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What does man seek in religion, and what should he seek in it? How does God reveal Himself in order to bring man to a knowledge of the Truth? How does suffering help this revelation to occur?These and other questions were discussed by Fr. Seraphim Rose, an Orthodox Christian monk from the mountains of northern California, during a lecture he gave at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1981. The contents of this lecture comprise God's Revelation to the Human Heart. Drawing from a variety of sources -- the Holy Scriptures, patristic writings, the lives of both ancient and modern saints, and accounts of persecuted Christians behind the Iron Curtain -- Fr. Seraphim goes to the core of all Christian life: the conversion of the heart of man, which causes it to bum with love for Christ and transforms one into a new being.

The reaction this book generated is misleading as to what the book is actually about. Fr Rose was attacked as a Gnostic for affirming that the soul after death passed through a number of aerial toll-houses (twenty, to be precise). On first glance this seems wacky and utterly devoid of patristic and biblical support. However, when one actually reads what the book says and what one means and doesn't mean by "aerial toll-house," it's actually fairly level-headed. This book is not primarily about "aerial toll-houses." It's a manual on what the Fathers and New Testament teach about angelology, demonology, and answering occultic-claims. And for that reason, it is very useful. Here are the high-points of the book: The Nature of Angels, both Fallen and Unfallen. The matter-spirit dialectic of modern man is false. Angels are "an immaterial fire" (25). While angels are limited by time and space, they are not limited in the same way we are. They have bodily form but they are unbounded (e.g., can go through doors and walls). Granted, it's a difficult point and I only bring it up to show the inadequacy of Cartesian metaphysics. But an Angel Appeared to Me! One of the most useful aspects of the book is that it gives us good guidelines for "testing the spirits." American Christianity by and large has done a terrible job at this. If someone tells us they had an experience of heaven et al, especially one who was clinically dead and later revived, we often believe them. If they experience "light and pleasantness and feelings of puppies," who are we to say that they are wrong or that their religious experience/tradition is inadequate? I mean, at the hour of death they apparently experienced "heaven." No? The problem is that research by psychologists across the world, whether ultimately true or not, shows that other religions--Hinduism primarily--can make the same claim. Except that the "after-death meetings" for Hindus are quite unpleasant--there is nothing fun about meeting a Hindu god! But still it raises a good question: why do most "out of body" experiences feel "warm and light?" Fr Rose has an interesting suggestion: because the soul itself is no longer bounded by the body. He is not saying the body is evil, but the body, by definition since it extends into space and time, is limited by space and time. Out of body experiences, therefore, do not have these limits. Thus one can expect some euphoric experience. This euphoric experience, however, does not suggest that the person's religious tradition is necessarily correct. It might be, but we need to be careful saying it is correct because then we give legitimacy to some Hindus, most occultists, and many irreligious American experiences. Fr Rose then goes onto contrast these modern American experiences with the lives of the saints. Fr Rose is not saying that these experiences are merely psychological or fake. He is simply saying they are not necessarily heaven-sent and could be the work of delusions and demons. Evaluation Fr Rose's use of sources Despite many criticisms of Rose on this point, there does seem to be considerable pedigree, both Eastern and Western Christian, of some form of post-death meeting with angels and/or demons. Rose skillfully used a variety of ancient and widespread fathers and holy men on this point. However, I have one criticism of his use of sources: while he was often quoting early Fathers, other times he was quoting the 19th century Russian saint Ignatius Briachninov's quoting of early fathers. It would have been more convincing had Rose himself skipped Briachniov's quotations and gone straight to the patristic sources. Excellent Response to the Occult Fr Rose gives a brilliant refutation of today's occultism. He sounds a clear note of warning and gives many guidelines on evaluating the clam that "angels appeared to me." Are Demons too Powerful? At the same time, however, one gets the impression that demons are way too strong. Rose tells stories of how seemingly holy men who went to confession, lived piously, seemed to confess Christ were yet dragged to hell by demons over a few sins. I don't deny that some men are hypocrites. While we saw a lot of how demons delude people in this book, we didn't hear too much of how the cross broke the power of hell and shattered the kingdom of darkness. That's troubling, actually. Re-constructing the toll-houses Are they literal? A lot of Russian thinkers sometimes say they are. Probably not, though. I suggest, instead, an alternative. Rose mentions CS Lewis in his book. While he has a few criticisms of him, he notes him as an apologist of supernatural Christianity. In the last chapter, after the protagonist dies, Screwtape mentions to Wormwood that the man, while in utter joy, may yet have to experience "pains." It's doubtful Lewis referred to Purgatory, so there could be some overlap with what Rose is trying to say. Other fathers (cf Augustine De Cure pro Mortuis) did believe that "stuff happened after death and the prayers of the pious could in some sense, perhaps, affect the dead," cautioned against reading too much into it. I don't hold to "toll-houses" but I do recommend Rose's work as a good response to occultism and a reliable guide to angels and demons. I really don't want to criticize this book too much. There is so much in it that was good and helpful. And the possible existence of "aerial toll houses" doesn't bother me that much. What does bother me, though, is that the struggling believer leaves the book with a sense that his faith might not amount to much in the end. That maybe Christ's power isn't strong enough. Yes, I believe in synergy and struggling for salvation,, but the believer doesn't leave the book with much hope.EDIT: My views have changed somewhat since reading this book, but my point there was that the impression that the demons just might overpower you anyway. Rose doesn't do much to dispel that idea.Further, he doesn't mention any of the texts that talk about Christ decisively breaking the power of reigning sin and ending the curse of the law. The book is good as a response to the occult, but it is woefully weak when dealing with a host of New Testament texts.

