Through Anthroposophy to the Universal Church

<p>Bernhard Martin (1900-1985) grew up Germany<span style=color: rgba(255 0 0 1)> </span>in what he calls the ungodly age of the First World War and the post-war crisis. Raised a lukewarm Protestant in secondary school he came to feel disconnected from spiritual life. He made forays into the academic world but in the end felt himself a poor fool with no notion what to do in life. This crisis led to several years at a sanitarium. After returning to university a friend introduced him to the Anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner and the Christian Community a movement for religious renewal founded under Steiner's inspiration. These perspectives rescued him from his crisis and led to a strong recovery in soul and spirit. Between 1942 and 1944 Martin encountered the writings then the person of the Christian esotericist Valentin Tomberg (1900-1973) which led to an enduring friendship during which Tomberg introduced him to the spirituality of the Catholic Church. In 1946 Martin converted to the Catholicism; but in contrast to Tomberg elected to remain connected with the Anthroposophical Movement until the end of his life. This book tells the gripping tale of that journey.</p><p>A work of moral genius... Its true tolerance (i.e. an understanding unsullied by fear or hatred) of the 'heresies' of the modern age and its confidence that Catholic Christianity is a 'powerful competitor' able to fully engage with all the intellectual trends of the present offers intimate insight into just how it can be that 'all roads lead to Rome.' I most prize in the book the unconquerable weapon of modesty and honesty... It fills a gap I had perhaps once thought it my duty to fill-and now it has been done in a way I could have striven for but never attained.-<strong>Valentin Tomberg</strong> author of <em>Lazarus: The Miracle of Resurrection in World History</em></p><p>The German edition of this book had a deep resonance in Catholic and Anthroposophical circles. It contains a uniquely thoughtful and conscientious discussion of two spiritual paths that according to its author require mutual understanding.-<strong>Harrie Salman PhD</strong> author of <em>Valentin Tomberg and the</em> Ecclesia Universalis: <em>A Biography</em></p><p>Moving from mainstream (if somewhat uninspired) Protestant Christian to Anthroposophist to devoted Catholic Bernhard Martin's tale is that of a spiritual seeker hungry for Christian truth who interprets his path with moral and intellectual scrupulousness. Through his encounters with Valentin Tomberg Martin found a fellow-traveler and in due course a home in the traditions of the Roman Church.-<strong>Michael Martin</strong> author of <em>Sophia in Exile</em> <em>The Submerged Reality</em> etc.</p>