The Bible and Wisdom II

But this raises another question from the perspective of Spiritual Science. Let us place ourselves squarely on the ground that some new researchers have taken. Some wanted to describe an event that took place at the beginning of our calendar. They then added mythical and legendary elements to it. Let us assume that we place ourselves on this ground. We must then ask ourselves: Is it possible, based on these premises, to still speak of Christianity as such? Is it possible to speak of Christianity if we interpret the documents that testify to this Christianity in a purely materialistic sense? Is this possible with regard to the entire Bible? Two things should first be mentioned which will prove that the question cannot be posed in any other way than it has been posed, and that it can be answered suggestively. Let us assume that Christian Baur's view is correct, that something happened in Palestine that can be explained by the external historical facts, and that over time, the writers, influenced by the prejudices of their time, passed on to posterity what was in their minds. Let us assume that we must presuppose such research, above all with the belief that a spiritual entity descended from spiritual spheres, dwelt in Jesus of Nazareth, rose again, and won the victory of life over death—what we call the very essence of the mystery of Golgotha. This teaching, says Baur, must be broken with. This view is considered dogmatic. This view must be discarded. The event in Palestine must be investigated like any other historical event.