Contents:
- Article Link
- Article Abstract
- Book: The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity
- My Amazon Review of The Psychedelic Gospels
- Videos
Article Link
Article:
Entheogens in Christian art: Wasson, Allegro, and the Psychedelic Gospels
Jerry Brown & Julie Brown
https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/3/2/article-p142.xml
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
Volume/Issue: Volume 3: Issue 2
Pages 142–163
June 1, 2019; online pub. date: September 9, 2019
Article Abstract
Condensed excerpts
new historical evidence about Wasson’s correspondence with art historian [history artist -mh] Erwin Panofsky
analysis of entheogenic mushroom images in Christian art
controversy between Wasson and philologist John Marco Allegro
a Garden of Eden fresco in the 12th century Chapel of Plaincourault in France
a compelling financial motive for Wasson’s refusal to acknowledge that this fresco represents Amanita muscaria
Wasson’s reluctance to pursue his hypothesis regarding the entheogenic origins of religion into Christian art and artifacts
Wasson maintained that the presence of psychoactive mushrooms in the Near and Middle East ended around 1000 BCE.
Wasson’s view prevailed and stymied research on entheogens in Christianity for decades.
A new generation of 21st century researchers has documented growing evidence of A. muscaria and psilocybin-containing mushrooms in Christian art
Samorini’s typology of mushroom trees
original photographs, taken during fieldwork at churches and cathedrals throughout Europe and the Middle East, of entheogenic mushrooms in Christian art
frescoes, illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, sculptures, and stained glass windows
a psychedelic gospels theory
Critiques of this theory by:
o Art historians [Panofsky; history artists -mh]
o Ardent advocates [Irvin/Rush]
o Medieval historians [Hatsis]
o Conservative Catholics
Establishing an Interdisciplinary Committee on the Psychedelic Gospels to independently evaluate the growing body of evidence of entheogenic mushrooms in Christian art in order to resolve a controversial question regarding the possible role of entheogens in the history and origins of Christianity.”
[“role”, “history”, “origins” is good & compact, broken-out well. I often summarize as “the extent to which visionary plants were present throughout Christian history” -mh]
Book: The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity
The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity
Jerry Brown, Julie Brown
http://amzn.com/1620555026
2016
My Amazon Review of The Psychedelic Gospels
Customer Review
Michael Hoffman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2016
[the book became available on September 24, 2016. Mine appears to be the 3rd review posted.]
Verified Purchase
The extent and meaning of psychedelics in Christianity
The Psychedelic Gospels accomplishes its stated goal, doesn’t make strategic mistakes, and brings additional evidence of mushrooms in Christian art, with intelligent, informed, broad discussion.
This book is ready for Wouter Hanegraaff to read. Hanegraaff is leading critical historical scholarship in Western esotericism, and he is calling for critical scholarship on the history of psychedelics in Western esotericism. Brown shows a Boehme woodcut with mushroom elements.
Brown provides valuable contributions to studying how religions come from psychedelics and then corporate religion tries to manage or compete against psychedelics, sometimes suppressing the very root inspiration of religion.
Brown raises the right questions about Wasson, and takes a critical, informed look at the Wasson/Allegro contention, so that’s no longer blocking research. That logjam has now been cleared.
This book is written as a travel adventure format. It is chatty and yet impressively broad and relatively well-informed on psychedelic history and latest research developments and controversies, including Irvin, Letcher, Hatsis, and Hoffman. Discusses the reception history of McKenna and Allegro, and gives balanced critical assessment of Wasson and of Allegro.
We must not let Wasson hold back any longer, research into psychedelic history within Christianity. We must not let Allegro hold back the psychedelic theory of religion.
Letcher and Hatsis have fixated on Allegro’s particular model of how to think about the mushrooms in Christianity, as if we must pick between only two, shallow explanatory-theory options, “there are no mushrooms in our own religion” vs. “secret fertility cult hiding their mushroom use in the figure of Jesus”.
