Customer Reviews

Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future

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Eugene, a.k.a. Father Seraphim Rose, was studying for a Master's degree in Chinese language so he could penetrate more deeply into the study of Chinese religion and philosophy when he converted to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Consequently, he understood very well Eastern religious spirituality and its relation to western religion (see "Christ the Eternal Tao"). He was not a bigot. Contrary to the beliefs of many modern people, a bigot is one who holds any opinion ignorantly and inflexibly; it is not intended to refer to those who hold certain currently unpopular opinions. There is more real bigotry in many of these reviews than Father Seraphim ever included in any of his writings. He was not a bigot, but he was enamored of a Truth, and he found the locus of this truth to be contained in the Eastern Orthodox Faith. He never said that there was no truth in other religious traditions. That being said, I understand why those who are outside this faith might have trouble with this book. The truth is, it's not addressed to them, but to the faithful of the Orthodox Church. He is not trying to insult the Charismatic who has learned to love Jesus in that context, or even the Hindu who derives strength and comfort from their religious practice, but to demonstrate the incompatability of these things with the ancient Christian Faith which Orthodox Christians hold, and is a warning to them to hold to the truths of their faith, and not to tolerate having them altered or watered down. The title does not identify Orthodoxy as "The Religion Of The Future", but instead contrasts it to this religion, which is being formed by those who have betrayed the truths of their own faith tradition in order to join with like-minded people in a congregation of those who have ceased to believe in truth. It is not outdated; these things are still with us. Father Seraphim may have believed the Religion of the Future to be more imminent than it actually was, but he wasn't wrong in identifying the components of the system, or the spirit which animates it, which is far from the sober and rigorous spirit of traditional Christianity, and does indeed seem close to the spirituality of the Charismatic movement in its emphasis on emotional expression (and de-emphasis on emotional discipline). Probably the most fascinating part of the book to me was the part where he deals with the UFO phenomenon. Father Seraphim was very well-read in Patristic literature, and was able to identify similarities in the accounts of the struggles of the ascetic Fathers with Demonic deception, and the contemporary activities of UFO's, concluding that they are the same kind of event, adapted to a modern, rather than a pre-modern imagination. I was interested to learn that secular investigators have determined UFO's to be psychic rather than material phenomena; I hadn't known this previously. These things aren't just Father Seraphim's opinions; anyone who holds to the traditional views of the Church will say the same. Father Seraphim differs only in being somewhat more cognizant of contemporary culture, and thereby better suited to present the traditional perspectives to modern readers. The current edition has an epilouge by Father Damascene updating the information contained in the book which is almost as good as the book itself. Reading this book, more than any other single factor, drew me into the Orthodox Church, because I found articulated here an absolute and uncompromising adherence to Truth, very refreshing to one coming from the Rock of Jello which is modern Protestantism. However, I can give only a conditional recommendation. It could be better organised. For those outside the Orthodox Church, realise it is addressed to those in the Church, and read only if you wish to learn of the perspectives of the traditional Orthodox faith without any beating around the bush. Those who are in the Church who think the Church must adapt itself to the currents of prevailing modern opinion are going to hate it, but those who experience the Church as the Faith "once delivered to the Apostles" will find here an unshakable rock of faith, founded on a Truth which transcends the world.

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.

I read this book when I first began to inquire into the Orthodox Faith some years ago. My first impressions were not very good, and I perhaps over-reacted in my criticisms of this book. It does have some problems which I will address in a bit. Problems aside, it does have some very valid points on how the modern world makes the Way of Christ difficult to discern, and even more difficult to live. Life in the world is in direct opposition to life in the church. This direct opposition should not be mollified in any way, such as moving a Festal service from Thursday to Saturday in order to allow working people to attend. God has intentionally put difficulties into the church life in order to remind us that we must "work out our salvation" as St. Paul wrote, and that this work is a struggle, not a guided tour. We all struggle alone, but we must use the foundation of the Church and her Mysteries as the basis of our struggle.

Now, the problem with this book is that it attempts to address the increasing popularity of Eastern Mysticism in the modern world today, such as the tradition of Vedantism, Buddhism, Taoism, and so on. Unfortunately, but understandably so, Father Serafim addressed the more high profile teachers who claimed to teach these ancient traditions from the Far East, such as Ramayana, Daisetz T. Suzuki, and so on, without really examing whether these teachers really taught in those ancient traditions or not. Many of the people Father Seafim examines are people who were ostracized by their ancient traditions, and came to West for easy pickings among the gullible and spiritually starved individuals in our culture. They are easy targets to dismiss, but consequentially, do not lend much force to his analysis of these ancient traditions.

I, being an ex-Buddhist monk, could see that Father Serafim did not really strike into the ancient traditions of the Far East at all, but merely pointed out some of the false teachers, with pretty much the same arguments the genuine masters of these traditions had used to help people see them for what they are.

