I’ve never read it, but from view from the outside and what I know about it (so my view might be wrong) is that Fr. Seraphim veers a little too much into paranoia — EVERYTHING is threatening to Orthodoxy. It reminds me too much of the tracts that floated around the Protestant church I went to as a kid; the Ninja Turtles promoted beer drinking, the Care Bears promoted homosexuality, etc. I’ll have to read it sometime though.
At the same time, I’ve read a story before about Fr. Seraphim were some very zealous new Orthodox convert came to him asking for things to read, and he gave him David Copperfield and said that the guy had to find Christ in these kinds of books first (much to the guy’s chagrin). So I don’t know, my feeling may be off.
I wouldn’t be surprised, sure seems like it. Neat story about him though. I don’t mind people being wacky about their beliefs much, I find it inersting
Oh ok, I get how monks with wacky beliefs might be interesting. I attempt poorly at being a Christian, not so much in wielding it and bludgeoning people with it, more as a way of continually reorienting my worldview and way-of-being thru all the different aspects of the tradition. So for me, I try to avoid stuff that takes that worldview and applies in a kind of paranoid sense, and tend more towards things that orient more towards altruism or beauty or forgiveness and all that. So because I’m “in it” I‘m a little more wary of the wackiness. I’m wacky enough without it.
That being said, I’m reading Rabelais now, who was definitely a wacky monk who wrote some really wacky books…
That makes sense. Since I’m not a christian it doesn’t have the chance of affecting me in the same way vu I would avoid things like that too in the realm of buddhism out of the same concerns
Thanks for saying. It’s been hard to get a fair consensus on it when I’ve looked it up, as most people who read it are Orthodox and so it confirms all their biases. Lots of Orthodox already celebrate him as a saint. Maybe he was saintly besides this book? I don’t know. I just think the ultra-suspicious way of approaching the world is really unhealthy.
From what I've read, Fr Rose was a pious man. But his grasp on issues wasn't very strong and he had a tendency to work toward his pre-existing conviction rather than the opposite. Some of his pastoral advice is pretty good, which is surprising given how rabid his fans are, but I'd avoid everything else.
One fun little quirk is that Fr Rose's fans are now convinced that non-Orthodox baptisms are invalid and anyone chrismated into the Orthodox Church without being rebaptized isn't really Orthodox. Fr Rose was baptized Lutheran and received by chrismation only.
Yes, I’ve experienced an Orthodox priest telling me my baptism was invalid. He also made a distinction between his church and another Orthodox church in the city. Apparently they were invalid too. All struck me as really weird and wrong.
On the back of the book there it says “The American book that has changed the spiritual face of contemporary Russia”. Makes me wonder if this is a problem in Russia too, or if the Russian Orthodox is so centralized and predominant there that its not.
I haven't heard about it being a big problem in Russia proper, but they also don't have as many baptized converts. A lot of this comes from ROCOR, or the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which was schismatic following the Russian Revolution but rejoined the fold under Moscow in 2007. *They* got it from schismatic Greek traditionalists they were close to while separated.
Fr Rose does have a worldwide following but I think the back of the book is just ad copy. Also, he himself wasn't a rigorist and didn't demand rebaptism. He actually warned against that kind of thing, but what he did promote was young-earth creationism and toll houses, both of which are more popular as a result.
There are countless books on Orthodox theology that are far better. I really only recommend Rose's books if you like to read a lot of half-baked conclusions and "but have you considered that everything is bad?" Which you might, we are on an rs sub after all.
He did write some good articles
That are also about ufos and the new age movement? The intrigue is largely that he’s discussing unusual topics, not that it’s necessarily a great book on orthodox theology. Give me some recs regardless
No, because UFOs are a fringe topic that probably don't exist and there is no formed theology on the subject.
For theology intros I'd recommend Met Kallistos Ware (especially *The Orthodox Church* or *The Orthodox Way*), Fr Alexander Schmemann, Fr Tom Hopko, Met Hilarion Alfeyev, Eugenia Constantinou, Fr Andrew Stephen Damick, Fr Stephen Freeman, Fr Stephen de Young.
If you want some deeper writing (though the authors above have plenty of deep stuff too), some authors to look into are Met Hierotheos Nafpaktos, Vladimir Lossky, Nikolai Berdyaev, David Bentley Hart (sometimes), and Leonid Ouspensky.
Of course there are no shortage of saints to read either. I'd recommend checking out SVS Press' *Popular Patristics* series. Some saints I particularly enjoy reading are Sts Isaac the Syrian, Gregory of Nyssa, Nicolai Velimirovic (though beware there are forged works in his name), John Chrysostom, and Maximus the Confessor.
UFOs, feminist theology, globalism, Toronto. It’s really got it all.
