Neil Franklin – författare

In this insightful book, Christopher Rau explores the spiritual experiences that are found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.Rau presents the results of five decades of his research, demonstrating the distinct structure of each of the four canonical Gospels. Through clear analysis he highlights the particular stylistic features of each composition, which in turn reveal the meaning and goal of each gospel. Rau draws on the special features of each gospel to explain how their spiritual richness can only be understood by also considering pre-Christian religions. This is because, he argues, each evangelist describes the incarnation of the Son of God from the perspective of his own mystery religion.This is a fascinating book which aids a deeper study and appreciation of the Gospels.

In our hurried, everyday lives, time of day and even seasons can blur together, leaving us distanced from the natural world and spiritual rhythms.This book is a visionary and practical exploration of thoughts and meditations which can help us engage with the changing moods of the year. Rittelmeyer's descriptive sketches of the Christian festivals and subjects from the New Testament are offered as helpful spiritual signposts along the path of the year.The meditations can be used as devotions to help us deepen our own insight, and to stimulate creative and meaningful religious celebrations.

The two contradicting genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels have long puzzled biblical scholars. Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research led him to the controversial theological conclusion that historically there existed two Jesus boys, born of two holy families. These two boys, he said, were necessary as part of the spiritual preparation of forming a suitable human body for the incarnation of Christ into the earthly realm. Both apocryphal texts and the writings of the Essenes - as discovered at Qumran by the Dead Sea - now appear to support this conception, with references to Messianic figures from both royal and priestly lines. Various authors have developed Rudolf Steiner's observations - first presented in the early twentieth century - although much of this literature has lacked the rigour of accurate and broad scholarship. The Two Jesus Boys is not simply a derivative rehash of these previous publications. Rather, it offers a fresh investigation of primary sources, coupled with an objective determination to allow the facts to speak for themselves. Christoph Rau thus comes to the unavoidable conclusion that Steiner's presentation of the chronology of the two births needs revision; furthermore, the most recent discoveries and interpretations of Essene scrolls reveal that the Jewish sect expected not one but three Messiahs.Rau quotes from and analyses numerous documents from the landscape of early Christianity and Judaism. His findings provide a secure foundation for the historical existence of two Jesus boys in the prelude to Christ's incarnation on earth, as well as a revelation of the Essenes' long expectation of three Messiahs.

‘These Letters … aim to make John’s Gospel accessible to people today as their own gospel, both as a whole and in the details; to illuminate it with the spiritual knowledge of the age and to make it fruitful for life, not only for meditation but also for practical ordering of destiny.’ – Friedrich Rittelmeyer. ---A revitalized Johannine Christianity stands at the heart of the work of Christian renewal that was led by Rudolf Steiner in the early twentieth century. Friedrich Rittelmeyer, a Lutheran minister and theologian who helped found The Christian Community in 1922, was a leading figure within this new Johannine movement. Rittelmeyer described John’s Gospel as encapsulating ‘…an indescribable glory of revelation of love. This glory has such purity, delicacy and spiritual power that in it one has the material with which a marvellous new world may be built.’ ---Without doubt his most powerful work, Rittelmeyer’s Letters on John’s Gospel first appeared in a series of publications by the Stuttgart seminary of The Christian Community between 1930 and 1932. Whilst these Letters were originally written with students and local congregations in mind, they provide manifold insights for anyone seeking to glimpse the majesty of John’s Gospel. Margaret Mitchell’s translation from 1937 has never before been published in book form. Revised here and expanded by editors Alan Stott and Neil Franklin, this volume features additional contributions by Rudolf Frieling and Emil Bock.

‘To see Christ in Jesus and Jesus in Christ is an incomparable joy. Each single saying and each single word finds its place in the heights on the way from Jesus to Christ, on the way from Christ to Jesus.’ – Friedrich RittelmeyerHow can we meet the real Jesus today? Friedrich Rittelmeyer (1872-1938) – a well-known Protestant preacher of his day who helped found The Christian Community – presents us with the modern seeker’s path. A thoroughly revised translation of his Jesus (1912) traces the story of mankind’s longing. On the way, Nietzsche’s trenchant critique of Christianity is answered as intellectual honesty demands – with a concrete account of spiritual experience.During challenging times, Rittelmeyer took up Rudolf Steiner’s advice to complete his inner journey by working with John’s Gospel. Twenty-four years later, his testament appeared, Christ (1936) – now featured here in English for the first time. The author follows Johannine tradition, with Paul claiming: ‘I shall know even as I am known’ (1 Cor. 13:12) – and which Rudolf Steiner calls the spiritual faculty of ‘moral Imagination’.Rittelmeyer’s intellectual achievement ends in action; his path of exact perception leads to experience of the living Christ. ‘The path of Christ is always the path through death to resurrection.’ Here is spiritual reading as penetrating as any that can be found elsewhere. Jesus and Christ – at last complete in one volume – concludes by contrasting Nietzsche and Novalis along with an insight of Wagner’s regarding the only far-reaching solution for the 21st century.