Accepting Anthroposophical doctrines means accepting things that are neither proven by science nor included in the creeds of large, established religions. Thus, for instance, Rudolf Steiner's followers believe that Atlantis existed, and they believe that King Arthur really did once walk the Earth. For instance.
Some people — for the most part, Anthroposophists — are amazed that Steiner was able to explain so much. Everything that ever happened (or didn’t) seems to fit neatly in his doctrines. This is the awesome “inner logic” of Anthroposophy, a body of teachings that must be true because — look for yourself — it ties everything together in such a coherent, compelling whole. Of course, the Anthroposophical attitude overlooks a slight blemish. In order to make everything fit his scheme, Steiner had to change everything. Each piece fits only because he took out his scissors and cut it to the size and shape he wanted. King Arthur, now. Notice how this piece fits! Amazing. But notice, also, that it fits only because Steiner completely changed Arthur’s identity. Arthur was not an ancient king, so much — he was an ancient Initiate! He was a bearer of Mystery Knowledge. He was, in other words, one of Steiner’s predecessors.  On the question of the actual existence of Atlantis, Arthur, and other fantasies: Steiner offered no evidence. Offering evidence wasn’t his way. He just made pronouncements, take ‘em or leave ‘em. He understood that legends such as Arthur’s are fiction, not accurate historical accounts. But he insisted that the figures behind the legends are real people or spirits, who actually lived or continue to live now. King Arthur really lived; he was an initiate who had many pupils; the legends distort this by calling Arthur a king and his pupils knights, but Steiner can tell us the underlying truth. Here’s a passage in which Steiner “explains” the King Arthur legend further:
Arthur the Initiate headed a sort of pre-Christian Christianity, what Steiner sometimes called pagan Christianity. [1] Steiner taught that all religions prior to Christianity were steps along the road to Christianity (as revised by Steiner), which is the final and true religion. [2] Thus, pagan rituals, like all other early religious rites, were forms of pre-Christianity, and they often conveyed clairvoyant visions of the Christ who waited in mankind’s future. After Christ came to earth and was crucified, post-Christ Christianity began to spread around the world, while pre-Christ Christianity also spread, closing the circle, as it were. Pagan Christianity came out of such things as the Norse myths, which describe a god, Baldur, who can be seen as a Christ figure (Baldur and Christ are both associated with the Sun; they both were supernally pure; they both died only to rise again; etc.). Baldur really existed, Steiner said, and his message was spread by Arthur, who also really existed. Meanwhile, Christianity was spreading through such things as the Grail myth: The search for the Grail (in which Arthur and his followers participated) is the search for the ancient hidden meaning within true Christianity. This true meaning, of course, can be found in Steiner’s own teachings, according to Steiner.
◊ [1] Don’t confuse Steiner’s term with the identical title of a book published in 2008 by George Barna and Frank Viola: PAGAN CHRISTIANITY (BarnaBooks). Barna and Viola argue that many trappings found in Christian churches and ceremonies have pagan roots, and for this reason these should be stripped away to create a pure, unblemished form of Christianity. Barna and Viola do not argue that a valid pre-Christian form of Christianity existed. [2] But it will be replaced, too. Religion will become obsolete when humanity develops the highest powers of clairvoyance, Steiner taught.  [Rudolf Steiner Press, 2009.] Pagan Christianity can also be found in such things as Druid lore, Steiner indicated. As it happens, we know very little about the Druids, in part because they apparently produced no written records. But our ignorance of the Druids simply cleared the field for Steiner to imagine and say whatever he liked about the Druids. Thus, he said that the Druids had the sort of ancient clairvoyance that most humans once possessed, according to himself. The line of logic Steiner used, and that Anthroposophists find so compelling, was something like this: Steiner posited the idea of ancient clairvoyance. Then he posited the idea that the Druids had this ancient clairvoyance. Then he used the ancient clairvoyance of the Druids to prove that people once had ancient clairvoyance. Neat, huh? Anthroposophists find it so.
Why do we “have to see” this? Because Steiner said it, so it must be true. Druids got their instinctive clairvoyance in the way other ancient peoples did, Steiner taught; such clairvoyance was common, although to us today it may seem quite astonishing. Today we rely on science, which cannot tell us anything deep or deeply true, Steiner taught; but people used to have psychic powers, and fortunately Steiner developed his own psychic powers.
The leading Druids were Initiates, like King Arthur, like Steiner. They bore early forms of the wisdom Steiner later was able to spell out at such length. Let’s circle back to Atlantis:
Being an Initiate like Steiner conveys many benefits. For example, and Initiate’s “life body” (aka the etheric body) doesn’t die — it lasts from one incarnation to the next. The result is sort of like being a tree. And by the way, we can intuit the truth about Druids because the very name “Druid” refers to a tree, the oak. (This is Anthroposophical logic: Find or invent ways to connect things that have no real connection at all; use your scissors to cut each piece to suit your predetermined ideas; and then claim that the neat fit of the piece proves your point. The less trimming the better, of course.)
