Review:
SEX, DRUGS, VIOLENCE
& THE BIBLE
By Chris Bennett and Neil McQueen
Forbidden Fruit Publishing Company
Box 485 Gibsons
British Columbia
Canada VON
IVO
ISBN
#1-55056-798-5
482 + Pages
Illustrated
$24.95 USA
$34.95 Canada
SEX, DRUGS, VIOLENCE AND THE BIBLE (abbreviated in
this Review as SDVB) is an
amazingly readable indictment of the Old and New Testament—and should be
required reading in all Bible Studies and Comparative Religion classes. Not
only is SDVB a well thought scholarly work; it also loaded with often amusing,
often revealing snippets of Biblical scandal and hidden lore.
SDVB operates on (at
least) two basic levels: the scholarly
and the popular.
This is a source of the Reviewer’s enjoyment of the
book—and is also a source of potential (minor) problems. For example, a scholar
may become a little irritated with the many humorous asides and anecdotes that
spice up the information—just as the extensive notation found on almost every
page might overwhelm the lay reader. Additionally, the Authors make no secret
of their core intention of writing the book as a means of promoting the central
thesis summed up on the book’s jacket:
Second only to sex, do drugs—as in psychoactive substances—play a
pivotal role in the development of religious thought and experience, and
the Judaeo-Christian
traditions are no exception. What will be surprising to most modern
readers is the frequent use
of intoxicants like wine, strong-drink, and mandrake in the Bible.
Perhaps even harder to accept
will be the copious use of cannabis, (Hebrew kaneh-bosm), by both the Hebrew Priests and Kings
for shamanistic purposes…a tradition that was continued by both Jesus and
his followers.
The main body of SDVB is
composed of two sections: PART ONE--EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT JUDAISM BUT
WERE AFRAID TO ASK THE RABBI and PART TWO--EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED
TO KNOW ABOUT CHRISTIANITY BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK THE MINISTER.
PART ONE: THE OLD TESTAMENT
Chapter 1, The Mythical Age: The opening section of what we affectionately term “The
Anti-Bible” lays the foundation for two major themes that are developed throughout
SDVB—namely that the Tree of Life is a mega-cultural image representing
cannabis (or other psycho-active substance); and that the worship of The
Goddess or Earth Mother continued virtually uninterrupted throughout the
ancient history of the Hebrew People. These assertions are supported by
quotation from Scripture and illustrated artifacts—and are particularly eye
opening to us as pertaining to The Goddess.
Chapter 2, The Patriarchs: This Chapter will
certainly cause Fundamentalist and Orthodox heads to spin—and yet it too is
based directly on passages in “The Good Book” itself. For example, we learn not
only did the revered Patriarch Abraham prostitute his Main Squeeze to Pharaoh,
but also that this one-sided wife-swapping had the added advantage of spreading
venereal disease among the Egyptians, resulting in the seldom mentioned First
Exodus:
But the Lord inflicted serious disease on Pharaoh and his household
because
of Abraham’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abraham. “What have you
done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did
you say, ‘She is my sister ,’ so that I took her to be my wife. Take her
and go!”
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abraham to his men, and they sent him on
his
way, with his wife and everything
he had.
--Genesis 12:10-20
[P. 44]
As the Authors of
SDVB observe, this quaint little tale is suspiciously similar to the more
familiar Moses Exodus story. Perhaps the Hebrews under Moses were less than
heroically kicked out of Egypt too?
The remainder of
this Chapter deals with a number of other Biblical sexual exposés that any
open-minded reader will find to be both salacious and enlightening.
Of particular
interest to Gnostic Pagans is the Scripture passage quoted on Pgs. 60-61:
Then Judah said to Onan, ‘Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your
duty to her
as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother. But Onan knew
that
the offspring would not be his; so wherever he layed with his brother’s
wife,
he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring…
What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so he put him to death…
(Genesis 38:8-10)
And regarding this verse, the Authors of
SDBV comment:
It is often suggested that Onan’s sin was masturbation…But…The story
obviously
describes coitus interruptus,
in order to avoid pregnancy…For Abraham’s
seed, blessed by god, was not to be stifled from its holy cause of
populating
the world with his descendants. The lord’s anger at this birth control
practice
likely pre-dates Onan or Abraham, and is probably related to the phallic
nature
of the Jewish God.
