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meiswerth33's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
j_kupp33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
sonofatreus's review against another edition
2.0
It gives me no great pleasure to have been so sorely disappointed by this book. And disappointed is maybe putting it mildly. I went into it optimistic, if skeptical. Based on its summary, I wanted it to work. It argues, in a nutshell, that Christianity not only borrowed much of its Eucharistic ritual from Greek predecessors, but also that those predecessors included psychedelic drugs. In broad strokes, I think this might be true: Christianity certainly borrowed from Greek ritual and Greek cultural references (as well as Roman, and, obviously, Jewish). It also seems likely that drugs of some kind could have been involved, certainly in the Greek/Roman predecessors, and possibly early Christian ritual too. They didn't have the same predilections that we do around drugs (they had their own).
Unfortunately, Muraresku pushes and prods the evidence to support his argument to such a degree that in some cases he's pretty blatantly breaking it. To give a few examples:
1) he refers to Galen as a "pharmacologist" rather than the more standard (and accurate) "physician," because Galen was well-trained in all sorts of areas of medicinal healing, especially surgery;
2) he makes a repeated point to suggest that early Christianity placed women in leadership (which is somewhat true), while Rome adamantly didn't (this is less true, especially regarding religion, where Rome had a great deal of important priestesses, such as the Vestals and others);
3) perhaps most egregious out of the entire book, he said "when it comes to weaving, there's only one mythical woman who instantly comes to mind," to which any normal person would say Penelope, or maybe Arachne (and by extension Athena), but his solution is Circe. He says this because a) she is famous for drugs and witchcraft (true) & b) a fresco that he is examining has a female figure at a loom, with Odysseus and his men. And while that figure might be Circe, she is definitely not the most famous female figure for weaving.
Anyway. He does this sort of thing all the time. He seems oblivious to Judaism's influence on Christianity — and at one point even rejects it, since Judaism scorns cannibalism, as though the Greeks were eating each other all the time — but this might square with Muraresku's emphasis on "Western civilization" and Christianity's and Greece's "foundational" place therein.
Then there's the style. It's all told in the first person, which is a little odd for a quasi-academic book. He relates the story of how he found the evidence he did, rather than simply presenting it in a coherent way. Weirdly, he sometimes withholds evidence that would chronologically fit in one place so that he can reveal it later for when it logically makes more sense (i.e., where it makes sense within the argument). He goes in and out of various archives and museums, in the Vatican or the Louvre. This made it all read like The Da Vinci Code or something. Then there's his habit of naming where various scholars come from — "so and so from Harvard" or "Yale's eminent historian" — which, to me, just made me think he wanted to impress me with these institutions and that that alone would convince me (it did not).
I could go on. It's been a while since a book has made me this annoyed, but maybe that's because I want to agree with its conclusions, even if its evidence is so poorly presented.
Unfortunately, Muraresku pushes and prods the evidence to support his argument to such a degree that in some cases he's pretty blatantly breaking it. To give a few examples:
1) he refers to Galen as a "pharmacologist" rather than the more standard (and accurate) "physician," because Galen was well-trained in all sorts of areas of medicinal healing, especially surgery;
2) he makes a repeated point to suggest that early Christianity placed women in leadership (which is somewhat true), while Rome adamantly didn't (this is less true, especially regarding religion, where Rome had a great deal of important priestesses, such as the Vestals and others);
3) perhaps most egregious out of the entire book, he said "when it comes to weaving, there's only one mythical woman who instantly comes to mind," to which any normal person would say Penelope, or maybe Arachne (and by extension Athena), but his solution is Circe. He says this because a) she is famous for drugs and witchcraft (true) & b) a fresco that he is examining has a female figure at a loom, with Odysseus and his men. And while that figure might be Circe, she is definitely not the most famous female figure for weaving.
Anyway. He does this sort of thing all the time. He seems oblivious to Judaism's influence on Christianity — and at one point even rejects it, since Judaism scorns cannibalism, as though the Greeks were eating each other all the time — but this might square with Muraresku's emphasis on "Western civilization" and Christianity's and Greece's "foundational" place therein.