By the way, bark is not dried sap.  ["Perrault's Fairy Tales,THE DORÉ GALLERY Dover Books, 1998), p. 72, detail.] King Arthur is one of the many legendary characters Anthroposophists accept as real beings. There is somewhat more evidence suggesting that Arthur is based on a real person than is true for many other legendary characters affirmed by Anthroposophists — but the evidence is slight. According to the BRITANNICA, Arthur is a There is no evidence at all that Arthur was a pre-Christian Christian Initiate, as Steiner claimed. A pagan is someone whose beliefs do not conform to the teachings of any of the world's major religions. By this definition, Anthroposophists are pagans. Anthroposophists usually say that Anthroposophy is not a religion; or, when they wobble a bit on this point, they say that Anthroposophy is essentially Christian. But these claims are untrue. (See "Is Anthroposophy a Religion?" and "Was He Christian?") * Anthroposophists believe in a sort of Christ (not the Son of God in the usual sense, but the Sun God), and Atlantis, and King Arthur, and Ahriman, and reincarnation, and karma, and Thor, and gnomes, and astrological powers, and magic, and, and, and... Their beliefs span the entire spectrum of esoteric, occult, and religious belief — with a lot of myths and folklore and superstition thrown in. They believe things that no Christian believes, and things that no Hindu believes, and things that no Buddhist believes, and things that no Muslim believes... Their beliefs are consistent with none of the world's major religions. (If you believe in the biblical Christ, for instance, you must believe that when you die you will go to heaven or hell — or perhaps, briefly, to purgatory — and this will depend heavily on whether you have embraced Christ as your Savior. But Anthroposophists don't believe that. They believe that after we die we go to a higher spirit realm for a while, and then we are reincarnated on Earth in accordance with karma. They believe that we are reincarnated many, many times, and we evolve under the guidance of the gods, and there are many, many gods, and after Earth we will live on "Jupiter," and Buddha is the Christ of Mars, and the Moon is a fortress with a large hidden population, and wonderful sages and gurus sit in the White Lodge to help fulfill the gods' cosmic plan, and black magicians and other horrible beings are working in hidden, occult brotherhoods to thwart the White Lodge and the good gods, and some human beings are not really human at all but demons in disguise, and, and, and... ) Anthroposophical beliefs are incompatible with biblical Christianity and with all other major religions. (If you are Hindu, you believe in karma and reincarnation. But do you also believe that Christ the Sun God is the most important of all the gods, and that the gods of Norse myths really exist, and that the white race is the most highly evolved, and, and, and...? ) Anthroposophy is pagan. I'm sorry, but there it is. Anthroposophy borrows a bit from one religion, and a bit from another, and a bit from this superstition, and a bit from another... The result is incompatible with all major religions. The result is pagan. I'm sorry, but there it is. ◊ * Why do Anthroposophists make untrue statements? In some cases, they intend to deceive — they are withholding occult truths that they think most people are not equipped to handle, or they are protecting their movement, which they think is on a holy mission. But in many other cases, the reason is different. In these cases, Anthroposophists believe their untrue statements. They are not consciously trying to deceive us, but they are clearly — and unconsciously — deceiving themselves. Some Anthroposophists are quite smart, and I'm prepared to stipulate that most Anthroposophists are decent, moral, kind, caring individuals. They have good intentions, and many of their actions are good. But there can be little doubt that they deceive themselves — they necessarily deceive themselves to believe the things they believe. This is a troubling phenomenon, but by no means is it unique in human history. Many, many smart, decent, moral, kind, and caring individuals have believed a lot of astonishing nonsense down through time. It's sad, it's frustrating, but it is so. [See "Fooling" and "Why?" And if you aren't entirely sure that Anthroposophists believe a lot of undeniably nonsensical nonsense, see "Steiner's Blunders".]  Numerous pagan rites are performed at various Waldorf schools. Here is a brief look at a few such rites. 1. Fire Jumping  Fire jumping at an Australia Waldorf School. From The Brief Waldorf / Steiner Encyclopedia (BW/SE): fire jumping - also see festivals; St. John's
2. Maypole Dancing  Maypole dance at an American Waldorf school. From The BW/SE: Maypole dance - also see festivals; pagan
3. Spiral Walks From The BW/SE: spiral walk in Waldorf schools - also see spiral; Spiral of Light A ceremony often held at Waldorf schools, during which students walk a spiral path, often in darkened spaces, often carrying candles. [1] Like the pattern of main lessons followed at most Waldorf schools [2], spiral walks are meant to emulate the soul's journey toward spiritual enlightenment. Waldorf spiral walks are often associated with Advent observances [3], but thy may also occur in other seasons, and sometimes they are held outdoors in broad daylight. Despite the strong elements of Christian worship in such activities, there are also often elements of paganism, including astrology. [See "Soul School".] •••  Students of the Yallingup Steiner School being led along a spiral walk on a beach. [See Waldorf Watch Annex, September, 2011.] In mysticism, such spiral walks often signify the movement toward inner esoteric enlightenment. The spiral can go inward or outward. "Imagine gradually expanding into the cosmos along a spiral path. Having circled through the twelve signs [of the zodiac] [4] for the seventh time, we arrive in divine spirit." — R. Steiner, ACCORDING TO MATTHEW (Anthroposophic Press, 2003), p. 92.
[4] See "Astrology". 4. Etc. Other pagan activites can be found in various Waldorf ceremonies, including those that seem explicitly Christian. We have referred to Advent, above. Here is a description of Palm Sunday rites performed in Waldorf schools. The writer is a Waldorf teacher: |