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Summary: It COULD be. . . .
Review: As an Orthodox Christian who fervently seeks unity in the oldest and truest Christian faith the world will ever see, I found this book to be two things: 1) the most incredibly interesting literary work I've ever read (save the Bible); and 2) discouraging because it admits that there are those who dissent from this teaching. However, I urge all of you, non-Christians especially, to read this book. There are so many people in the world today who look for an explanation for life and a purpose after death that it really upsets me. The truth is there for anyone who wants it. The great thing about this book is, even if you don't agree with them, the teachings COULD be true, and so you, if you are anything like me, may spend the rest of your life (or at least the next two weeks) worrying about it. Perhaps Fr. Seraphim Rose was just a good pursuasive writer, but I really do not think there is anything a person could REALLY argue against this book quite simply because he is not dead. Death is the answer to everyone's questions in the end, and until then, we can either trust in what the Church fathers have taught us, or we can choose to laugh at them and dismiss what they say as "mystical nonsense." Either way, we are all going to die, and perhaps reading this book will better prepare us. Do yourself a favor; instead of seeking an answer in occult magazines and new and popular ideas, put your trust in something older than yourself and read a really interesting book that may change your life.
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Summary: One of the Most Important Books of All Time
Review: Fr. Seraphim Rose does not create anything new in this book; he is merely showing, from the very words of the Saints and Fathers of the 2,000 year-old Orthodox Church themselves, what the actual Orthodox Christian teaching on the afterlife is (and how it contrasts with the Psychic, Occultist, New Age, Protestant, and Roman Catholic views.) This book presents yet another example of the tremendous difference between Orthodoxy and other "Christian" religions, as it ushers into the open an ancient, half-forgotten tradition on life after death that would seem completely foreign to many people who today call themselves "Christians." Everything from out-of-body experiences (whether other-worldly or in the "astral plane")to the encounters with both angels and demons (both before and after death), to the importance of commemoration at the Bloodless Sacrifice, is presented. Though he has some detractors, Fr. Seraphim Rose may be one of the most saintly men from the 20th century, and I give this book one of the highest possible recommendations.
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Summary: Excellent Orthodox Discussion
Review: Fr. Seraphim's book on the Orthodox understanding of our life after death is an excellent antidote to New Age deceptions about what happens to the soul. While he primarily relies on the writings of St. Ignaty Brianchaninov as transmitter of Patristic teachings, Fr. Seraphim is careful to remind his reader that the Church Fathers, when speaking of mystical, spiritual phenomena, speak in terms that do not reflect necessarily reflect what they are understood to depict in the this-wordly language used to describe them; rather, the language used is meant to provide some sort of description of what one can expect to experience. In the case of toll-houses, one should not imagine a literal set of station houses like those on our Interstate highway system. What this language is meant to impart is the very real reality that in some sense we will be held accountable for the sins we have committed and some sort of 'toll' in this regard will be asked of the departed soul. How this is resolved in the case of each person is up to God's Mercy and the life one lives. Thus, his discussion of the toll-houses -- something mentioned in Orthodox prayers and the Church's cycle of services -- is meant to describe some kind of reality wherein the soul is held accountable to demons for the extent to which it has lived its life in communion with them rather than the Law of God. Fr. Seraphim's critics have confused this aspect of both his writing on the subject and what the Church Fathers have taught. Of course, as Fr. Seraphim points out, the teaching of the toll-houses is not a dogma of the Church in the same way the Church's teaching regarding the Trinity, Original Sin, etc., is dogma; however, that it comprises what the Church has believed, taught, and experienced through the lives of its Saints is there for anyone who would like to consult original sources. In this regard, Metropolitan Hierotheos' excellent book, 'Life After Death' serves as a helpful companion volume since it covers the same ground and provides what some might consider clearer explanations of the Orthodox teaching on toll-houses and how to understand them according to Orthodox tradition -- all in line with what Fr. Seraphim says -- in addition to important theological considerations about the nature of the soul and sin and the Divine Energies. Fr. Seraphim also explores the many deceptive teachings prevalent in the culture at large that attempt to lure one into a complacent attitude towards death. 'The Soul After Death' reminds us that through a life lived in sin we judge ourselves by drawing away from God. The consequence is that we follow the suggestions and temptations of the fallen spirits and are lead ever more into a life lived in communion with them rather than a life lived in communion with God. As a result, as Fr. Seraphim reminds us, when we die those we have listened to and lived in spirit with claim us as theirs since we have chosen their side by our actions while alive. A soberminded and sobering book.
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Summary: A prophet for our time
Review: Fr. Seraphim's brilliant work expertly and simply sets forth the apostolic teaching on life after death. This text is full of patristic quotations, and is profound in its clarity. A must-read for Orthodox Christians!I sincerely hope Fr. Seraphim Rose is glorified soon!
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Summary: Toll Houses (Custom Houses) Patristically based
Review: Fr. Seraphim's timely and important book on what the soul can expect to experience after death should be read by all Christians -- Orthodox and otherwise. Since his discussion of 'Toll Houses' generated controversy (principally in American Greek circles), consulting Metropolitan Hierotheos' book, 'Life After Death,' may well serve to extend the discussion of Fr. Seraphim's excellent study. Met. Hierotheos provides important historical information behind what he calls 'Custom Houses.' He points out that the Fathers wanted to use something that the people of their day would readily understand in order to gain some glimpse of the mystery of death. He points out that various Fathers and Saints chose the image of a tax collector because the arrangement between the State, Publicans, and the Publicans' tax collectors was onerous enough on the people that it served as an excellent example (he sites St. Macarius of Egypt in this regard.) Met. Hierotheos' point -- and Fr. Seraphim's as well -- is that the Church teaches that when the soul passes on, it must 'journey through the air' and since as the Gospels note, fallen spirits inhabit the air of this world, the soul will confront them. That this is Patristically based is evident by what many Fathers have said either in their own writings -- St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. John of the Ladder in his description of the repose of the hermit Stephen. Met. Hierotheos does such an excellent job in assembling sayings from the Fathers, Desert Fathers, and Saints that the idea that Fr. Seraphim's explanation of 'Toll Houses' is an innovation or not Orthodox, is simply incorrect. If one is interested in the Orthodox teaching of life after death, Fr. Seraphim's book is an excellent place to start.
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