Tarjei comments: In English, the name for
the self is the very vowel of Christ, and in French, it's the
first two letters in Jesus. The same may be the case in Danish-Norwegian
although a 'g' is added: "Jeg".]
Steiner continues:
If we take this fact of a
language having a name that each of us can only apply to himself,
and we further intensify this fact, we come to what is now said
in the Book of Revelation: The one who descends from the supersensible
world has a name written on him which he not only speaks solely
for himself but which only he and he alone can understand; noe
one else can comprehend it.
Think of the bringer of the
revelation going to John and showing him the prophetic picture
depicting what will one day come about for humanity, the picture
of the One who comes down in the future, the One who has the
name only he alone can understand. What can all this possibly
mean? It appears to be meaningless when you first make an honest
attempt at understanding it. Why does it say: '... he who is
to bring healing to the world, he who is to bring justice to
the world' as the Book of Revelation puts it (Rev. 19:11), 'he
who makes faith and knowledge true', as the Book puts it, not
what some translations say: 'he that was called faithful and
true'. This is like a game of hide and seek. And what does it
mean that he has a name written that only he understands? We
are encouraged by this to ask more probing questions.
Let us think of this quite
graphically: He bears a name that he alone understands. How can
we participate in this name? This name must gain some meaning
for us, it must be able to live in us. How can this come about?
When the being who understands this name becomes one with our
own self, enters into our own self, then within us this being
will understand the name and with him we shall understand it
too, for then with him in us we shall always be conscious of
'Christ in us'.
He alone understands the things
that are connected with his being, but it is in us that he understands
them; and the light that streams out in us through his understanding
- because in us, in our own being he becomes this light - this
gives the insight of the Christ-Being in our own self. It becomes
an indwelling insight, an insight that dwells within the human
being.
Something has now taken place.
First of all, what has taken place is a necessary and intended
consequence of the Mystery of Golgotha. This Being who has gone
through the Mystery of Golgotha, this Being who must enter into
us, so that we shall comprehend the world with his understanding,
not with our understanding, this Being wears a garment that is
sprinkled with the blood of Golgotha. So now we take this second
picture. John the apocalyptist tells us that this garment sprinkled
with the blood of golgotha also has a name. It is not the name
we were speaking of just now. The name of this garment sprinkled
with blood is the Logos of God, the Logos, the God, the Word
of God. (Rev. 19:13) The One, therefore, who is to dwell in us
and who through his own understanding within us is to give us
the light that comprehends the world, this One fills us with
the Word of God.
The pagan peoples used to
read the Word of God in the phenomena of nature. They had to
receive it through external revelations. Christians must receive
the creative Word of God by taking Christ into themselves. A
time will come when events will have proceeded to a stage when
all human beings who honestly take Christianity into their souls
will know that the Word of God is with Christ and that this Word
of God has its origin in our understanding of the Mystery of
Golgotha and of the garment sprinkled with blood. In the language
of the apocalyptist, Christ is embedded within the Mystery of
Golgotha.
But there is a third aspect
as well. Christ in three guises: once through himself, then through
his garment, and thirdly through the deeds he accomplishes for
human beings on earth. This is a description of a situation that
must come about, although one can of course not name a specific
year when this will happen; but it is something towards which
Christian development must strive. The third thing towards which
attention is drawn is a sword with which he works; it is the
sword of his will, the sword of the deeds he accomplishes on
the earth amongst human beings through the fact that he dwells
within them. What he now does bears the third name: King of all
Kings, Lord of all Lords. This is the third guise. What is the
nature of a king, the nature of a lord?
If we get to know the essential
inner meaning of the Latin word dominus we shall discover
what language itself means in this instance, qute apart from
what spiritual science has to say: A lord is someone on the earth
or in the world who has been chosen to point the direction for
another. How long will outer lords be needed on the earth? How
long will the commandments of outer lords be needed, even the
commandments of those who are outer spiritual lords of the earth?
They will be needed only until the moment when Christ, with the
name that none but he understands, shall dwell within the human
being. Then every human being will be able to follow Christ in
his own being, in his own soul. Then everyone will strive to
realize that in himself which desires to realize the will
of the human being out of inner love. Then will the Lord of Lords,
the King of Kings live in each individual.
Seen
spiritually, this is the time in which we ourselves are now living.
The fact that we are living in this time is merely disguised
by the way human beings continue to live in their old ways, denying
as much as they can in every field the fact that the Christ now
dwells in them."
- "The Book of Revelation and the Work
of the Priest" (Lecture 10, Dornach 14 Sept 1924, GA 346
)
What Rudolf Steiner has done here is to demonstrate
that the message of Anarchosophy, or Divine Anarchism if you
like, is embedded in John's apocalypse. This lends further credence
to my own words from the 1996 article "Anthropos Anarchos":
"The innumerable gods
are man's creators, but they have now withdrawn their authority
so that we shall become mature and self-dependent enough to make
it on our own. The gods are in other words anarchists. The free
spirit in man, the anarchist soul, is the goal and purpose of
creation."
Or as RS put it in the 10th chapter of the
PoF:
"Jeder von uns ist berufen
zum freien Geiste, wie jeder Rosenkeim berufen ist, Rose zu werden."
Peter Staudenmaier, who considers himself
an anarchist, scoffs at all this. His rejection of Anarchosophy
is something he has in common with anthro-fascists, anthro-hawks
(like Starman). He is a member of an organization, or of many
organizations, with a heavy political agenda. PS travels extensively
giving interviews, making presentations, recruiting converts
to the cause of worker co-operatives, housing co-operatives,
self-employment, LETS schemes, alternative currencies, mutual
banking, credit unions, tenants committees, food co-operatives,
allotments, voluntary organizations, [so-called] peaceful protest,
and [so-called] non-violent direct action. They call it anarchist
activity that build the elements of a new society.
