I. The Doctrine of the Logos

Today it is our purpose to show that there were, at one time, wholly spiritual interpretations of Biblical documents and that when the materialistic tendency arose, it read into the Bible what is now objected to by liberal-minded people. The materialistically inclined mind first created what it then itself later opposed. So you see how in fact the materialistic tendency in mankind arose and how, because of it, the real, true understanding of religious documents has been lost. If Spiritual Science performs its task and points out what mysteries lie hidden behind physical life, then it will be seen that these very mysteries have been described in the religious documents themselves. The outer trivial materialism which is today considered so dangerous, is only the last phase of the materialism I have described to you. The Bible was first materialistically interpreted. Had this never been done, a Haeckel would never have interpreted nature materialistically in an outer physical science. What was sown as a seed in the realm of religion in the 14th and 15th centuries came to fruition in the 19th in natural science. This brought with it the impossibility of reaching any understanding of the Gospel of St. John except by penetrating into its spiritual foundations. If it is not understood, it will certainly be underrated. Because those who no longer understood it were sickened by a materialistic mode of thought, it appeared to them in the light described above.