Steiner heavily influenced my own teachers and I have no doubt about their integrity. However, they did question that of others who taught Steiner's work. So the fault may not be in the original teaching but in HOW IT IS INTERPERATED AND TAUGHT. Steiner's teaching is advanced and esoteric and consequently highly vulnerable to being twisted, as happens to most authentic religious teachings, let alone an esoteric one like Steiner's.
Moreover, the writer fails to make a crucial distinction on the relation between Christ, Lucifer and Ahriman. More on this at the foot of the page… Ed.
For ten years, I was employed by a Waldorf school as a subject teacher and later became a class guardian.
When I first arrived at the Waldorf school I saw it as being friendly and open to all people from any religious or cultural background. The curriculum enriched with arts and music reminded me of the Jesuit style of classical education. My desire was to work in a small community type school near my home with smaller classes.
My interest and understanding of Rudolf Steiners' lectures and writings were limited. I found most of the ideas I read outdated and skewed. With respect towards peoples choices and beliefs, I accepted my employer's belief system.
"COMMUNICATIONS RETREAT"
In September 2005, the high school students, teachers and some staff members went to what was called a "communication retreat" on an island set-up for summer camps.
The retreat was the creation of two staff members who claimed to be experienced in this kind of group work. It was later discovered that they had never tried this with a large group of students.
The main activity of students (ages 14 to 19) and staff members was to sit in a large circle, 67 people in total, in the cafeteria for six hours divided by three sittings.
All were asked to keep silent unless the individual felt moved to speak. The beginning of this activity was signaled by a chime used by a staff member. No one could speak until they said their name each time they wanted to speak, i.e. "My name is ...".
The stated goal of this five-day activity was to bring all members of the group to one consensus of one thought. By the end of the second day, many students were intimidated by this process and were not able to express themselves. Many students showed signs of restlessness, agitation and they were clearly uncomfortable. They were not allowed to call their parents privately. Some students called this cult indoctrination and refused to attend meetings.
I tried many times during the first days of the retreat to share my concerns with the other staff members. I tried to convey to the damaging effects of this type of imprinting. This retreat was far too intimidating for most students to communicate anything but fear and anger. Some students wanted to leave; a teacher physically threatened a student if she did not comply.
Brainwashing and indoctrination are defined 'as unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulators often to the detriment of the person being manipulated'.
Isolated on an island, not allowed to call parents privately, sitting long hours in a circle, falls into this category.
Thought control begins by having individuals reveal things about themselves they would not normally reveal. Some students expressed feeling inadequate for not wanting to speak. Students who refused to attend were threatened with expulsion from the school. Students who followed directives were praised effusively.
Many parents were furious about this kind of indoctrination, some students left the school and damage control was in effect. Instead of taking responsibility for an ill-fated retreat, they made me their scapegoat. I was accused of doing and saying things I did not do or say. Be this said, the exit cost from this cult was very high causing irreparable damages to my family and my career.
SECRET CULT
In the following months, I began to research this cult.
I read many books, articles and lectures from Rudolf Steiner and critical thinking groups like Plans (People for legal and nonsectarian schools) and Waldorf Critics and found many stories echoing the ways things happen in this school.
Most of all, I wanted to know what was behind their facade of kindness and acceptance. Here are some of Steiner's quotes that explain why and how this religious cult is secretive.
"We also need to speak about a prayer. I ask only one thing of you. You see, in such things everything depends upon external appearances. Never call a verse a prayer, call it an opening verse before school. Avoid allowing anyone to hear you, as a faculty member, using the word 'prayer'." [1]
" We should be quiet about how we handle things in our school, we should maintain a kind of confidentiality. We should not speak to people outside the school, except for the parents who come to us with questions, and in that case, only about their children, so that gossip has no opportunity to arise." [2]
"We have to remember that an institution like the Independent Waldorf School with its anthroposophical character, has goals that, of course, coincide with anthroposophical desires. At the moment, though, if that connection were made official, people would break the Waldorf School's neck." [3]
"Formally, the Waldorf School is not an anthroposophical institution; rather, it is an independent creation based upon the foundations of anthroposophical pedagogy. In a way it meets the public, as well as the way it meets legal institutions, it is not an anthroposophical institution, but a school based upon anthroposophical pedagogy. [4]
"If the school suddenly became an anthroposophical school, that would upset both official authorities and the public." [5]
This false front of who they really are exists to this day in these schools.
A "PHILOSOPHY"
The claim that these Steiner/Waldorf schools make is that they are not religious but are instead a philosophy.
Anthroposophy is closely linked to Theosophy and the teachings of Madame Blavatsky. Steiner was the Head of the German Theosophical movement before he left to set up his own cult.
Waldorf schools are a religious messianic type cult built on the dogmas of theosophical principles and beliefs put in place by a charismatic cult leader Rudolf Steiner who is a self proclaimed clairvoyant wielding his own style of New World Order.
This is a polytheistic religion using the word 'verses' to replace 'prayer' used every morning in all classes. Teachers are expected to use these prayers, meditations akin to the Buddhist method and Steiner prescribed spiritual exercises to gain knowledge of the gods, their hierarchies and their higher worlds.
