Rudolf Steiner and the Fifth Gospel: Insights into a New Understanding of the Christ Mystery

Rudolf Steiner received the Fifth gospel-unrecorded events from the so-called lost years of the life of Jesus, obtained by grace and by spiritual research into the Akashic Record-as a "sacred obligation" to which he experienced a deep sense of responsibility. However, he never finished the project of unveiling it. Had he done so, not only Anthroposophy but also Christianity would have received an enormous spiritual gift: a concrete, soul-filled description of the Mystery of Golgotha. His deeply moving and often startling lectures in 1913 are thus fragmentary, giving the near-tragic impression that because those who heard or read them did not take them up with sufficient seriousness and inner dedication, humanity has suffered an inestimable loss.

Peter Selg tells the story of those lectures-their background and many of the most important episodes-offering context to the excerpts and profound, yet accessible, commentary. Most important, he offers insights into their deep meaning for both Steiner and the hearts of those who heard and understood.