[P. 61]
This is no doubt the case, but
masturbation was—and still is—considered to be a heinous sin among
Fundamentalists of all Old Aeon persuasion. Perhaps this is the real “Original Sin?”
It is interesting that Jehovah
(Mortal Ego Mind) is so sexually controlling regarding his “Chosen People.” His
only approved means of birth control involved injunctions to kill everybody who
wasn’t circumcised.
It was one of the Mysteries of
Ancient Egyptian School of Life that the World and All Creation emerged from an
Act of Divine Masturbation by the god Amun. Therefore human masturbation is, in
effect, AN ENACTMENT OF SYMPATHETIC OR RITUAL MAGICK. In fact, SDVB elaborates
on this concept when discussing the practices and beliefs of various Gnostic
Sects in The New Testament section.
Chapter 3, The Story of Moses and the Journey to the Promised Land. Among
many other topics, this Chapter addresses the symbiotic theological
relationship between Judaism and Paganism (including the Egyptian Religion).
The perpetuation of Serpent Worship (a multi-cultural symbol of The Goddess);
the use of Holy Incense comprised of psychoactive substance; as well as
subjects of interest to the General Reader, and of special interest to Gnostic
School Initiates.
SDVB presents a most interesting
theory of Ancient Consciousness:
(Julian) Jaynes referred to the mental state of pre-consciousness man
as the Bicameral-Mind…unable to introspect, ancient humans heard their
first thoughts
as auditory hallucinations, and took these to be the voice of
God…Humanity’s transition into
consciousness was an evolutionary step, and the voices which the first
‘thinkers’ heard, came from
the brains’ right-hemisphere, and told them what to do in times of
novelty or stress.
[P. 78]
The Gnostic Pagan School calls
this stage of pre-consciousness the
Aeon of Set.
The visual images and voices heard by the early
Shamanistic [sic] ingestor [sic] of such substances were interpreted by
them, as actual events with the gods…
[P. 79]
[See also Review: DAIMONIC REALITY].
Regarding the on-going worship
of The Goddess, the Authors write:
The Canaanite goddess Ashera, whose name is translated as ‘grove,’ was
particularly popular with the ancient Israelites, especially during the
later age of kings,
as seen by numerous surviving artifacts, and numerous references to her poles in the Old Testament.
Further, the worship of these cultic fertility objects, the physical
forms of Baal and Ashera
(or her counterparts), were often accompanied by frenzied and orgiastic
sexual activity.
[P. 84]
The Authors correctly indicate
that the “Maypole” is a
modern survivor of the Ashera Pole tradition. “The streamers coming from the
top of the maypole, and the dancers who hold on to them while they circle
around the pole, represent divine semen, and the pole itself, the divine
erection fertilizing Mother earth with life.” To this we will only add
that anyone who as witnessed an “authentic” Maypole Dance, would have seen an
equally paired number of boys and girls dancing around the pole, and that when
a boy and girl meet in the dance, they both leap up and down, and then continue
dancing until they meet a new partner, and then repeat the leaping dance. It is
quite charming—and the sexual implications couldn’t be clearer.
On Pgs. 94-95, the Authors state
a sardonic—and all too true— interpretation of the Ten Commandments:
1. Thou Shalt Not have
any other God besides Yahweh, (whose name is JEALOUS).
2. Thou Shalt Not make
any graven images, (Moses made the graven image of the Bronze Serpent, and the
Ark of the Covenant had the graven of cherubim [Actually two of Isis’ four
sisters; another image “borrowed” from Egypt --.Ed]).
3. Thou Shalt Not take
the Lord’s name in vain, (Goddamit!).
4. Thou Shalt Not work
on Sabbath day, (a six-day work week isn’t at all generous by today’s
standards).
5. Thou Shalt Honor
They parents, (or die for not doing so).
