Ignatius used as his inspiration The Imitation of Christ and Voraigne's The Golden Legend- two fine books.
In the above lecture Steiner discusses the issue of Christ as a Generalissimo, a Commander Christ.
"Jesuitism wishes to transform the Christ impulse into a purely temporal sovereignty, to found a terrestrial state which is at the same time a Jesuit state, and which is governed in accordance with the principles of those who have volunteered to become soldiers of the generalissimo Christ."
You'll note Dr. Steiner doesn't wish to name the spirit which inspired Ignatius of Loyola in this lecture. The Jesuit stream begins with Augustine - the famous opponent of the Manicheans and an incarnation of Judas Iscariot (RS).
The materialization of the spiritual begins with Judas. The spirit of the Material Age was incarnated in Judas.
"Judas was the first to be influenced by money (the culture of the material). Through His Death, Christ became the Redeemer of the Material Age. The whole Material Age was incarnated in Judas. The Material Age has cast a gloom over the spiritual, it has dimmed and darkened it."
- Rudolf Steiner, Foundations of Esotericism, Lecture 8
The Jesuits learned through their exercises, how to attain tremendous powers of will. The Manichean path is more a withdrawal of the will, a renunciation, (forgiveness, gentleness, tolerance etc.), and Will enkindled indirectly through the path of the Spirit."Jesuitism wishes to transform the Christ impulse into a purely temporal sovereignty, to found a terrestrial state which is at the same time a Jesuit state, and which is governed in accordance with the principles of those who have volunteered to become soldiers of the generalissimo Christ."
You'll note Dr. Steiner doesn't wish to name the spirit which inspired Ignatius of Loyola in this lecture. The Jesuit stream begins with Augustine - the famous opponent of the Manicheans and an incarnation of Judas Iscariot (RS).
The materialization of the spiritual begins with Judas. The spirit of the Material Age was incarnated in Judas.
"Judas was the first to be influenced by money (the culture of the material). Through His Death, Christ became the Redeemer of the Material Age. The whole Material Age was incarnated in Judas. The Material Age has cast a gloom over the spiritual, it has dimmed and darkened it."
- Rudolf Steiner, Foundations of Esotericism, Lecture 8
-Rudolf Steiner, Lecture of 5th October 1911, published in From Jesus to Christ
Quote:
ReplyDelete"Notwithstanding the calumnies heaped on Manes, Dr. Lardner has shown that he was, in the best and strictest acceptation of the term, a sincere Christian, and has adduced many passages from his writings equally honourable to his understanding and to his heart. Not only the learned Faustus,
Quote:
"One has to read St. Augustine's anti-Manichæan disputes to realize the extreme ingenuity with which scripture texts were collected and interpreted. Though Mani called himself the Paraclete he claimed no divinity but with show of humility styled himself "Apostle of Jesus Christ by the providence of God the Father"; a designation which is obviously adapted from the heading of the Pauline Epistles. Mani, however, was the Apostle of Jesus Christ, i.e. the messenger of Christ's promise, In A.D. 1000 the Arab historian Al-Beruni wrote: "The majority of the Eastern Turks, the inhabitants of China and Tibet, and a number in India belong to the religion of Mani".
Patron Saints Index: Heresy: Manichæism
Most of what you read on manichaeism is written by its enemies and not to be trusted for that reason. This group was subject to one of the most massive persecutions history has seen. The Manichaeans themselves were a non-violent people following the principles of the "sermon on the mount". It is true that some of the later sects did drift into the Lucifer/Gnosis ideas.
Christianity became the culmination of all the ancient mysteries and religions. It is not surprising then, that one finds elements of Buddhism, Zorastrianism, Empedocles and Pythagoras in Mani's teachings.