Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future

by Seraphim Rose

What is the ancient Christian understanding of today's UFO sightings? What is behind the Charismatic Movement? What phenomena are assaulting Christianity in our modern world? How can Christians avoid... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 188790400X
• ISBN13: 9781887904001
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: St. Xenia Skete Pr
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Critique of Modern Culture from an Orthodox viewpoint...

What gets modernists so infuriated about Fr. Seraphim Rose and this book of his? This was just a simple monk living out in the California wilderness, and yet his penetrating insight into the intellectual and spiritual currents of our society make him a must read for anyone sincerely wishing to connect with a living link to the holy fathers of ages past. The critics below reveal that they've probably only read a page or two of the book. Fr. Seraphim was quite adamant that the cultic obsession with extraterrestrial life would be satisfied by demons, who would ultimately appear and offer worship to Antichrist so that even more would be deceived. He was right on about the insanity of the protestant/catholic charismatic movement in a day when it was unheard of in many religious circles. Fr. Seraphim's real Orthodox balance lay in the fact that he discovered the real sources of Orthodox tradition and did his best to live by those. As a personal friend of St. John Maximovitch, Fr. Seraphim developed what is called in Orthodoxy the "phronema" or mindset of the holy fathers. This is reflected in this spiritual masterpiece of his.

Heart and Soul opener

Being a Russian Orthodox it makes perfect sense on the things that Fr. Seraphim Rose is talking about in this book. It is mind boggling and an eye opener to know how many false religions are out there in our world today. This book makes more sense today than it did back in the printing days.A terrific Soul pleaser.

A solid foundation in shifting times

When first reading this book, I thought much of what Fr. Seraphim (+1982) was writing was extremist or alarmist, but I then began to realize that his arguments aren't trying to catch people in a rush of emotions. They are sober, well thought out, intelligent, and above all loving writings that seriously want to help elevate man above the non-fulfilling hum-drum world of unitarian and new age thought. Read the book with an open mind and prepare to be shaken up...I know I certainly was. Fr. Seraphim's book greatly changed the way I looked at a lot of modern "spirituality," and the dangers incurred in practicing them.

A Timeless and Informative Classic

Fr. Seraphim's writings on this subject, though written over twenty years ago, speak to the current state of the world in a way that is extremely insightful and down-to-earth. His knowledge of the early Church Fathers and the teachings of the Church before the 1054 Roman Schism are clear and form the foundation from which he writes. A great book for the sober-minded Christian reader.

antidote to Roman errors

Fr. Seraphim Rose was an American convert to Orthodoxy. He was educated at Pomona College and undertook graduate work in Eastern Civilizations at Berkeley. He had an excellent working knowledge of East Asian culture, religions, and languages. As a convert, he learned both Russian and Church Slavonic, translating many texts into English. Fr. Seraphim's knowledge of Orthodoxy and the history and theology of the church was extensive. These factors enabled him to see the dangers of various 'spiritual' phenomena prevalent in today's world. His analysis of the charismatic movement is based on the writings of the Church Fathers and the lives of the Saints: no where do we find in the lives of the Saints states of uncontrollable laughter, writhing about on the floor, speaking in unintelligible tongues, or states of trance-like ecstasies. In fact, as Fr. Seraphim points out, phenomena like these have often been associated with cases of demonic possession or delusion rather than 'workings of the Holy Spirit.' But since the Latin heresy of the Filioque and other distortions entered into the West's understanding of the Trinity, distortions have taken root which have prevented a proper understanding of the Trinity and the working of the Holy Spirit: since Rome typically emphasized the Divine Substance rather than the Persons, a legalistic scholasticism arose which subordinated the Persons to the logical determinations of the Substance: the Persons were determined by the nature of the attributes supposedly inherent a priori in the Divine Substance understand according to a philosophical understanding of 'Divine' and 'Perfect.' As a result, Rome created a doctrine of the Trinity that did not reflect the Mystery of the Persons but subjugated Them to philosophical and rationalistic definitions of Latin philosophy rather than the experience of the Church in its worship. This had the effect of ultimately diminishing by making His procession share in the Hypostasis of both the Father and the Son, confusing the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit and ultimately that of the Son as well. This, coupled with a distorted understanding of original sin and the idea that Grace is created, has resulted in a theology that understands the workings the Holy Spirit in a much more passive and displaced manner than what the ancient Church teaches. Because of these distortions, charismatics believe they can 'call down' or 'invoke' the Holy Spirit -- not unlike occultists -- rather than participating in the Grace of the Triune God due to the sanctification and purification of their own mind and heart. Because Latin heresies have distorted the Church's true Dogma, we in the west are especially vunerable to deceptive and dangerous 'spiritual' phenomena that are anything but Christian. A must read for anyone concerned about the many strange events taking place in today's world.