6. Thou Shalt Not
kill, (only applies to other Hebrews, unless of course they break one of these
other commandments).
7. Thou Shalt Not
commit adultery, (with other Hebrew wives).
8. Thou Shalt Not
steal, (from other Hebrews).
9. Thou Shalt Not bear
false witness against a neighbor, (if he’s a Hebrew).
10. Thou Shalt Not
covet, (the possessions of other Hebrews).
The validity of this ironic
interpretation is proven time and again throughout the “ethnic cleansing”
diatribes permeating the Old Testament.
Chapter 4, Judging the Judges. Details the development of Judaism as a Nationalistic religion, and
the clash between the Pagan Culture of Baal and the Egocentric demands of
Yahweh. Included is an analysis of the story of Samson, the corrupted Hebrew
variant of Herakles; and even more tribal slaughter instigated by the
judgmental demands of the Demiurge (Jehovah.)
The Authors
conclude:
After looking over the Old Testament Judges, it is hard to see what basis
these ancient stories of tribal heroes and villains have in playing with
modern religious thought.
None of them proclaim any form of profound theological insight,
and many would be considered criminals by today’s standards…
[Pgs. 110-111]
Chapter 5, The Age of Kings. Examines the role of the Prophet Samuel in the emergence of Nation
Kings Saul and David.
Hannah,
the aged future mother of the Hebrew Judge and Prophet Samuel
prayed to the Lord to heal her barrenness and give her a son. When these
prayers were answered
and she bore Samuel, she dedicated him to the Lord, stating, “He will
give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Samuel, more so than any of the figures in
Judges, is comparable in his charisma and leadership of the Israelite(s), to
Moses. The reference to the horn of the anointed makes reference to both the
reintroductionof the kaneh-bosom anointing oil, apparently absent throughout
the story of Judges, and Samuel’s use of this preparation to prepare the Jewish
priest-kings for their roles as leaders.
[P. 112]
This theme regarding
the composition and importance of the anointing oil will play a crucial role
when the Authors later examine the role of Jesus as Messiah in Part Two, The New Testament.
The sexual
intricacies of David’s life are explored, including the much-discussed
possibility of David’s homosexual relationship with Jonathan, and his treacherous
wooing of Bathsheba.
On Page 129 a
footnote draws a parallel between David and Pagan counterparts:
Dr. Hugh Schonfield has suggested that there was a connection between the
name of David,
and that of Dad, (also Adad), the counterpart of Tammuz in Palestine.
David was portrayed as
a shepherd, as was Tammuz, and there was a shrine of Adonis-Tammuz in
David’s city
of Bethlehem (the place of Bread).” (Schonfield 1966).
Pagan Rites
flourished under David’s rule, as also noted on the same page:
…we can see from Biblical references to David not sleeping with his
concubines
that his fertility is draining up, thus signaling the end of his reign.
As the fertility of the land
was associated with that of the King…David is eager to see a three year
famine end, and is
driven to…sacrificing seven of Saul’s son’s…“All seven of them fell
together; they were put to death
during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was
beginning.” (2 Samuel 21: 9).
Further documentation…is seen by David’s purchase of the threshing-floor
in order to build an Altar for the Lord. This clearly showing that at the
time of David,
Yahweh was a Semitic Tammuz or Baal and his proper worship was closely
affiliated with
the fertility of the land and king.
Pagan Ritual also
continued, practiced primarily by Hebrew women, who no doubt had more faith
that The Great Mother would lend a compassionate ear to prayers for fertility
than would the stern and remote, male God Jehovah.
Chapter 6, Solomon’s Reign. Documents the
continuation of Paganism (“idolatry”) under the rule of the psychologically
complex King Solomon (whose many foreign wives, including the sister of
Pharaoh, as was the custom, continued to freely practice their polytheistic
beliefs in Israel.)
This Chapter also
continues to examine the Ark of the Covenant, the mysterious artifact that has
inspired so many expeditions and controversy.
