XV. The Christian Initiation

GA 111/1908-03-04/p004 ·1908-03-04 · English MediumMedium alignmentSome paragraph re-numbering between this translation and the German original — the locus may slip by a paragraph or two.
Record: unknown. How this text was taken down (shorthand transcript, listeners' notes or manuscript) is not on record here. Unknown is not an assurance of a stenogram: check the edition's own notes before resting an argument on one word.

The Gospel of John is considered by many to be less valuable than the other gospels. The inner meaning of this document is felt when one experiences it. We must regard it as a Christian indication, as an offer of means that lead to participation in the spiritual world. This spiritual world exists around us and in us. Spiritual powers can be awakened in all of us. There have always been enlightened people throughout the ages, and from them the light has spread. These were the initiates. And they owed their best powers to the influence of the Gospel of John. There are different paths and stages that lead to initiation. But all initiation leads to the highest point: to the truth. The paths taken before Christianity were those of human power and wisdom. Christian initiation is the one that is based almost exclusively on the elements of the soul: mind, feeling and perception. But the basic conditions for Christian initiation are: spiritual knowledge, study and willpower.

Read this passage in another edition
DEoriginalENEnglish
Raw JSON: /v1/steiner/en/ga/111/1908-03-04/p004.json
Cite: GA 111/1908-03-04/p004 · edition English