shepherd aug 2023
5 June 2023
A. P. Shepherd and his 'Battle for the Spirit'
There is a good chance that you have read 'A Scientist of the Invisible' by A. P. Shepherd. The book provides an excellent introduction to the life and works of Dr Steiner and was first published in 1954 by Hodder & Stoughton. It has has an introduction by Owen Barfield and there have been several editions by Floris books, Edinburgh. Understandably some of the information is now out of date as there are more St.
'A Scientist of the Invisible' is well worth reading again after a few years us are very grateful.
and helpful to know something about the almost 'invisible author' to whom many of
The authors full name is Arthur Pearce Shepherd, he was born in Barbados 1885, son of an English doctor and came to England at the age of five. He was ordained into the Anglican Church in 1911 and became first Curate of All Saints, Northampton and, in a few years, the Vicar of St James.
In 1931 he received his doctorate of Divinity at Leicester and ultimately became Venerable A. P. Shepherd, D. D. Canon Emeritus of Worcester and Vice Dean of Worcester Cathedral.
wiki
Arthur Pearce Shepherd, DD (31 December 1885 – 27 February 1968) was Archdeacon of Dudley from 1934 until 1951.
Shepherd was educated at Cardiff High School and Jesus College, Oxford;[1] and ordained in 1911.[2] After a curacy at All Saints, Northampton he was Assistant Secretary for Young People's Work at the Church Mission Society. Later he held incumbencies in Northampton, St James the Greater, Leicester[3] and Dudley. He was a Canon Residentiary of Worcester Cathedral from 1945 to 1965; and Proctor in Convocation for the Diocese of Worcester from 1951 until 1964.
In 1954, Shepherd authored a biography of Rudolf Steiner.[4]
Worcester Cathedral was built between 1084–1504 AD in Gothic/Norman style. It is one of the oldest, most beautiful and important Cathedrals in England situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. King John requested in his Will to be buried there. (1216 AD). There is a window dedicated to Shepherd's only son, David, who died in combat in the second world war.
Shepherd was the author of other several books and gave lectures to the Anthroposophical Society in the UK and in the USA later published in the Golden Blade,
His first book was 'Sin, Suffering and God'. 1931,
which was followed by 'The Eternity of Time' in 1941'
After writing his second book 'The Eternity of Time'', in the course of discussing the book one man said to him, 'Your idea, that the whole of our earthly life is recovered after death as a unity and as an actual experience, is the same as Rudolf Steiner's''. After hearing this Shepherd undertook an intense study of Steiner's books Shepherd became a convinced student of Anthroposoohy saying, 'I could not understand how with a University education and a fairly wide range of reading I had never heard of this remarkable man nor his work.'
He would have been 56 years old at this time and he decided to translate from German three lectures that Steiner had given towards the end of his life in Dornach in 1920, (Die Philosophie Des Thomas von Aquino.) and put them into book form.
At that time these lectures had passed almost unnoticed. Indeed, in a lecture a year or two later Steiner himself remarked that even his own followers hardly seemed to realise their importance, as presenting the essential task of redeeming modern thought from the fetters of its own preconceived limitations. The packed content of these three lectures would have been difficult even from those with a classical education. Today we can study them in the book form and have the benefit of extensive and helpful notes from A.P. Shepherd.
'The Redemption of Thinking' is a scholarly work which took some A.P. Shepherd four years to prepare, though he must have been very familiar with the works of both Thomas Aquinas, Origen and Scholasticism. It is not an easy book to read for most of us but an important one. The helpful notes provided, which take up almost half of the book, make the study of this book much easier. It ends with an appendix titled 'The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity' which had been written by Dr Steiner 26 years earlier as a philosophical work and in these lectures the 'activity' is here seen from a theological/religious perspective,
'The Redemption of Thinking, A study in the Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas'' was written together with Mildred Robertson Nicoll. It is interesting to know that, Cecil Harwood. Charles Davy, Owen Barfield and Dorothy Osmond all read the manuscript. These were the foremost pioneer figures in the English Anthroposophical movement at that time. He also met with the philosopher and historian Walter Johannes Stein when visiting London.
Though the book was ready for publication by Hodder and Stoughton, it was not published right away as they requested that A. P. Shepherd first write a separate book to introduce the public to the life and works of Rudolf Steiner. Steiner was little known in England in 1936 and only a few of his books and lectures had been translated and printed in English. Once published the book remained in print for more than 30 years.
A. P. Shepherd fulfilled the request for this introductory book despite being an extremely busy Canon with a family and a large parish to manage. He wrote 'A Scientist of the Invisible' in only twelve months which is an amazing achievement and shows the depths of his study and understanding of Steiner's lectures and books. The book has provided an important entry point for many people.
These two books by Shepherd have been a milestone on the Anthroposophical road out into the public.
The question often arises as to the relationship between Anthroposophy and the Christian Churches, much has been written about this subject over the years and there follows a lecture here given by A. P. Shepherd to the Anthroposophical Society in America in 1966,
Destiny would have it that Donald Perkins met and was impressed by Rev. A. P Shepherd when still a boy, he went on to become a minister of the Congregational Church, and later one of the first British born priests of The Christian Community. Shepherd took an interest in his church attending 'The Act of Consecration' and received communion from him.
At this time some of the ideas of Rudolf Steiner were too much for most of the established church to consider or accept, subjects such as reincarnation, karma, the two Jesus children, the Essenes and the Hellenic mystery schools. The all-important Hellenic influences on Christianity were dismissed as only 'myths' and the focus was on Old Testament Jewish history and making Christianity inclusive of Darwinism and modern science.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, which refer to Two Jesus Children, has given credence to all that Steiner said even in his first publication 'Christianity as Mystical Fact' and might provide an incentive for the established churches to look again at this book and Steiner's extensive works on both the Old Testament and New Testaments.
One has the impression that A. P. Shepherd was most at home with the spoken word and apart from giving both lectures and sermons, he also gave radio broadcasts in the 1956 BBC Light Programme- 'Lift up your hearts' series and had enormous skill at being able to reach people from all walks of life. He was also a regular contributor to the Birmingham Post newspaper written for the general public.
Shepherd remained a loyal member of his church and was in the unique position of being able to introduce the ideas of Steiner to senior members of the clergy, his parishioners and the English -speaking world. The Church of England has made considerable changes over the last few decades and perhaps now would be a good time to re-introduce the works of A. P. Shepherd to help people rediscover themselves in freedom as spiritual beings and companions of the heavenly hierarchies.
His last book 'The Battle for the Spirit' - the Church and Rudolf Steiner.' was not published until 1994.
This is an anthology which was compiled after his death and includes papers, letters, articles and biographical information, some of which has been used in this article.
This book contains several sermons and lectures given to the Anthroposophical Societies in the UK and America. There are also transcripts of the talks he gave on the BBC radio Home Service 'Lift up your Hearts' broadcasts in 1952/1954 together with articles he wrote for the Birmingham Post newspaper.
The title 'The Battle for the Spirit' is very apt as A. P. Shepherd fought all his life for the importance of recognising that we have not only a body and soul but also a spirit.
It would appear that he started another book which was to be on the subject of Reincarnation, but it was not completed. 'A Scientist of the Invisible' does contain a chapter on this subject.
In his obituary John Pearce-Higgins concludes "... It was this loveable humanity coupled with his profound wisdom and understanding that made him the really great man that he was, a greatness which the Church only in part recognised and rewarded, perhaps because of his off-beat views - views that I venture to think may well in time become close to the new orthodoxy of the future if the Church is to survive."
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