The Essence of Christianity

GA 68a — 17 April 1905, Heidelberg

12. The Wisdom Teachings of Christianity

Report in the “Heidelberger Zeitung”, April 1905

The Theosophical lecture given by Dr. Steiner on Monday evening in the small Harmoniesaal was received with great interest. However, the number of visitors was not large compared to what the evening offered. The extraordinary wealth of ideas that the speaker displayed in every respect should be emphasized. The treatment of the topic turned out to be substantially different than one might have assumed. Under the heading “Wisdom Teachings in Christianity”, the speaker brought up completely different things, much deeper things than are currently in the memory of general Christianity. He spoke of mysteries, of seeing, of the development of higher powers of perception, of higher worlds, and explained that at the time of the first Christians, certain specific methods and exercises of the soul were used to develop and research the spiritual human being. The monthly magazine “Lucifer - Gnosis” contains the lectures of the speaker, Dr. Steiner, partly printed and also some very interesting articles from his pen (more details through the local Theosophical Society, office at Kettengasse 23). The lecture, which was received with great applause, concluded with various quotations from Goethe and Schiller, with a particular reference to the latter's aesthetic letters.