The sacred mushroom and the cross
by John Marco Allegro · first published 1970
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The book relates the development of language to the development of myths, religions, and cultic practices in world cultures. Allegro argues, through etymology, that the roots of Christianity, and many other religions, lay in fertility cults, and that cult practices, such as ingesting visionary plants to perceive the mind of God, persisted into the early Christian era, and to some unspecified extent into the 13th century with reoccurrences in the 18th century and mid-20th century, as he interprets the fresco of the Plaincourault Chapel to be an accurate depiction of the ritual ingestion of Aman
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Alternatively, see John Allegro's (one of the people who worked on deciphering the Dead Sea scrolls) The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross which posits that Jesus actually was a mushroom.
on “Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy vs. placebo in treatment of alcohol disorder” ↗…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2cs8QLnxlU As a kid I read a book which seriously made the case that Jesus was a magic mushroom - the English archaeologist and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar John M Allegro's The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) "Allegro's book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) argued...that stories of early Christianity originated in an Essene clandestine cult centred around the use of Psilocybin mushroom, and…
on “How Vladimir Lenin Became a Mushroom (2017)” ↗…them have started from psychedelics. In fact, some have theorized that many (all?) of the world's great religions ultimately had their roots in psychedelic experiences (see, for example, Allegro's "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross"[2]). I hope one day there'll be some serious research in to what is going on here, beyond simply reporting that mystical experiences are common on psychedelics. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKGddvmU0fA…
on “How ayahuasca changed my perspective” ↗…Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianity: A Critical Re-Evaluation of the Schism Between John M. Allegro and R. Gordon Wasson Over the Theory on the Entheogenic Origins of Christianity Presented in the Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" [2] (as well as the original by John Allegro) Here is a rare interview of John Allegro with Van Kooten & De Bie from 1976, Dutch public broadcast TV [3] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Gordon_Wasson#CIA_funding…
on “Seeking the Magic Mushroom (1957)” ↗…human history has always been about psychedelics. Related: [1] Soma siddhas and alchemical enlightenment: psychedelic mushrooms in Buddhist tradition https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8583800/ [2] The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East https://www.amazon.sg/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fer...
on “Why human societies developed so little during 300k years” ↗…experiences. Also, arguments have been made that even the mainstream religions were originally founded (and in their early years sustained) due to psychedelic use. For an example see Allegro's "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross". That's not to mention many smaller religions such as the Native American Church, Santo Daime, Uniao Do Vegetal, etc. Something else to consider is that drug use has been so stigmatized (not to mention…
on “As religious faith has declined, ideological intensity has risen” ↗…Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianity from 2008: "A critical re-evaluation of the schism between John M. Allegro and R. Gordon Wasson over the theory on the entheogenic origins of Christianity presented in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" [2] [1] https://www.gnosticmedia.com/the-pharmacratic-inquisition/ [2] https://www.gnosticmedia.com/the-holy-mushroom-evidence-of-m...
on “The Sound of Madness” ↗