One of many theories
regarding the Ark alleges that it was a form of ancient technology, a sort of
electrical battery capable not only of instantly electrocuting anyone who dared
touch it, but was also instrumental in bringing down the Walls of Jericho.
As to these claims, we
cannot comment other than to repeat that the artistic image of the Ark
resembles Egyptian funeral caskets that contained mummified internal organs.
Atop the casket on each corner were fixed four statuettes with outspread,
protecting winged arms, representing the four mourning sisters of Isis.
Certainly it is possible that the Egyptian-trained Magician Moses adapted the
appearance of the Ark to depict a male and female figure in sexual embrace (as
the Authors of SDBV suggest), and, of course, this revision could have been
meant to represent the Male and Female polarities (Hadit and Nuit, or SHIVA and
SHAKTI.)
Chapter 7, A Kingdom Divided. Examines the
on-going struggle between the Northern and Southern factions in Israel; the role
of Sacred Prostitution (both female and male) in Paganism—and its possible
extension to The Temple. Also, continues the argument that the ancient Hebrews
utilized psychoactive substances.
In the Old Testament, a repeated distinction is made between wine and
‘strong drink’;
both of which were inebriants…Like the ancient Greeks, the ancient
Israelites did not know
distillation technology, but possessed an inebriant other than wine, which apparently was more
potent. Was the Biblical shekar,
‘strong drink,’ not an inebriating potion analogous to the ancient Greek wines,
some of which were entheogenic (sic)
potions?
[Note 339, P. 158]
By the term
“entheogenic” we are assuming this term is to mean psychoactive substances that
act as a catalyst for Sacred Experience.
Chapter 8, The Fall of Samaria/The Doom of Jerusalem. This is a pivotal Chapter of SDBV and
illustrates the Author’s comprehensive grasp of the Historical Materialist
realities involving the formation—and ultimate destruction—of the Israel Nation
State as it relates to the Old Testament.
As if it weren’t
“bad” enough that the Hebrews continued to engage in their attraction to
so-called “foreign” gods; their own High Priests perpetrated a great fraud upon
them.
Sounding like
something from Nixon’s Watergate or Clinton’s Zippergate, SDVB intelligently
unfolds the plausible tale of how the Hebrew High Priest Hilkiah fraudulently
claimed to discover a “lost” document of the original Mosaic Book of the
Law—i.e., DEUTERONOMY, a crass and blatant forgery.
Other scholars have been far more hard-hitting in their comments
upon this so-called discovery suggesting that it was a forgery…produced
by a priest of the temple. An act committed by the Hebrew priesthood in
hopes of
eradicating the competing cults and their deities, which were getting
more sacrifices from
the people than the Temple of Yahweh was.
[P. 169]
Makes sense to us!
In fact, as the Authors of SDVB
indicate—and they are joined by many other Sources in this—the Temple was a virtual
charnel house of animal sacrifice, with the cloud and smell of burning fat
polluting the entire City of Jerusalem.
You are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all
your tribes
to put his name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there
bring your burnt
offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts.
--Deuteronomy
12:5-6
The Authors comment:
The tribes of Israel are being directed to the temple in Jerusalem…
They are no longer to make burnt offerings…anywhere [else]…
Prior to the Deuteronomic (sic) reforms, the priests of Yahweh’s temple
had to angrily and jealously…watch the wealth…dispersed throughout the
many
different temples of numerous deities…spread throughout the kingdom of
Judah.
[Pgs.170-171]
The Age Old Story!
Theology (and
revisionist theology, at that) invoked to feed Human Greed…
Destroy completely all the places on the high
mountains and on the
hills and under every spreading tree where the
nations you are
dispossessing worship their gods. Break down
their altars, smash
their sacred stones and burn their Asherah
poles in the fire, cut
down the idols of their gods and wipe out
their names from those places.
[Deuteronomy
12:2-3.]
Passages like the above
quoted forgery from “The Bad Book” itself, no doubt inspired the Christian
fanatics who were later to destroy all the Pagan Art and Science they good get
their frustrated little hands on—and, equally without a doubt, sent the Taliban
on its crazed mission to blow up historic Buddhist statuary.
