The Gospel of St. Mark: A Cycle of Ten Lectures

Rudolf Steiner

Jan 1986 · SteinerBooks

About this ebook

10 lectures, Basel, September 15-24, 1912 (CW 139)

Steiner tells us that Mark was especially able to reveal Christ as a cosmic being of his greatness and power, because, after having been a pupil of Peter, he moved to Alexandria during a time when Jewish philosophy and theology was at it's peak. There he absorbed the best aspects and views of pagan gnosis.

Mark was able to learn how humankind came arose from the spiritual world and how the luciferic and ahrimanic forces are taken into the human soul. Mark was able to accept everything that was told to him by pagan gnosis concerning our human origin out of the cosmos when our planet came into being. But he could also see, especially from his perspective in Egypt, the strong contrast between our original human destiny and what humankind had become during his time.

This lecture cycle, like the Gospel itself, is a work of art in its own right.

This book is a translation of the German edition Das Markus-Evangelium (GA 139).

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About the author

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland. Stewart C. Easton (1907-1989) was born in Cheadle, UK, and received his doctorate in history from Columbia University, New York City, and taught for many years at the City College of New York. He was a General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America and wrote numerous books and articles on Anthroposophy.