Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has been preserved.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
For a complete list, please see the end of this document.
The copyrights, the publishing rights, and the editorialresponsibility for the translations of the works of Rudolf Steiner,Ph.D., with the exception of those already published under theeditorial supervision of Mr. Max Gysi, are now vested in Mr. HarryCollison, M.A., Oxon.
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
Christianity as Mystical Fact was the title given by the author tothis work, when, eight years ago, he gathered into it the substance oflectures delivered by him in 1902. The title indicated the specialcharacter of the book. In it the attempt was made, not merely torepresent historically the mystical content of Christianity, but todescribe the origin of Christianity from the standpoint of mysticalcontemplation. Underlying this intention was the thought that at thegenesis of Christianity mystical facts were at work which can only beperceived by such contemplation.
It is only the book itself which can make clear that by "mystical" itsauthor does not imply a conception which relies more on vague feelingsthan on "strictly scientific statements." It is true that "mysticism"is at present widely understood in the former [iv]sense, and hence it isdeclared by many to be a sphere of the human soul-life with which"true science" can have nothing to do. In this book the word"mysticism" is used in the sense of the representation of a spiritualfact, which can only be recognised in its true nature when theknowledge of it is derived from the sources of spiritual life itself.If the kind of knowledge drawn from such sources is rejected, thereader will not be in a position to judge of the contents of thisbook. Only one who allows that the same clearness may exist inmysticism as in a true representation of the facts of natural science,will be ready to admit that the content of Christianity as mysticismmay also be mystically described. For it is not only a question of thecontents of the book, but first and foremost of the methods ofknowledge by means of which the statements in it are made.
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