In other words, Peter S. should have his hands
full. So why does he invest so much time and energy in fighting
against anthroposophy? Probably because it's a threat to a political
agenda that in the end delivers tyranny instead of liberty (because
of its Marxist understrappings). That's why it's important to
spread this slanderous dirt about anthroposophy that PS knows
to be untrue. So it's politically motivated, but this may be
working in the subconscious with PS. He is so busy trying to
read anthroposophists' understanding of their 'I' that he loses
sight of his own.
Cheers,
Tarjei
http://uncletaz.com/
...................................................................................................................................
From: Mike Helsher
Date: Sun Feb 1, 2004 10:53 am
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] Anarchosophy Revisited
Tarjei quoting RS:
They will be needed only
until the moment when Christ, with the name that none but he
understands, shall dwell within the human being. Then every human
being will be able to follow Christ in his own being, in his
own soul. Then everyone will strive to realize that in
himself which desires to realize the will of the human being
out of inner love. Then will the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings
live in each individual.
Mike: Glorious....Absolutely Glorious!
RS:
Seen spiritually, this
is the time in which we ourselves are now living. The fact that
we are living in this time is merely disguised by the way human
beings continue to live in their old ways, denying as much as
they can in every field the fact that the Christ now dwells in
them.
Mike: It's those damn trees man...
Tarjei:
Peter Staudenmaier, who considers himself
an anarchist, scoffs at all this. His rejection of Anarchosophy
is something he has in common with anthro-fascists, anthro-hawks
(like Starman). He is a member of an organization, or of many
organizations, with a heavy political agenda. PS travels extensively
giving interviews, making presentations, recruiting converts
to the cause of worker co-operatives, housing co-operatives,
self-employment, LETS schemes, alternative currencies, mutual
banking, credit unions, tenants committees, food co-operatives,
allotments, voluntary organizations, [so-called] peaceful protest,
and [so-called] non-violent direct action. They call it anarchist
activity that build the elements of a new society.
In other words, Peter S. should have his
hands full. So why does he invest so much time and energy in
fighting against anthroposophy? Probably because it's a threat
to a political agenda that in the end delivers tyranny instead
of liberty (because of its Marxist understrappings). That's why
it's important to spread this slanderous dirt about anthroposophy
that PS knows to be untrue. So it's politically motivated,
but this may be working in the subconscious with PS. He is so
busy trying to read anthroposophists' understanding of their
'I' that he loses sight of his own.
Mike:
Don't forget Empathy! He told me that he uses Empathy in his
"historical" research. I guess though that it's one
thing to have empathy for your own bias understanding of textural
analysis, and something completely different to actually have
empathy for a human being...
But what do I know...
...................................................................................................................................
From: golden3000997
Date: Sun Feb 1, 2004 10:58 am
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] Anarchosophy Revisited
Y'know what's REALLY FUNNY about all of this!!
These people are doing everything possible to prepare themselves
for their next incarnation to be Anthroposophists!!!
What's even FUNNIER is that, because of their
negativity - THEY get to be the WALDORF TEACHERS!!!!! (or whatever
it has evolved into by that time) And WE get to be their kids!!!!!
WHOA!!! I want to be in Tarjei, Mike and Bradford's
class!! (along with Jan, Danny, Harvey, Joel, Paulina, Dottie,
Kim, Andrea (who am I forgetting? Sorry!)!
Boy, aren't WE gonna give our teachers a HARD
TIME!!! LOL!!! (Fits of hysterics!!)
...................................................................................................................................
From: Tarjei Straume
Date: Sun Feb 1, 2004 11:08 am
Subject: Re: [anthroposophy_tomorrow] Anarchosophy Revisited
At 19:58 01.02.2004, Christine wrote:
Y'know what's REALLY FUNNY about all of
this!! These people are doing everything possible to prepare
themselves for their next incarnation to be Anthroposophists!!!
What's even FUNNIER is that, because of
their negativity - THEY get to be the WALDORF TEACHERS!!!!! (or
whatever it has evolved into by that time) And WE get to be their
kids!!!!!
WHOA!!! I want to be in Tarjei, Mike and
Bradford's class!! (along with Jan, Danny, Harvey, Joel, Paulina,
Dottie, Kim, Andrea (who am I forgetting? Sorry!)!
Boy, aren't WE gonna give our teachers
a HARD TIME!!! LOL!!! (Fits of hysterics!!)
Yeah, 8-year old future Tarjei, probably a
girl, holds up her hand to ask her lady Waldorf teacher who spent
her last incarnation as Dan Dugan if she can go to the bathroom
before they all sing a hymn to the sun. The teacher sits down
on her chair which is full of chalk after the mischievous pranks
of another 8-year-old girl who used to be Bradford. One of the
boys is passing around notes of a dubious kind - he used to be
Christine.
Wouldn't that be something - can't wait :)
Chuckles,
Tarjei
http://uncletaz.com/
Anarchosophy
and Anarchism
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to subscribe to anthroposophy_tomorrow
February/March
2004
The Uncle
Taz "Anthroposophy Tomorrow" Files
Anthroposophy & Anarchism
Anthroposophy & Scientology
Anthroposophical
Morsels
Anthroposophy,
Critics, and Controversy
