Reviews

“ Geoffrey Ahern is a Fellow of the Centre for Leadership Studies at Exeter University. Ahern’s book is a general overview of the Steiner movement, which he competently does from the perspective of a secular sociologist. He examines Steiner’s life, his cosmology and the influences that led to his supposedly Christian version of Gnosticism. Ahern also looks at Steiner spin-offs such as Biodynamic agriculture, Waldorf (Steiner) education, Camphill Homes and “Christian Community” churches, showing how they are all based on Steiner’s beliefs

In this review, the main focus will be on Steiner’s cosmology, which differs dramatically from that plainly taught in the Bible.

Rudolf Steiner was born in Austria in 1861. His father worked for the Austrian Southern Railway at that time.  Steiner received a scholarship to study at the Inzersdorf Technical College inVienna, where he became involved in Theosophy, which was a blend of Gnostic and Eastern religions. He eventually left Theosophy to establish Anthroposophy, based on Steiner’s experiences in the spirit world’. His spiritual information came from the spirits of the dead (i.e. demons).  Steiner died in 1925, but the institutions he established have grown and continue to ensnare people even today.

In Steiner’s version of the creation of our universe, everything began as pure spirit. Under the influence of Ahriman, this spirit began to harden into physical matter. As it hardened, humanity began to appear, evolving through a grotesque series of increasingly physical bodies developing on Saturn, the Sun and the Moon. As humans evolved into our current Earth form, we developed more specialized limbs and sense organs. Steiner avoids the problem of moving our developing bodies from one location to another by claiming the Earth once included Saturn, the Sun and the moon and each of those bodies was ejected from the earth as we evolved to the next stage. We eventually acquired individual identities (supposedly beginning with John the Baptist) rather than a broad group ego which all early beings shared. Steiner believed that our current human forms are fully hardened. Now, with the help of Lucifer and with Jesus as an example, he claims we are beginning the reverse process back to fully spirit beings, though we will retain our individual egos. Steiner expands on this theory in his book Cosmic Memory, which also examines the continuation of this process on Earth, where he says we evolved through (among others) the Hyperborean, Lemurian and Atlantean stages and diverged into male and female forms. Steiner claims this bizarre ‘prehistory’ does not originate with him but comes from the secret records of Esotericism. Of course, a single scrap of evidence supporting any of these allegations has never been  found.

It is obvious that Steiner does not believe anything that the Bible says about the creation of our universe or the creation (and destiny) of mankind. He also rejects what Jesus said about these issues, as Jesus clearly taught that Genesis is true, as shown in Matthew 19:4, Mark 13:9, Luke 16:31 and Luke 24:27. Instead Steiner shows that if one rejects God’s Word, there is no limit to the absurdities they can believe.  

As to Jesus Christ offering himself as an atoning sacrifice that grants us our only chance for eternal life, Ahern correctly concludes Steiner instead believed and taught that salvation is through knowledge and good works (ie Gnoticism, or as Steiner calls it, Esoteric Christianity).

Why does all this matter? Because on a faulty foundation, one cannot build a sound structure (Matt 7:12-29). The following quote from one of Steiner’s followers is almost frightening;

“Through a Study of Steiner’s writings, one can come to a clear, reasonable, comprehensive understanding of human beings and their place in the universe (Paul M. Allen).

Is there anything in Steiner’s cosmology that is clear or reasonable? Substitute ‘the Bible’ for ‘Steiner’s writings’ and you have a statement I agree with (Bruce G. Armstrong).