Aside from this problem, Father Serafim makes many excellent points, particularly about the literay and media genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy. I am sure had he lived to see Harry Potter, we would be seeing a revised edition of this work addressing the many evils of the Potter books.

Father Serafim also makes some valid claims about a new trend in the "spiritual industry," syncretism. Many people today are operating from a basis that all religions have some truth to them, but no religion has the entire truth. This basis presupposed that Man is spiritually evolving just as he is progressing in technology, science, medicine, etc. Syncretism attempts to take the best parts of all religions, and propose a new "integrated" religion--what he calls the religion of the future.

As plausible as Syncretism may seem, it is based on an erroneous assumption. The full truth was revealed by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. This is a hurdle that needs to be overcome, and Father Serafim's astute observations about the shallow spiritual depths offered by Syncretism will help the seeker see the problems in it.

I do recommend this book, but it needs to readdress the sections covering the ancient traditions of the East. Father Serafim's tracts on this topic are probably a reaction to the faddish cults of the 60's and the 70's. Buddhism is more a threat today than it ever was, and it is gaining in popularity now, and people are beginning to drink at the very deep spiritual well it has to offer, a well poisoned by demons.

In Christ.

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.

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.

I don't know if Fr. Seraphim Rose is correct about flying saucers and UFO's being essentially Satanic manifestations--but it makes as much or more sense than anything else I've read on the topic. Certainly many of the advocates of such things exhibit a religious tone in their belief. I don't know how close the end times are, but it seems as if Fr. Seraphim has put his finger on a number of trends that are congruent with prophecy.

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.

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.

I am currently not finished reading this particular book (I'm on page 158) however from what I have read up until this point I am constantly doing a balancing act between the good points that Fr. Seraphim brings to the table with his (seemingly) over handed traditionalism that at points seems more reactionary than theologically sound. I would have to agree with Fr. Seraphim about his critiques of Hinduism and other "eastern" practices such as Zen Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation, and Yoga which all have spiritual realities that underline the physical acts but are often down played in the west as physical forms of "exercise" or "centering one's life." Also I felt that his critique of the "charismatic movement" is much needed. The examples he provided from the church fathers on this subject were particularly enlightening to this particular reader and I think it was a good warning to any one who may be interested in the "charismatic movement" and it is a good warning to all of us, in that there is a need to constantly be discerning the nature of the spirits we come into contact with in order to properly discern those which come from God and those that are evil. However, as an Orthodox Christian, I must say that this book doesn't just border a dangerous "traditionalism" but blatantly crosses it. I cannot say that Fr. Seraphim is wrong in most (not all) of his critiques but I think a quick reading of Saint Justin the Philosopher would inform any interested reader of a more correct Orthodox view of other religions. Fundamentalism can be just as dangerous as theological liberalism. With all that said, the reason why I gave this book a 3/5 is precisely because I think that Fr. Seraphim makes good points that must be contemplated but the over handed reactionary language of this book can be at times repulsive and makes what is otherwise a good thought provoking book seem simply as a rant.

Fr. Seraphim Rose, an Orthodox Monk, outlines of the dangers facing the Church today in this dated (1975), yet still very pertinent book. In Fr. Seraphim's direct and blunt style, he argues that Eastern Orthodoxy holds the answers for the spiritual chaos going on in the world today. In this book, he reveals the assaults of New Age thought on Christianity today and confronts the influences of eastern meditation, yoga, Zen and other fads on the western mind. He shows the dangers of the increasingly popular movements of witchcraft, shamanism, Gnosticism, Kabbalah and other New Age cults. He even takes on the popularity of UFO belief, and describes it's demonic roots. He explains how these neo-pagan practices are incapable of solving man's problems and do not lead to his salvation, because they are satanic.
The book ends with an Epilogue to the Fifth Edition, by Heiromonk Damascene (Fr. Seraphim died in 1982). The Epilogue seamlessly brings Fr. Seraphim to the issues of today, and demonstrates that Fr. Seraphim's thoughts were far ahead of his time. The popularity of neo-paganism is still with us, as evidenced in books and movies glamorizing witchcraft, vampires, séances, and other occult practices. Many Christian churches syncretisticly incorporate the same trends of the faddish New Age movement, such as charismatics who channel the Holy Spirit, holistic health programs, meditation workshops, and yoga classes. The global warming movement is taking on a cult-like following, closely resembling Gaia nature-worship. The early Gnostic practices that were condemned by the Fathers of the Orthodox Church are today promoted by scholars such as Elaine Pagels, and authors Ken Wilber and Dan Brown.
The wide-spread acceptance of these manifestations reveals the ignorance of many Christians, who remain oblivious to the presence of Satan in the world today. Fr. Seraphim encourage us to adhere to the True Christianity, with roots in Patristic standands of spiritual life and refined teachings on spiritual discernment, in order to see, and resist, the deceptions of these New Age movements.