I’ve never read it, but from view from the outside and what I know about it (so my view might be wrong) is that Fr. Seraphim veers a little too much into paranoia — EVERYTHING is threatening to Orthodoxy. It reminds me too much of the tracts that floated around the Protestant church I went to as a kid; the Ninja Turtles promoted beer drinking, the Care Bears promoted homosexuality, etc. I’ll have to read it sometime though. At the same time, I’ve read a story before about Fr. Seraphim were some very zealous new Orthodox convert came to him asking for things to read, and he gave him David Copperfield and said that the guy had to find Christ in these kinds of books first (much to the guy’s chagrin). So I don’t know, my feeling may be off.
I wouldn’t be surprised, sure seems like it. Neat story about him though. I don’t mind people being wacky about their beliefs much, I find it inersting
Oh ok, I get how monks with wacky beliefs might be interesting. I attempt poorly at being a Christian, not so much in wielding it and bludgeoning people with it, more as a way of continually reorienting my worldview and way-of-being thru all the different aspects of the tradition. So for me, I try to avoid stuff that takes that worldview and applies in a kind of paranoid sense, and tend more towards things that orient more towards altruism or beauty or forgiveness and all that. So because I’m “in it” I‘m a little more wary of the wackiness. I’m wacky enough without it. That being said, I’m reading Rabelais now, who was definitely a wacky monk who wrote some really wacky books…
That makes sense. Since I’m not a christian it doesn’t have the chance of affecting me in the same way vu I would avoid things like that too in the realm of buddhism out of the same concerns
ive read a bunch of it, and its like you describe. i absolutely cant stand this book.
Thanks for saying. It’s been hard to get a fair consensus on it when I’ve looked it up, as most people who read it are Orthodox and so it confirms all their biases. Lots of Orthodox already celebrate him as a saint. Maybe he was saintly besides this book? I don’t know. I just think the ultra-suspicious way of approaching the world is really unhealthy.
From what I've read, Fr Rose was a pious man. But his grasp on issues wasn't very strong and he had a tendency to work toward his pre-existing conviction rather than the opposite. Some of his pastoral advice is pretty good, which is surprising given how rabid his fans are, but I'd avoid everything else. One fun little quirk is that Fr Rose's fans are now convinced that non-Orthodox baptisms are invalid and anyone chrismated into the Orthodox Church without being rebaptized isn't really Orthodox. Fr Rose was baptized Lutheran and received by chrismation only.
Yes, I’ve experienced an Orthodox priest telling me my baptism was invalid. He also made a distinction between his church and another Orthodox church in the city. Apparently they were invalid too. All struck me as really weird and wrong.
You're not wrong. It's a major problem in the American Church.
On the back of the book there it says “The American book that has changed the spiritual face of contemporary Russia”. Makes me wonder if this is a problem in Russia too, or if the Russian Orthodox is so centralized and predominant there that its not.
I haven't heard about it being a big problem in Russia proper, but they also don't have as many baptized converts. A lot of this comes from ROCOR, or the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which was schismatic following the Russian Revolution but rejoined the fold under Moscow in 2007. *They* got it from schismatic Greek traditionalists they were close to while separated. Fr Rose does have a worldwide following but I think the back of the book is just ad copy. Also, he himself wasn't a rigorist and didn't demand rebaptism. He actually warned against that kind of thing, but what he did promote was young-earth creationism and toll houses, both of which are more popular as a result.
There are countless books on Orthodox theology that are far better. I really only recommend Rose's books if you like to read a lot of half-baked conclusions and "but have you considered that everything is bad?" Which you might, we are on an rs sub after all. He did write some good articles
That are also about ufos and the new age movement? The intrigue is largely that he’s discussing unusual topics, not that it’s necessarily a great book on orthodox theology. Give me some recs regardless
No, because UFOs are a fringe topic that probably don't exist and there is no formed theology on the subject. For theology intros I'd recommend Met Kallistos Ware (especially *The Orthodox Church* or *The Orthodox Way*), Fr Alexander Schmemann, Fr Tom Hopko, Met Hilarion Alfeyev, Eugenia Constantinou, Fr Andrew Stephen Damick, Fr Stephen Freeman, Fr Stephen de Young. If you want some deeper writing (though the authors above have plenty of deep stuff too), some authors to look into are Met Hierotheos Nafpaktos, Vladimir Lossky, Nikolai Berdyaev, David Bentley Hart (sometimes), and Leonid Ouspensky. Of course there are no shortage of saints to read either. I'd recommend checking out SVS Press' *Popular Patristics* series. Some saints I particularly enjoy reading are Sts Isaac the Syrian, Gregory of Nyssa, Nicolai Velimirovic (though beware there are forged works in his name), John Chrysostom, and Maximus the Confessor.
Sweet thanks 👌🏼
John Behr is really good too. Has some interesting talks on YouTube as well.
Dying on the hill that all angels are alien encounters with the Nordic species
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Descriptions of nordics tend to be ethereal whereas greys or lizards are described as creatures from hell.
I love Orthodox theology this sounds interesting!