I have just discovered another anarchist Steiner bomb in John's apocalypse.
Before I get to that, I'll remind you once more of my previous articles
about this topic:

ANTHROPOS ANARCHOS
http://www.uncletaz.com/anthranark.html

WHY "PHILOSOPHY OF FREEDOM" BY RUDOLF STEINER IS THE ANARCHIST BIBLE
http://www.uncletaz.com/steinerbomb.html

RUDOLF STEINER AND ANARCHISM
http://www.uncletaz.com/anththranarch.html

Related articles:

ORIGIN OF FREEDOM AND EVIL
http://www.uncletaz.com/origfreed.html

THE CHILDREN OF LUCIFER AND THE BROTHERS OF CHRIST (Give me Liberty or give
me death.)
http://www.uncletaz.com/childlucifer.html

Six years ago, I took the liberty of coining a more appropriate word for
Rudolf Steiner's individualistic anarchism: Anarchosophy.

"Until now, I have myself always avoided using the words 'individualistic'
or 'theoretical anarchism' to describe my world view. Because I care very
little for such labels. But if I, to the extent it is possible to determine
such things, should say if the word 'individualistic anarchist' can be
applied to me, I would have to answer with an unequivocal 'yes'."
- Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kultur- und Zeitgeschichte 1887-1901, GA 31, p. 261.

In order to demonstrate this individualistic anarchism, or anarchosophy, in
Rudolf Steiner's philosophy, I have been focusing for the most part on the
tenth chapter of the PoF, where RS writes as follows:

"The moral laws which the metaphysician who works by mere inference must
regard as issuing from a higher power, are, for the adherent of monism,
thoughts of men; for him the moral world order is neither the imprint of a
purely mechanical natural order, nor that of an extra-human world order,
but through and through the free creation of men. It is not the will of
some being outside him in the world that man has to carry out, but his own;
he puts into effect his own resolves and intentions, not those of another
being. Monism does not see, behind man's actions, the purposes of a supreme
directorate, foreign to him and determining him according to its will, but
rather sees that men, in so far as they realize their intuitive ideas,
pursue only their own human ends. Moreover, each individual pursues his own
particular ends. For the world of ideas comes to expression, not in a
community of men, but only in human individuals. What appears as the common
goal of a whole group of people is only the result of the separate acts of
will of its individual members, and in fact, usually of a few outstanding
ones who, as their authorities, are followed by the others. Each one of us
has it in him to be a free spirit, just as every rose bud has in it a rose."
- Die Philosophie der Freiheit 1894, GA #4: kap. 10: Freiheitsphilosophie
und Monismus.

This anarchosophy also comes to expression in "The Book of Revelation and
the Work of the Priest" (GA 346 ). First, let me quote a passage from the
apocalypse (in the KJV):

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and
make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many
crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he
was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word
of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp
sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in
the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly
in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper
of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of
captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them
that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small
and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their
armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,
and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that
had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And
the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their
flesh."
- Revelation 19: 11 - 21

No wonder biblical texts like this one awaken murderous hawks and Religious
Right conservatives, the fire-and-brimstone people. It looks like heavenly
fascism, doesn't it, especially the bit about the "King of Kings and Lord
of Lords"? Think again. What Rudolf Steiner arrives at here is not heavenly
fascism, but its opposite: Divine anarchism, anarchosophy. Let's first
check out Steiner's understanding of "His eyes were as a flame of fire, and
on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew,
but he himself." Here is an excerpt from Lecture 10 in the
apocalypse-priests cycle (Dornach 14 September 1924, GA 346):

***********************************************************************

In older languages the self was not specifically designated, for it was
contained within the verb. The 'I' was not directly mentioned. The verb was
used to show what one was doing, and this was what indicated that one was
speaking about oneself. It only came about in later times that the human
being gave his self a name, and in our German language that name contains
the initials of Jesus Christ, which is an important symbolic fact. [Iesus
Christus: I CH]

***********************************************************************

[Tarjei comments:
In English, the name for the self is the very vowel of Christ, and in
French, it's the first two letters in Jesus. The same may be the case in
Danish-Norwegian although a 'g' is added: "Jeg".]

Steiner continues:

***********************************************************************

If we take this fact of a language having a name that each of us can only
apply to himself, and we further intensify this fact, we come to what is
now said in the Book of Revelation: The one who descends from the
supersensible world has a name written on him which he not only speaks
solely for himself but which only he and he alone can understand; noe one
else can comprehend it.

Think of the bringer of the revelation going to John and showing him the
prophetic picture depicting what will one day come about for humanity, the
picture of the One who comes down in the future, the One who has the name
only he alone can understand. What can all this possibly mean? It appears
to be meaningless when you first make an honest attempt at understanding
it. Why does it say: '... he who is to bring healing to the world, he who
is to bring justice to the world' as the Book of Revelation puts it (Rev.
19:11), 'he who makes faith and knowledge true', as the Book puts it, not
what some translations say: 'he that was called faithful and true'. This is
like a game of hide and seek. And what does it mean that he has a name
written that only he understands? We are encouraged by this to ask more
probing questions.