Brown’s thinking doesn’t get stuck inside the over-specific John Allegro description of what mushrooms in Christianity meant in the cultural context.
Brown has contributed several useful mytheme decodings:
{bones} = nondying
{Purification of lips by ember}
A {full-height spear held by the god} separates the scene into mortal vs. immortal
Brown points to the Egodeath site for discussion of the psychedelic theory of religion. The Egodeate site has content through 2007. The Egodeath Yahoo group covers through the present.
Brown considers ahistoricity and psychedelics, but doesn’t consider the Egodeath theory as a whole. There is a paragraph about consciousness, yet no mention of loose cognitive binding and metaperception per the Egodeath theory. No mention of Heimarmene or Eternalism or freewill.
Shallow pop sike treatment of the snake as being vaguely “identified with” psychedelics — but Eve sees and rightly blames the snake for bringing her the ingesting of mushrooms.
This book adheres to the typical scope, typical focus on shallow recognition of the sheer presence of mushrooms in Christianity, or psychedelics in religion. Gives lip service to cognitive approach and cites Benny Shanon, but doesn’t mention anything like the theory of loose cognitive association binding.
Brown makes the usual comments about meditation that the Moderate psychedelics “advocates” make, equating meditation with psychedelics. But meditation or contemplation comes from psychedelics; psilocybin (not meditation) is the authority and point of reference for religion. Functionally, meditation serves as a way of avoiding psychedelics, which are too effective.
Brown’s next step after this book is to gather and assess art evidence of mushrooms in Christianity. Even before we make additional important progress there, though, it is suddenly already time to ask: given the fact of mushrooms in Christianity, what of it?
The article _Wasson and Allegro on the Tree of Knowledge as Amanita_ advises to put aside the shallow argument about a single mushroom tree, and focus research instead on the question: To what extent are psychedelics in Christianity?
But moving on to the next phase after Brown’s next project, after books in this genre have piled up, and after piling up more than enough evidence of the sheer presence of psychedelics in all of our religions, then what? Brown doesn’t reach that far. Given that there are plentiful mushrooms in Christianity, what of it? Given that there are plentiful psychedelics throughout religion, what of it?
The Egodeath theory explains that once the esoteric psychedelic tradition is reinvigorated, this will lead to an eager and fearful uncovering and revelation, which delivers salvation and gnosis: Mushrooms in Christianity will lead to transformation from literalist ordinary-state Possibilism (possibility-branching-steering) to analogical psychedelic Eternalism (pre-existence/noncontrol; frozen spacetime block). Esoteric (inner) Christianity must be available, as well as exoteric (outer) Christianity.
Brown advocates amending the Controlled Substances Act to permit psychedelics for certain purposes, and centers where people legally ingest psychedelics under supervision. The Egodeath theory advocates full repeal of drug Prohibition back to the 1913 nonexistence of laws against psychoactives; eliminate the schedules.
Brown’s declared position on Jesus’ historicity is literalist; historicist: Brown asserts that Jesus *ingested* mushrooms, not that Jesus *means* mushrooms.
Allegro’s camp asserts that Jesus represents mushrooms.
Brown points to the Egodeath site. The Egodeath theory asserts: The Eucharist is psychoactive mushrooms, is Christ in the likeness of flesh, the only means by which the mind is transformed. The Jesus figure depicts by analogy, the experiential dynamics that result from mushrooms. Greek and Bible mythology describes transformation from Literalist Ordinary-state Possibilism to Analogical Psychedelic Eternalism.
— Michael Hoffman, the Egodeath theory
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Videos
Video: The Psychedelic Gospels: Evidence of Entheogens in Christian Art
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5za6sQb-pIE
Video: THE GREAT HOLY MUSHROOM DEBATE – Hatsis vs. Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIUmR7o6RGg&t=120s
The Egodeath theory 