Hello Forum,
I came across some websites that were addressing Orthodox extremism as cults. Of course there is the famous St. Anthony Monastery with Fr. Ephraim, which was on their local news a few years ago. I can see how people with worldly views will consider their children brainwashed because they want to live a monastic life. And of course, the tainted extremism of that monstery can give a negative understanding of monastism.
But, that aside, there's another website, of a former, Ephraim novice that posted characteristics of cults and listed some things that I agree could be an underlying perspective of a cult, but then he also suggested changes of lifestyles like fasting for Christmas for 40 days as a form of mind control because he was expected to do it when he became a catecumen. I also was told that and accepted it naturally. Of course, there are changes we should make when we accept God in the Orthodox faith. It is a change for the better; to set our goal towards doing God's will. But, these people consider it an oppression.
I was just wondering if anyone here knows what these people who rejected the proper Orthodox tradition are going through. It's as if they were given the key to a spiritual life and then were somehow completely destroyed by it. There's also a blog by a woman who now opposes anything taught by the Orthodox faith as if it was all mind control.
All the things we talk about here, about spiritual warefares, are twisted into some kind of cultish brainwashing by these people. Why do they miss the point? Is there something we can offer them in their state of confusion?
These are just my thoughts.
Joanna