Let us think of this quite graphically: He bears a name that he alone
understands. How can we participate in this name? This name must gain some
meaning for us, it must be able to live in us. How can this come about?
When the being who understands this name becomes one with our own self,
enters into our own self, then within us this being will understand the
name and with him we shall understand it too, for then with him in us we
shall always be conscious of 'Christ in us'.

He alone understands the things that are connected with his being, but it
is in us that he understands them; and the light that streams out in us
through his understanding - because in us, in our own being he becomes this
light - this gives the insight of the Christ-Being in our own self. It
becomes an indwelling insight, an insight that dwells within the human being.

Something has now taken place. First of all, what has taken place is a
necessary and intended consequence of the Mystery of Golgotha. This Being
who has gone through the Mystery of Golgotha, this Being who must enter
into us, so that we shall comprehend the world with *his* understanding,
not with our understanding, this Being wears a garment that is sprinkled
with the blood of Golgotha. So now we take this second picture. John the
apocalyptist tells us that this garment sprinkled with the blood of
golgotha also has a name. It is not the name we were speaking of just now.
The name of this garment sprinkled with blood is the Logos of God, the
Logos, the God, the Word of God. (Rev. 19:13) The One, therefore, who is to
dwell in us and who through his own understanding within us is to give us
the light that comprehends the world, this One fills us with the Word of God.

The pagan peoples used to read the Word of God in the phenomena of nature.
They had to receive it through external revelations. Christians must
receive the creative Word of God by taking Christ into themselves. A time
will come when events will have proceeded to a stage when all human beings
who honestly take Christianity into their souls will know that the Word of
God is with Christ and that this Word of God has its origin in our
understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha and of the garment sprinkled with
blood. In the language of the apocalyptist, Christ is embedded within the
Mystery of Golgotha.

But there is a third aspect as well. Christ in three guises: once through
himself, then through his garment, and thirdly through the deeds he
accomplishes for human beings on earth. This is a description of a
situation that must come about, although one can of course not name a
specific year when this will happen; but it is something towards which
Christian development must strive. The third thing towards which attention
is drawn is a sword with which he works; it is the sword of his will, the
sword of the deeds he accomplishes on the earth amongst human beings
through the fact that he dwells within them. What he now does bears the
third name: King of all Kings, Lord of all Lords. This is the third guise.
What is the nature of a king, the nature of a lord?

If we get to know the essential inner meaning of the Latin word *dominus*
we shall discover what language itself means in this instance, qute apart
from what spiritual science has to say: A lord is someone on the earth or
in the world who has been chosen to point the direction for another. How
long will outer lords be needed on the earth? How long will the
commandments of outer lords be needed, even the commandments of those who
are outer spiritual lords of the earth? They will be needed only until the
moment when Christ, with the name that none but he understands, shall dwell
within the human being. Then every human being will be able to follow
Christ in his own being, in his own soul. Then everyone will strive to
realize *that* in himself which desires to realize the will of the human
being out of inner love. Then will the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings
live in each individual.

Seen spiritually, this is the time in which we ourselves are now living.
The fact that we are living in this time is merely disguised by the way
human beings continue to live in their old ways, denying as much as they
can in every field the fact that the Christ now dwells in them."

********************************************************************************\
*********************************
- "The Book of Revelation and the Work of the Priest" (Lecture 10, Dornach
14 Sept 1924, GA 346 )

What Rudolf Steiner has done here is to demonstrate that the message of
Anarchosophy, or Divine Anarchism if you like, is embedded in John's
apocalypse. This lends further credence to my own words from the 1996
article "Anthropos Anarchos":

"The innumerable gods are man's creators, but they have now withdrawn their
authority so that we shall become mature and self-dependent enough to make
it on our own. The gods are in other words anarchists. The free spirit in
man, the anarchist soul, is the goal and purpose of creation. "

Or as RS put it in the 10th chapter of the PoF:

"Jeder von uns ist berufen zum freien Geiste, wie jeder Rosenkeim berufen
ist, Rose zu werden."

Peter Staudenmaier, who considers himself an anarchist, scoffs at all this.
His rejection of Anarchosophy is something he has in common with
anthro-fascists, anthro-hawks (like Starman). He is a member of an
organization, or of many organizations, with a heavy political agenda. PS
travels extensively giving interviews, making presentations, recruiting
converts to the cause of worker co-operatives, housing co-operatives,
self-employment, LETS schemes, alternative currencies, mutual banking,
credit unions, tenants committees, food co-operatives, allotments, oluntary
organizations, [so-called] peaceful protest, and [so-called] non-violent
direct action. They call it anarchist activity that build the elements of a
new society.

In other words, Peter S. should have his hands full. So why does he invest
so much time and energy in fighting against anthroposophy? Probably because
it's a threat to a political agenda that in the end delivers tyranny
instead of liberty (because of its Marxist understrappings). That's why
it's important to spread this slanderous dirt about anthroposophy that PS
*knows* to be untrue. So it's politically motivated, but this may be
working in the subconscious with PS. He is so busy trying to read
anthroposophists' understanding of their 'I' that he loses sight of his own.

Cheers,


Tarjei
http://uncletaz.com/