Customer comments on this selection.
 Much to Consider
While I do not agree with Fr. Rose's main thesis that we are living in the time of anti-Christ (no more so than other eras), I find his secondary thesis - that what separates Orthodox/Patristic spirituality from all current streams, Christian or otherwise, is the central place of discernment - this I find to be very insightful. St. John Cassian states in his 'Conferences' (included in the Philokalia) that discernment is the most important virtue because all the other virtues depend on it. It is very true that in today's spiritual climate there is almost no understanding of going astray or falling into delusion in the spiritual life.
 Prophetic, Brilliant, Great!
In this tremendously interesting and insightful book, Father Seraphim compares and contrasts Holy Orthodoxy with the "religion of the future", the false faith of anti-Christ. This is a truly remarkable and terribly important work. And it is quite amazing that the book was written in the 1970's, in light of the amazing prescience that Father Seraphim Rose herein displays.
Between the covers of this amazing book, we learn of the reality behind the "UFO" craze. And, so vastly important to our current US Presidential election, we learn of the truth behind the Pentecostal "speaking in tongues" movement. All of these things, as described by Father Seraphim Rose are demonic. This explains so much about our current condition.
We recommend this book strongly to all those who would know justice and love mercy, while yet there is time. God bless.
Ahead of it's time
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.
 LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH: the orthodox version
I am an Orthodox Christian, first of all. I am not a fan of Fr Seraphim Rose at all. He is the perfect embodiment of hyper-traditionalism, xenophobia and ultra-orthodoxy. I have several friends who have attended St Vladamirs Seminary and they agree with me about Fr Rose's peculiar beliefs (such as the gnostic idea of toll-houses and Creationism), and how he should not be recomended to inquirers. While I do not doubt Fr Rose's zeal for the faith, and his own vast education, he seems to shun intellectualism and tolerance.
This book is sensationalist and often resembles the same steams of thought in Protestantism, in Orthodox terms, that Fr Rose is trying to dismantle. He believes that only the Orthodox like him, will go inherit eternal life with Christ. He refused to commune with other Orthodox jurisdictions while he was alive, and discounted scientific theories accepted by other Orthodox theologians (such as Lossky, Ware, Schmemmen) such as evolution. While one can learn alot from his works, he is not the theologian many make him out to be, there are many many better options out there, especially published by SVS Press.
His passion for the Church seems to have pushed him over the edge, and often his accusations against other faiths and christian denominations is often fantastical and undocumented. The paranoia of aliens, for instance is quite ridiculous. I have been advised by my own priest and other seminary graduates to stay away for the most part from Fr Rose's books. There are some who seem to have made Fr Rose a saint already, but I believe that is premature.
Also, what would an ultra-fundamentalist book be without a little bit of Jew-bashing? Yes, Rose continues the disgusting, heinous, vile venom of Christian anti-semitism all the way to the post-Holocaust 20th century. Does he have any decency? I don't know. The followers of his I have encountered online have called the Jews "Christ-killers" and the like, so I don't think so. According to this book the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem would be a sign of Satan. Yikes. I guess he forgot St James, the Lord's brother, was an ultra-observant Jew, as were most of the early Christians. They continued to offer sacrifices at the Temple to God, and worshipped as practicing Jews. The destruction of the Temple in 70 AD was tragic, but not a sign of God's judgement of his people. That is just popular Christian folk theology. It is silliness that people still hold to that idea. Christian theology needs to cleanse itself and repent for the atrocities committed against them for the past 2000 years.
If you want books that concern Creation, Ecumenicalism, Truth, Dogma and other Faiths, I would recomend all of SVS Press Foundations series by Frs Peter C. Bouteneff, John Breck, John Garvey, and also Lossky's Mystical Theology and Bishop Ware's Orthodox Way and Fr Schemmemens For the Life of the World. There is no polemics in these books, but educated and informed dialogue that are extremely edifying spiritually. Not the cloistered, medieval, tired prejudices of Fr Rose. And if you do choose to read his works, please remember he is not a saint, nor a Father,nor a seminarian, read with caution and in the light of other Orthodox Theologians, many of Fr Rose's ramblings are not Traditions, but "traditions" with a lowercase 't'.
How a Leading Orthodox Theologian Views the World
This book includes material from so many sources that it is almost an anthology. The final chapter, on the charismatic movement, is extremely thought provoking, as is the chapter on alien encounters, which Rose believes to be encounters with living demons. Rose is not nearly so wise as he is made out to be on the book cover reviews, but he does follow some paths and reach some conclusions that I have never seen before, and that seem remarkably inevitable if one thinks clearly. One of his primary points is that you can come to God only through Jesus, that most spiritual experiences of people in various religions are real, that any spiritual experience not of God is of the Devil, and finally, that only the Orthodox church has the power to confer the blessings of God. In other words, anyone who is not Orthodox is a devil worshipper. The intriguing thing is that this conclusion requires the belief that the devil can inspire acts of love, caring, and moral courage. I don't think so. Lots of other great stuff to think about in this book.
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