The continuation of Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra’s acclaimed VERTIGO series Y: THE LAST MAN brings to vivid life the age-old speculation: What would really happen to the last man on Earth? In 2002, the world changes forever. Every man, every boy, every mammal with a Y chromosome everywhere on Earth suddenly collapses and dies. With the loss of nearly half the planet’s population, the gears of society grind to a halt, and a world of women are left to pick up the pieces and try to keep civilization from collapsing entirely.The “gendercide,” however, is not absolutely complete. For some unknown reason, one young man named Yorick Brown and his pet male monkey, Ampersand, are spared. Overnight, this anonymous twenty-something becomes the most important person on the planet—the key, it is hoped, to unlocking the secret of the mysterious sex-specific plague.For Yorick himself, the most important person on the planet has been agonizingly out of reach. But now, after three long years and 10,000 arduous miles, the last man is closing in on the truth about his lost fiancée—and the shocking facts behind his own survival.Collects Y: The Last Man #37-48.

What is the ancient Christian understanding of todays UFO sightings What is behind the Charismatic Movement What phenomena are assaulting Christianity in our modern world How can Christians avoid being caught up in the Apostasy ORTHODOXY AND THE RELIGION OF THE FUTURE examines in eight chapters these and similar questions facing Christians in the contemporary world. The religious phenomena of today are symptoms of a new religious consciousness that is preparing the world religion of the future. Phenomena such as Yoga, Zen, Tantra, Transcendental Meditation, Maharaj-ji, Hare Krishna, UFOs, the Charismatic Movement and Jonestown are presented in contrast to the Orthodox Patristic standard of spiritual life, without the understanding of which, in the coming time of antichrist, it will scarcely be possible for Christians to be saved. This work is a concise and unequivocal Orthodox statement on contemporary trends its urgent message rings loud and clear. Viewed from a foundation based in Patristic teachings, the spiritual movements of the day are clearly various spiritual deceptions that have existed since the beginning of the Church, rather than the achievements of a new religious consciousness. Addressing soberly and directly the trends of pseudo-spirituality which loom enticingly today, ORTHODOXY AND THE RELIGION OF THE FUTURE provides a beacon of discernment in these times of widespread spiritual deception. The book examines a broad spectrum of issues facing modern Christians-each from the perspective of the early Church Fathers. As the New Age is becoming a household concept and is moving into wider acceptance by mainstream society, the new religious consciousness can be seen progressing precisely along the lines described by the late Fr. Seraphim

This powerful memoir tells the story of a Greek youth who, out of a desire to know the truth empirically, began to experiment in yoga, hypnotism, and various occult techniques. Eventually drawn back to the Faith of his forefathers Orthodox Christianity he visited the ancient monastic republic of Mount Athos in his native Greece, where he was brought to a knowledge of the Truth of Jesus Christ by the saintly Elder Paisios (1924 1994). Nevertheless, believing he had only found part of the truth on the Holy Mountain, he chose to give the same opportunity to Hindu yogis that he had given to Elder Paisios and other Orthodox monks. Thus, at the age of twenty-five, he embarked on a trip to India, where he undertook his search in the ashrams of three famous gurus, one of whom was worshipped as a god. His experiences in India, along with his subsequent encounters with Elder Paisios on Mount Athos, are recounted in the present book in vivid detail. Popular in Greece since its first publication there in 2001, The Gurus, the Young Man, and Elder Paisios is a page-turning narrative of both outward adventures and inward struggles. What stands out most in this book, however, is the radiant image of Elder Paisios, possessed of divine gifts, laboring in prayer for his fellow man, and overflowing with unconditional love. Through this, one sees the uncreated Source of the elder s love and of the author s spiritual transformation: the true God-man Jesus Christ, Who honors man s personal freedom while drawing him, through love, into everlasting union with Himself.

It is the late fifteenth century and a village healer in Russia is powerless to help his beloved as she dies in childbirth, unwed and without having received communion. Devastated and desperate, he sets out on a journey in search of redemption. But this is no ordinary journey: it is one that spans ages and countries, and which brings him face-to-face with a host of unforgettable, eccentric characters and legendary creatures from the strangest medieval bestiaries. Laurus’s travels take him from the Middle Ages to the Plague of 1771, where as a holy fool he displays miraculous healing powers, to the political upheavals of the late-twentieth century. At each transformative stage of his journey he becomes more revered by the church and the people, until he decides, one day, to return to his home village to lead the life of a monastic hermit – not realizing that it is here that he will face his most difficult trial yet.Laurus is a remarkably rich novel about the eternal themes of love, loss, self-sacrifice and faith, from one of Russia’s most exciting and critically acclaimed novelists.

Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

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