Then there's the style. It's all told in the first person, which is a little odd for a quasi-academic book. He relates the story of how he found the evidence he did, rather than simply presenting it in a coherent way. Weirdly, he sometimes withholds evidence that would chronologically fit in one place so that he can reveal it later for when it logically makes more sense (i.e., where it makes sense within the argument). He goes in and out of various archives and museums, in the Vatican or the Louvre. This made it all read like The Da Vinci Code or something. Then there's his habit of naming where various scholars come from — "so and so from Harvard" or "Yale's eminent historian" — which, to me, just made me think he wanted to impress me with these institutions and that that alone would convince me (it did not).
I could go on. It's been a while since a book has made me this annoyed, but maybe that's because I want to agree with its conclusions, even if its evidence is so poorly presented.
aqualanja's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
İt gives very good new perspective but repeats same stuff over and over in some of the parts
humanistcharlotte's review against another edition
3.0
The historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence for psychedelics being present in Greek rituals is compelling, and the author expands on that to include the continuation of these pagan psychedelic ceremonies in early Christian times. I found the content of this mystery fascinating.
The book itself was too long, and the author spent too much time in the 'travelogue' components. He commented too much on what he was doing and researching (and who was along for the ride). I think a book just wasn't the format for this material; a shorter interview would have been more accessible and more interesting. Because of the length of the book, the author kept unnecessarily reminding the reader of information from earlier chapters.
The author also did a disservice to the material by consistently presenting it as a belief that he was trying to find evidence for; this 'confirmation bias' will make many throw out the material entirely.
The author continued the tradition of classists and psychedelic enthusiasts (though he is psychedelic-naive) of weaving white supremacy and patriarchy throughout his work, even though his thesis is that at the heart of the foundation of Western society (Christianity and the classical world) was psychedelic ritual, mostly led by women. I wish he had one editor that was more conscious of this.
Nevertheless, there is some excellent material in here, and I am so glad I read it. It was the perfect combination of my interests -- classics, humanism, psychedelics, and the history of religion. I would love to find a way to continue some of this work during my lifetime.
The book itself was too long, and the author spent too much time in the 'travelogue' components. He commented too much on what he was doing and researching (and who was along for the ride). I think a book just wasn't the format for this material; a shorter interview would have been more accessible and more interesting. Because of the length of the book, the author kept unnecessarily reminding the reader of information from earlier chapters.
The author also did a disservice to the material by consistently presenting it as a belief that he was trying to find evidence for; this 'confirmation bias' will make many throw out the material entirely.
The author continued the tradition of classists and psychedelic enthusiasts (though he is psychedelic-naive) of weaving white supremacy and patriarchy throughout his work, even though his thesis is that at the heart of the foundation of Western society (Christianity and the classical world) was psychedelic ritual, mostly led by women. I wish he had one editor that was more conscious of this.
Nevertheless, there is some excellent material in here, and I am so glad I read it. It was the perfect combination of my interests -- classics, humanism, psychedelics, and the history of religion. I would love to find a way to continue some of this work during my lifetime.
raoul_g's review against another edition
4.0
I first found out about Brian Muraresku through an Episode on Joe Rogan’s podcast. I normally wouldn’t have found it, but I think someone recommended this episode to me. It was mind-boggling, and reading this book about a year or so later was even more fascinating.
Muraresku’s main thesis is that there is / was a secret psychedelic religion which predates Christianity and was then adopted into the earliest forms of Christianity. What exactly does this mean? Well it means that psychedelic substances, with their abilities to produce altered states of mind, and in many cases an experience of ego-death, were used in different rituals to produce supernatural experiences. This kind of makes sense if you think about it: In almost all religions, organized or more primitive, there are rites and practices that are, in varying degrees, able to produce altered states of mind in the devotees. Some examples for this are fasting, sensory deprivation, glossolalia, ritual dances, ritual chants and so on. Add to this list the ingestion of mind-altering substances and you will see the connection.
Some of the oldest traces of substances being used with this goal in mind are found by the author in the so-called Mysteries of Eleusis. This is an ancient Greek cult which existed from around 1500 BC to 381 AD. In the main rite of this cult, its participants drank a potion, descended to the underworld and were then reborn as children of Demeter. The last two parts, as you may have guessed, happened only in the mind of the participants under the influence of the potion which most likely contained ergot, a fungus that grows on wheat and barley and which contains a chemical that is close to LSD. This ritual helped the participants feel they could “die with a better hope”, as Cicero put it. Cicero was initiated there, and so were Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, Plutarch and Marcus Aurelius.
