I am currently reading this, the first book written by Father Seraphim Rose. I have a feeling that by the time I'm finished, it will be one of the most important books I've ever read. Has anyone shared similar feelings relating to this work?
Peace.
Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future
Yes, I am also a former Roman Catholic. My observation of charismatics within the RCC led me to conclude that this movement was something alien in the body of the church. Its theology was formed outside of the church and the whole ethos of this movement is completely foreign to any traditional understanding of Catholicism. Irish Catholicism expresses emotion through sentimental hymns and devotions to Our Lady and the Sacred Heart etc., not through hand-waving, tongue-speaking or other forms of attention-seeking behaviour.
I agree with you that Fr Seraphim did a masterful job of illustrating the links between the charismatic movement and the occult. This link seems to be particularly clear in the hysteria in recent years surrounding the so-called Toronto blessing. How it is to the glory of God for man, who is made in His image, to roll around the floor making bestial noises?
It wasn't until I became Orthodox that I was introduced to the teachings of the Fathers throughout the ages on the dangers of using mental imagery in prayer. As a Roman Catholic I used discursive meditation when praying. I now understand why it is dangerous to do so. The great deceiver is always ready to flatter to deceive.
Brigid
God reveals Himself to the humble, who live in accordance with virtue. Those who take up the wings of the imagination attempt the flight of Ikaros and have same end. Those who harbor fantasies do not pray; for he that prays lifts his mind and heart towards God, whereas he that turns to fantasies diverts himself. Those who are addicted to the imagination have withdrawn from God's grace and from the realm of Divine revelation. They have abandoned the heart in which grace is revealed and have surrendered themselves to the imagination, which is devoid of all grace. It is only the heart that receives knowledge about things that are not apprehended by the senses, because God, Who dwells and moves within it, speaks within it and reveals to it the substance of things hoped for.
"Modern Orthodox Saints, St. Nectarios of Aegina", Dr. Constantine Cavarnos, Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Belmont, Massachusetts., 1981., pp. 154-187