Christianity As Mystical Fact 12/12: Augustine - A tragically understandable modern man.

Re-uploaded with sound!
Jeff and I continue look at the final chapter in Rudolf Steiner's transformational book "Christianity As Mystical Fact: And the Mysteries of Antiquity". Today we look look at what chapter 13 has to say about Augustine and how he prefigures modern mankind's existential angst.
Concerning Origen, about which there was a little confusion. As Jeff said Origen (185-284),lived prior to Augustine (354-430), but his thinking was retroactively deemed heretical after Augustine in 553 AD.
www.grunge.com/1191198/why-wa...
GA 8. rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/Eng...
Final quote regarding technology:
rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA173a...
Mankind is now faced with having to solve certain quite specific problems. This applies, above all, to something I have already spoken about, which is connected with today's much-admired technology-a consequence of natural science-which is also much admired by spiritual science. In the comparatively near future, this much-admired modern technology will reach a final stage where it will, in a certain way, cancel itself out. In contrast, something will come into being-I have mentioned it in passing here-which will enable people to make use of the delicate vibrations in their etheric bodies as a driving force with which to run machines. Machines will exist which are dependent on people and people will transfer their own vibrations to the machines. People alone will be capable of setting these machines in motion by means of certain vibrations stimulated by themselves. People who today see themselves as practitioners of science will, in the not too distant future, find themselves faced with a complete transformation of what they today call the practical application of science; for the human being is to be tuned in with his will to the objective sphere of feeling in the universe. This is one of the problems.
#rudolfsteiner #augustine #mysticism #christianmysticism #mysteryschool #paganism #doubt #origen #pagan

[@nickward40]

Wonderful series. You chaps really make Steiner accessible, great work ❤

[@jeffbarney3584]

A major difference between Origen and Augustine is that as a through line for the mysteries shot through with the Christ event Karma and Reincarnation among other realities gives us the fluidity within history as curative and redemptive process. This, in the West has culminated so far, in Rudolf Steiner's descriptions of life between death and rebirth as salvific or curative even. in the evolution of consciousness. Augustine's legacy is obvious as the view modernity took as relates to history as a linear procession with only transcendental "plan" (God or Natural Selection take your pick) and with a metaphysical realism of the "thing in itself".

[@jameskaplin502]

I have come to understand through Steiner that the Earth's mission is to bring love to consciousness and it's the quadrivium hiding in the trivium. I think another aspect of love is suffering and to me Christianity is the path of understanding this mystery of suffering. I still participate in the mass for it's mysteries and bringing dialogue to those who may have the doubts and fears to those who have the same reservations of Augustine and try and convey the grace that was bestowed to me in my understanding more of that direct relationship you can have with the spirit and Christ. It's more like being like Christ to wash the feet and repent which in one of it's meanings is to have a change of mind. I do believe that we are nudged forward on our evolutionary path through inspiration imagination and our moral intuition. When we miss the mark and don't reach our intended goals we are adjusted on our route by suffering. I do believe there is spiritual boundaries set for us and like the idea of Kairos, I believe Steiner brought up that The Knights Templars tried to bring in a spiritual impulse to early for it's time and that they had to suffer the fate of their destruction. Once I surrendered to the idea of that suffering will always be a part of our spiritual paths, then I can deeply be mindful of our suffering lies solely on each individual collectively and my part is to help others understand with me and to bring this about one has to suffer from those who don't understand.

[@theseventh7865]

I enjoyed this conversation very much, thanks for a nice conclusion.
I really appreciated toward the end especially, wondering to what extent the crucible of suffering is a calling or an excuse for history. I honestly dont know. Something to think about for me.

[@TheExceptionalState]

In the pre-talk Jeff mentioned the following:
According to a statement by Madlen Hauser, Friedrich Rittelmeyer had an inner experience during a lecture by Rudolf Steiner in Berlin on 3 April 1917 (Lit.:GA 175, p. 182ff), which revealed to him a karmic connection between Judas Iscariot and Augustine and Leonardo da Vinci. Rudolf Steiner had confirmed the accuracy of this experience to him.[1]
en.anthro.wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo
This idea, which didn't make it into the conversation, seems even more relevant given the direction the conversation took with regards to Augustine being a thoroughly modern man.

[@forbearancemp5283]

Superb!

[@alxartzen]

Because religion or Christianity or God or savior or prophet or scriptures are all the invention of thought seeking to be accepted as reality or fact
Which is why all of it must be accepted with eyes closed by faith, while facts like the sun, the earth, nature do not require belief or faith and everything that has actually benefited humanity is the by-product of the facts, principles of nature

[@TheExceptionalState]

Spoken in the truest spirit of a naive realist (as described in the video)

[@alxartzen]

@@TheExceptionalState Thought is always in a hurry to see the end product a God or savior or heaven and yet only those willing to observe and learn from the process not the process written in a book of scriptures, the process of life, nature unfolding now, because life is always happening now, right where one is standing, writing the real scriptures now, not in or of the past, but in the now

[@theseventh7865]

That is the message of the gospels

[@TheExceptionalState]

@@alxartzen Sight without thinking is blind

[@jeffbarney3584]

@@alxartzen also in the video, a projection methinks.