...If one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds. - Isaiah 5:30
In the darkening world of contemporary unbelief, where the impending storm clouds of destruction have indeed almost drowned out the light, this distress is most intensely felt by the still-tender souls of the youth. We, the youth of today, see how reality is warped and twisted into escapism by those who have swallowed the lies of this world and chosen to live in the shadow of evil. We see how our society has made the dollar the justification for all means, even to the point of trying to sell us "god" in the market place like a slave, bound and gagged.
We don't want a homogenized smiling American god, who is merely the refuse of the rotting system around us. We have been raised on commercials and billboards; we don't want to be sold god in silver wrapping paper and a pink bow. We want to discover reality, not in an abstract way which will make us feel good about ourselves, but hard grueling reality. We want truth, raw and real. We are desperate to know Christ crucified, not a plastic imitation of Him. Only the Man of Sorrows can understand our sorrow, and only a God crucified and resurrected deserves our faith.
Youth of the Apocalypse is a ray of light cutting through the dark clouds of hypocritical, worldly pseudo-religion. It presents the realities of Orthodox Truth without any apologies. For those of us who have been raised in the stifling smog of lies and sugar-coated excuses, it is a breath of fresh air, a life preserver in an increasingly choppy ocean, a crumb of reality under the table of self-deception, a punch in the face. This book is a virtual manifesto for the despairing children of the eleventh hour, addressing the issues and problems that are literally tearing apart the fabric of innocence: it deals with suicide, insanity, drugs, violence, art, the occult, the apocalypse, and finally with our salvation, suffering and resurrection out of the depths of this post-human wasteland.
Youth of the Apocalypse was torn from the hearts of two young monastics in Alaska, who themselves have been raised out of the muck of contemporary Nihilism in its most extreme form. It has already brought suicidal young souls, despairing Orthodox young people, and other Christian youths into the ranks of God's Army.
Humanity had thought itself sufficient, and even now we think we can escape our destiny by our own efforts. Escape! - that is our only thought. To escape form the insanity, the hell, of modern life is all we wish. But we cannot escape!!! We must go through this hell, and accept it, knowing it is the love of God that causes our suffering. What terrible anguish! - to suffer so, not knowing why, indeed thinking there is no reason. The reason is God's love - do we see it blazing in the darkness? - we are blind. - Monk Seraphim Rose
ST. HERMAN OF ALASKA BROTHERHOOD
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Platina, California 96076
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