In the second part of the book the author defends the Pagan continuity hypothesis. What this thesis says is that the earliest Christians took many different ideas and rites from the pagan cultures. One of these rites which were adopted, according to the author, is the ingestion of psychedelic substances in order to experience a spiritual rebirth. Supposedly this happened in the form of the Eucharist.
While this thesis may sound very outlandish and even blasphemous to devout Christians, it is not unwarranted, as the author shows in this book. After all this would plausibly explain the success of the Christian faith in the first centuries, in a culture that was thoroughly pagan.
There is currently somewhat of a psychedelic revival, and the effects of psychedelics are studied more and more in a serious and scientific way at some of the most influential medical research labs in the world. Everything points to the fact that they are able to produce genuine religious experiences and an astonishing number of the participants of these studies describe such experiences as one of the most meaningful of their life. A change in perspective and an increase in empathy is something that many participants mention as a direct consequence of the psychedelic trip.
Muraresku himself has remained what is sometimes called a psychedelic virgin, in order to be able to study the subject as objectively as possible. His findings are fascinating to say the least, and the way he presents them in this book, by interweaving his own story of studying the subject, meeting with experts, finding new evidence and his elucidating of the ancient world and the myths of those times is superb.
Muraresku’s main thesis is that there is / was a secret psychedelic religion which predates Christianity and was then adopted into the earliest forms of Christianity. What exactly does this mean? Well it means that psychedelic substances, with their abilities to produce altered states of mind, and in many cases an experience of ego-death, were used in different rituals to produce supernatural experiences. This kind of makes sense if you think about it: In almost all religions, organized or more primitive, there are rites and practices that are, in varying degrees, able to produce altered states of mind in the devotees. Some examples for this are fasting, sensory deprivation, glossolalia, ritual dances, ritual chants and so on. Add to this list the ingestion of mind-altering substances and you will see the connection.
Some of the oldest traces of substances being used with this goal in mind are found by the author in the so-called Mysteries of Eleusis. This is an ancient Greek cult which existed from around 1500 BC to 381 AD. In the main rite of this cult, its participants drank a potion, descended to the underworld and were then reborn as children of Demeter. The last two parts, as you may have guessed, happened only in the mind of the participants under the influence of the potion which most likely contained ergot, a fungus that grows on wheat and barley and which contains a chemical that is close to LSD. This ritual helped the participants feel they could “die with a better hope”, as Cicero put it. Cicero was initiated there, and so were Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, Plutarch and Marcus Aurelius.
In the second part of the book the author defends the Pagan continuity hypothesis. What this thesis says is that the earliest Christians took many different ideas and rites from the pagan cultures. One of these rites which were adopted, according to the author, is the ingestion of psychedelic substances in order to experience a spiritual rebirth. Supposedly this happened in the form of the Eucharist.
While this thesis may sound very outlandish and even blasphemous to devout Christians, it is not unwarranted, as the author shows in this book. After all this would plausibly explain the success of the Christian faith in the first centuries, in a culture that was thoroughly pagan.
There is currently somewhat of a psychedelic revival, and the effects of psychedelics are studied more and more in a serious and scientific way at some of the most influential medical research labs in the world. Everything points to the fact that they are able to produce genuine religious experiences and an astonishing number of the participants of these studies describe such experiences as one of the most meaningful of their life. A change in perspective and an increase in empathy is something that many participants mention as a direct consequence of the psychedelic trip.
Muraresku himself has remained what is sometimes called a psychedelic virgin, in order to be able to study the subject as objectively as possible. His findings are fascinating to say the least, and the way he presents them in this book, by interweaving his own story of studying the subject, meeting with experts, finding new evidence and his elucidating of the ancient world and the myths of those times is superb.
spencer_wright's review against another edition
5.0
Very interesting ideas! I'm admittedly a sucker for anything relating to the eleusinian mysteries haha
sea_witch's review
4.0
Slowed down quite a bit in the middle, but a fascinating hypothesis weaving the Catholic church, the war on drugs, witch hunts and the role of women in religion, psychedelics, and early Christianity together.
pedroabgmarques's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0