Jerry B Brown - The Psychedelic Gospels The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity

The Psychedelic Gospels

The Psychedelic Gospelsis heretical, revolutionary, and outrageous. It claims that there is a direct relationship between the founding and development of Western religions and psychoactive substances and that this is a continuation of an amalgamation of many mind-altering practices and fertility cults found in the Middle East. The scholarship behind these provocative perspectives is impressive, and the hidden subtexts of Christian art are compelling.

STANLEY KRIPPNER, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AT SAYBROOK UNIVERSITY AND COAUTHOR OF PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms. Once you start looking you see them everywhere. Keep your mind open. Wider!

BEN SESSA, MBBS (MD), MRCPSYCH, PSYCHIATRIST, PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCHER, AND AUTHOR OF THE PSYCHEDELIC RENAISSANCE

A fascinating piece of scholarly work that opens new possibilities of understanding human consciousness.

DAVID CROSBY, SINGER-SONGWRITER

We live at a time when confused and undisciplined thinking clashes with narrow-minded bigotry. Thus, it is more important than ever to keep an open mindopen to new ideas, open also to rigorous scholarship. Too often, wishful thinking has misled well-intentioned academics, and the media are notorious for sensationalism. I, therefore, applaud the authors for proposing the establishment of an interdisciplinary committee to evaluate the discoveries they present and the conjectures they make in The Psychedelic Gospels.

BROTHER DAVID STEINDL-RAST, ORDER OF SAINT BENEDICT, COFOUNDER OF GRATEFULNESS.ORG

This book expertly navigates through the iconography of mushroom symbolism throughout the ages. One clear message comes through: mushrooms have played a central role in the evolution of human consciousness and, indeed, religion. Thought provoking and well articulated, the authors present a solid case for their thesis. This is an important book to contemplate.

PAUL STAMETS, AUTHOR OF MYCELIUM RUNNING: HOW MUSHROOMS CAN HELP SAVE THE WORLD

Part travelogue, part anthropological meditation, and part groundbreaking study showing the use of sacred mushrooms in Christian iconography, The Psychedelic Gospelsgives readers one of the most unusual books they will ever encounter. Jerry and Julie Brown present a lively account of a psychedelic theory of religion and tell us why its been suppressed for so many years.

MITCHELL KAPLAN, FOUNDER OF BOOKS & BOOKS, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION, AND COFOUNDER OF THE MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL

Impeccably researched and lavishly illustrated, The Psychedelic Gospelsreads like a page-turning mystery thriller. An interdisciplinary treasure chest overflowing with rare information, unique insights, and some truly extraordinary head-slapping aha moments. The authors present a compelling case for the influence of entheogens among early Christians.

DAVID JAY BROWN, AUTHOR OF DREAMING WIDE AWAKEAND THE NEW SCIENCE OF PSYCHEDELICS

The authors make obvious and pleasant the idea that there was a high degree of psychedelic use in the early Christian church, far from the exoteric component, something mysterious kept for the initiated few, which might arouse some anger at the system that kept it from their beloved faithful.

CARLOS ADRIN HERNNDEZ TAVARES, COAUTHOR OF MITOLOGIA PERSONAL

Acknowledgments

W ith a click of the mouse, we sent the digital manuscript off to the publisher. We could never have come so far without the assistance and guidance of family, friends, and colleagues. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to:

Our children, for their infinite patience in putting up with our turning the living room into a library and the kitchen into a writers cave.

Our faithful readers, who cared enough to flag our flaws and praise our progress: Bree Brown, Connie Brown, Michael Brown, Yves Colon, Daniel and Charlotte Decker, Mikey Hall, Stephen Levien, Carole Myers, and Jerry Weisberg.

Our diligent research associates: Matthew Lupu, M.A., for researching Latin translations; Jordon Rupp, for astute insights into medieval art; and Martin Tsang, Ph.D., for contributions on the origins of religion.

Our photography advisors, Isaac Hernndez and Scott Redinger-Libolt, for their valuable assistance in arranging the gallery of images presented in this book.

Our many teachers: the psychedelic researchers and mind explorers too numerous to mention, whose insights and works are cited throughout this book.

Our literary guides: Mitchell Kaplan, founder of Books & Books in Miami, who encouraged us to focus on R. Gordon Wassons seminal role in the study of sacred mushrooms; Michael Levin, writer par excellence, who schooled us in the differences between storytelling and academic prose; and John Kelsey, retired publisher, who convinced us that we did not need a literary agent, and who encouraged us to attend BookExpo America in New York, where we found our publisher, Inner Traditions.