Mike
2011-09-14 14:43:26 UTC
Sun at Midnight The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West
by Geoffrey Ahern © 2009
James Clarke and Co. ISBN: 978-0-227-17293-3 279 Pages $42.50 (U.S.)
Anthroposophy, and its founder Rudolf Steiner, are topics which, like
many others I am sure, I have bumped into during my tears of study.
Neither made much impression on me prior to the arrival of this book.
As I have aged, I have made a conscious decision to revisit some areas
which I skipped over in my earlier years.
This book, a reworking of Dr. Ahern's PhD work, is one of those areas
I wanted to re-examine. Anthroposophy (and Theosophy, from which it
split off in the early 2oth century) underlie much of Western esoteric
thought and are, if for no other reason, worthy of study.
Anthroposophy – at least in its “pure” form – is extremely Christo-
centric, which may present a stumbling block for some. This is not,
however, unexpected as its origins date to a time and place (late 19th
century Austria/Germany), which was not particularly, with tolerant
of non-Christian religious express, with few exceptions.
One of the difficulties encountered by an outsider trying to
understand the movement is that a great deal of the information is,
traditionally, taught only within the organization in a classic mouth-
to-ear kind of teaching – although this is beginning to change in the
modern, internet world which we inhabit now. Even such a basic thing
as membership numbers are not discussed to any degree outside of the
“centers” where members meet. Thus there remains a feeling that there
is something so unconventional as to be unsavory about the teachings.
The subject of this book is, to say the very least, extremely
complex. The treatment it receives is equally complex. Being written
by an “outsider” it will likely not please many who follow
Anthroposophy, who will feel it does not convey the essence of their
beliefs. It will also not please those who are looking for the
“secrets” of the movement, since none are revealed. It is as close to
an unbiased presentation as it is possible to produce, given the
resources available.
There were times when I had to go back and re-read some segments due
to the way in which Steiner expressed himself. I sometimes needed to
remind myself that followers of specific traditions often have views
which are widely divergent from currently accepted thinking (and that
such divergence does not necessarily make them wrong, merely
different). I also had to remember that even Steiner himself admitted
that he may have made some mistakes, so not everything needed to be
accepted as “gospel truth”.
There is a lot of information contained within these covers, in some
instances almost too much, but it contributes to an understanding of
an organization an a movement which is little known to society at
large. Those with a psychological and/or sociological interest will
this this book to be a gold mine of insight.
It is, by no means, the last word on Anthroposophy but it does offer
an outsider's (mostly) unbiased points-of-view. It lacks an insider's
perspective, but at the same time it also lacks the insiders' attempt
to justify their belief. I am sure there is more to be said on the
topic and, admittedly, some of the details may have changed (in fact,
that is why this book was updated and re-issued), but this work offers
a snapshot in time of a little-understood movement and should help to
promote understanding and tolerance.
This is an expensive volume, there can be no denying that fact. Yet,
for the amount of information and insight which is contained within
it, it is certainly reasonable. Also, let's be honest here, it will
almost certainly never make the Best Sellers list, so in order to hope
to recover costs the price needs to be relatively high. Don't let the
price scare you off. It is, in my opinion, worth it.
by Geoffrey Ahern © 2009
James Clarke and Co. ISBN: 978-0-227-17293-3 279 Pages $42.50 (U.S.)
Anthroposophy, and its founder Rudolf Steiner, are topics which, like
many others I am sure, I have bumped into during my tears of study.
Neither made much impression on me prior to the arrival of this book.
As I have aged, I have made a conscious decision to revisit some areas
which I skipped over in my earlier years.
This book, a reworking of Dr. Ahern's PhD work, is one of those areas
I wanted to re-examine. Anthroposophy (and Theosophy, from which it
split off in the early 2oth century) underlie much of Western esoteric
thought and are, if for no other reason, worthy of study.
Anthroposophy – at least in its “pure” form – is extremely Christo-
centric, which may present a stumbling block for some. This is not,
however, unexpected as its origins date to a time and place (late 19th
century Austria/Germany), which was not particularly, with tolerant
of non-Christian religious express, with few exceptions.
One of the difficulties encountered by an outsider trying to
understand the movement is that a great deal of the information is,
traditionally, taught only within the organization in a classic mouth-
to-ear kind of teaching – although this is beginning to change in the
modern, internet world which we inhabit now. Even such a basic thing
as membership numbers are not discussed to any degree outside of the
“centers” where members meet. Thus there remains a feeling that there
is something so unconventional as to be unsavory about the teachings.
The subject of this book is, to say the very least, extremely
complex. The treatment it receives is equally complex. Being written
by an “outsider” it will likely not please many who follow
Anthroposophy, who will feel it does not convey the essence of their
beliefs. It will also not please those who are looking for the
“secrets” of the movement, since none are revealed. It is as close to
an unbiased presentation as it is possible to produce, given the
resources available.
There were times when I had to go back and re-read some segments due
to the way in which Steiner expressed himself. I sometimes needed to
remind myself that followers of specific traditions often have views
which are widely divergent from currently accepted thinking (and that
such divergence does not necessarily make them wrong, merely
different). I also had to remember that even Steiner himself admitted
that he may have made some mistakes, so not everything needed to be
accepted as “gospel truth”.
There is a lot of information contained within these covers, in some
instances almost too much, but it contributes to an understanding of
an organization an a movement which is little known to society at
large. Those with a psychological and/or sociological interest will
this this book to be a gold mine of insight.
It is, by no means, the last word on Anthroposophy but it does offer
an outsider's (mostly) unbiased points-of-view. It lacks an insider's
perspective, but at the same time it also lacks the insiders' attempt
to justify their belief. I am sure there is more to be said on the
topic and, admittedly, some of the details may have changed (in fact,
that is why this book was updated and re-issued), but this work offers
a snapshot in time of a little-understood movement and should help to
promote understanding and tolerance.
This is an expensive volume, there can be no denying that fact. Yet,
for the amount of information and insight which is contained within
it, it is certainly reasonable. Also, let's be honest here, it will
almost certainly never make the Best Sellers list, so in order to hope
to recover costs the price needs to be relatively high. Don't let the
price scare you off. It is, in my opinion, worth it.