According to a well known present day anthroposophist Roy Wilkinson, teachers are expected to develop clairvoyant faculties. Wilkinson outlines this path from the book "THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF STEINER EDUCATION, The Waldorf Approach," noting specifically in the chapter "Esoteric Development and the Teacher"; "This is the same path that should be followed by every teacher who takes his vocation seriously."[6]
In his lecture given in Zurich, October 27, 1919, Steiner attributes man's evolution to Lucifer.
" Luciferian wisdom was at the utmost benefit to man in that epoch of evolution, brilliant in a certain way, graduated according to the different peoples and races among which it was spread."
Here he is referring to Greece, Babylonian, Egyptian and Asian ancient cultures.
"The whole of gnostic thought existing at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, an impressive wisdom shedding light deep into cosmic realities, this whole Gnostic knowledge was inspired by the impulse coming from Luciferian forces. One must not say that Gnostic thought is therefore false; one is merely characterizing it by saying that it is permeated by Luciferian forces."
And he further explains; "Man must oscillate to the one side according to the Luciferian principle and to the other according to the principles of Ahriman, but he must maintain his equilibrium through the cultivation of Paul's declaration, "Not I, but the Christ in me." " In short, we can detect a Luciferian remnant in the East, which, I would say, a wise guiding force left behind for the evolution of mankind in general."
He also explains in his writings, "THE INFLUENCE OF LUCIFER AND AHRIMAN," how to train oneself in an esoteric way towards evolution "By permeating what takes ahrimanic form within us with a strongly Luciferian element." [7]
"In the absolute sense, nothing is good in itself, but always good or bad according to the use to which it is put." [8]
One could say that these practices lead to mastering the creation of deceptions, chaos and confusion and to act towards others with false compassion. Racism and discrimination are prevalent in Steiner's dogma that the " blonds and blue eyed people" are endowed with intelligence.
"On one side we find the black race, which is earthly at most. If it moves to the West, it becomes extinct. We also have the yellow race , which is the middle between earth and the cosmos, and it becomes extinct. The white race is the future, the race that is creating spirit." [9] "
The French as a race are reverting." [10] " The use of French language quite certainly corrupts the soul" [11] To this way of thinking, Steiner also sees some children as sub humans; "Cases are increasing in which children are born with a human form, but are not really human beings ... [they] are not reincarnated, but are human forms filled with a sort of a natural demon ... Imagine what people would say if they heard that we say there are people who are not human beings." [12] .
WORLDWIDE ORGANIZATION
There are more than 800 Waldorf /Steiner schools world wide. These schools are often positioned as charter schools in the US. In Northern Ireland, they are now part of the public education system.
Other than education, Anthroposophy has many branches. They now have their own Anthroposophic Pharmaceutical Codex and International Association of Anthroposophic Pharmacists and Doctors.
They are involved in the business of caring and providing homes in their own communities for Special Needs individuals through the Camphill Communities and other such communities.
In Zurich, the Goetheanum gives conferences and train practitioners in education, medicine and mental health. There are developing schools for their brand of spiritual psychology.
END NOTES
[1] Rudolf Steiner, FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER (Anthroposophic Press, 1998), p. 20
[2] Ibid., p.10
[3] Ibid., p.705
[4] Ibid., p. 698
[5] Ibid., p. 703
[6] THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF STEINER EDUCATION, p.115
[7] THE INFLUENCES OF LUCIFER AND AHRIMAN, (Rudolf Steiner Press) p.34
[8] Ibid., p.52
[9] VOM LEBEN DER MENSCHEN UND DER ERDE, P. 62
[10] FACULTY MEETINGS WITH RUDOLF STEINER, P.559
[11] Ibid., p.558
[12] Ibid., pp. 649-650
Source: http://www.henrymakow.com/steiner_expose.html
Comment – June 6, 2010
Steiner taught that Lucifer and Ahriman (otherwise known as Satan) both found expression in mankind's activity. There is however a critical third force, the Christ force, which brings balance and the potential to render the forces of Lucifer and Ahriman to humanities benefit.
I should add that one of my teachers who had been head of the Rudolf Steiner organisation in London visited me one night after she had passed on from this physical realm. In other words she appeared before me after she had died. For me this effectively confirmed much of what she taught while alive.
Finally to claim that: "Racism and discrimination are prevalent in Steiner's" work reveals a truly profound ignorance. Steiner taught that in earlier epochs various races had pioneered man's spiritual evolution, at one time or another different groups would take the lead. Right now and for the foreseeable future the white race are predominate at the forefront of spiritual evolution. But that could change with changing circumstances and the emergence of new racial types.
The writer's ignorance is further underlined by the fact that Steiner taught that over time we incarnate in various races to complete our spiritual education. That is hardly a "racist" teaching.
If anything, this writer suspects that the above may be an attempt to discredit and undermine a genuine Christian visionary. Ed.
Last updated 07/06/2010