Johannes Jacobus van der Leeuw joined the TS in 1914 and quickly became a valued member of its inner circle. By 1921 he became a Priest of the Liberal Catholic Church and won the Subba Row Medal for his book The Fire of Creation, a theosophical classic that is still in print. He also published A Dramatic History of the Christian Faith; The Conquest of Illusion; and Gods in Exile. Tragically, like many before and after him who questioned the actions of the leaders of the Liberal Catholic Church and the Theosophical Society, J.J. van der Leeuw lost his standing in the inner circle after privately publishing an important lecture as a pamphlet. The lecture was delivered to the London Federation of the Theosophical Society on June 15th, to the Dutch Convention on June 21st, and to the Geneva Congress of the European Federation on June 30th, 1930. The text was originally published by N.V. Theosofische Vereeniging Uitgevers Maatschappij in Amsterdam in 1930. Of course, this pamphlet has never been reprinted and has become very scarce. This lack is now remedied as it is now available in our Digital Library under the title: Revelation or Realization: The Conflict in Theosophy.

This pamphlet is the most important theosophical document published at the time, and certainly one of the most important theosophical documents ever to be published. Here, like no one else, van der Leeuw struggles with the issue of revelations and realization in the Theosophical Society and the Liberal Catholic Church, and how this conflict brought about a crisis, which is still with us today, and is primarily responsible for the poor state of affairs of all Theosophical Organizations.

Though this pamphlet is over sixty years old, J. J. van de Leeuw's insights continue to be as relevant today as they were then, because the underlying problems that plagued the LCC in 1930 are the same today.

As a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church, van der Leeuw's books are often the outcome of a series of talks given to groups of students interested in the meaning and work of the Third Person of the Divine Trinity, He who in the Christian religion is called God the Holy Ghost, as the Holy Ghost as the Creator: The Holy Spirit a Neglected Chapter in Religious History; The Fire of Creation; The Rhythm of Life; The Divine Ritual; The Dynamic Universe; and Divine Alchemy, The Divine Mind: From Image to Archetype; The World of the Divine Mind; The Way of the Higher Mind; and Inspiration, The Mahachohan, the Representative of the Holy Ghost; The Paraclete and the Mahachohan; and The Lord of the Five Rays, The Motherhood of God.