Naked Science Forum

General Science => General Science => Topic started by: alexbalex on 28/03/2015 10:14:54

Title: Does the book "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" have any credibility?
Post by: alexbalex on 28/03/2015 10:14:54

Hi,
I am hearing occasionally in the inyernet about this book but never from sources that are scientifically credible. The topic of the book is very curious though. Anyone any opinion?

Title: Re: Does the book "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" have any credibility?
Post by: Colin2B on 28/03/2015 10:30:49

Quote from: alexbalex on 28/03/2015 10:14:54

Hi,
I am hearing occasionally in the inyernet about this book but never from sources that are scientifically credible. The topic of the book is very curious though. Anyone any opinion?

This book has been around for a long time, ?late60s?
I always thought the author had been eating his own mushrooms. Certainly scholars who know the scrolls don't seem to understand how he reaches his conclusions.
It never ceases to amaze me what books sell, but it makes money for someone, keeps publishers in business!
Internet publishing means we might get swamped by weird theories, how will people decide what is true, maybe it will all come down to belief?

Title: Re: Does the book "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" have any credibility?
Post by: alancalverd on 28/03/2015 15:50:00

Quote from: Colin2B on 28/03/2015 10:30:49

, how will people decide what is true, maybe it will all come down to belief?

If a hypothesis is explanatory, comprehensive, accurately predictive, and consistent with other reliable hypotheses, it is considered true until disproved. If not, it lies on the spectrum between "speculative" and "bullshit". Fortunately, those S-B hypotheses relating to unique historic events are also categorisable as "irrelevant".

Title: Re: Does the book "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" have any credibility?
Post by: alexbalex on 28/03/2015 16:43:57

I haven't read the book, just a summary of it. It seems plausible that in ancient times of old shamanic and pagan religions using hallucinogenic substances was part of every life for very long time. The time of Abraham was far back enough to have still been exposed to these practices and carried them on. Whether that was going on and persisted until Jesus times is probably debatable. Nevertheless, i find difficult to see how it started free of drug use in a world where that was everywhere.