Chapter 9, Life in Exile. Concerns the
Babylonian Captivity, and the on-going persecution of the Hebrews by their own
god, and the solidification of the Yahweh Priest Faction as the only accepted
form of Judaism.
The Authors provide some
interesting insights regarding this process of religious subjugation to the
jealous Demiurge Yahweh:
Further, if we were to look at the Old Testament’s historical record
itself,
we would find that the people
were correct in their statements concerning the prosperity
of the kingdom coinciding with the…pagan worship that Jeremiah so harshly
condemned
High points in the kingdom occurred under idolatrous kings such as
Solomon, Ahab,
Manasseh, and
Jereboam II. The only two kings after David, who appear in the Lord’s favor,
Hezekiah and Josiah, both had unpopular reigns, and their actions
throughout can be seen as contributing greatly to the kingdom’s eventual
demise.
[P. 190]
The Authors quote
from Mircea Eliade’s 1978, A HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS, VOL. I:
The prophets finally succeeded in emptying nature of any divine presence.
Whole sectors of the natural world—the “high places,” stones, springs,
trees, certain crops,
certain flowers—will be denounced as unclean because they were polluted
by the cult of the Canaanite divinities of fertility…
[P. 191]
The Authors conclude:
Now that Yahweh has become a globally worshipped God,
it can be seen by the massive deforestation and the degradation of nature
in general,
as well as the death of countless pagan aboriginal cultures, that his
modern day followers
have continued on successfully with the task put forward in the vindictive words of his ancient
prophets.
[P. 191]
CHAPTER
9 continues with a brief examination of the prophet Ezekiel. The Authors of
SDVB suggest that Ezekiel ingested something that induced a classic Shaman
Journey thru INNER SPACE. Apparently the Prophet was the only one who was
allowed to trip out, as he predicted (via Yahweh) that the on-going Hebrew
fascination with polytheism and getting high on cannabis would ultimately lead
to the fall of Jerusalem.
The Chapter also
touches upon The Book of Daniel, the prototype for the latter bitter and
vicious Christian Revelation of John, a garbled mess of crackpot plagiarism.
Another interesting
concept presented in Chapter 6 is the Persian Zoroastrian influence on the
still somewhat fluid theological evolution of Yahweh:
Further, prior to the Persian influence,
Yahweh alone was the controller of both good and evil.
“I am the lord, and there is no other. I form
the light and create darkness,
I bring posterity and create disaster; I, the
Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:
6-7).
Satan, when depicted in the earlier books of the Old Testament, is generally
shown as either
the divine prosecutor, or carrying out malicious errands at the Lord’s
bequest. It was only after exposure to the Zoroastrian cosmology with its two
continually competing deities Ahura Mazda, the ruler of heaven who represented
the truth, and Angry Mainyu, who ruled hell and represented the Lie, that a
similar split took place in the minds of some Jews, and they divided their
God’s monotheistic power in half and shared it with Satan.
[P. 198]
Chapter
10 details the return of the Jews to Israel from Babylon and the construction
of the Second Temple. It also continues to explore the schizoid reality of
Judaic monotheism.
In the CONCLUSION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT the sadomasochistic nature of the relationship between Yahweh and
his devotees (symbolized by the hapless Job) is explored:
The Book of Job is one of the most
lyrical and powerful books of the Bible
and is usually included among the works known as the Jewish Wisdom
Literature.
This is because it doesn’t refer to an actual episode in the long history
of the Israelites,
but instead addresses some of the theological problems that the
Israelites were wrestling with.
The Book of Job addresses the age old problem of unprecedented evil,
or put more simply, why bad things happen to good people: “Yahweh’s justice meant
that good consequences would come from good actions, that obedience would
result in security
on the land, in victory against foes and abundant life.” (Anderson,
1975) Unfortunately, these promises
continually failed to take place no matter how observant the people were of
Yahweh’s law.
[P. 218]
PART
2: THE NEW TESTAMENT
Chapter 1: The Other Sources. Explores the
revolutionary theological impact of the 1945 and 1947 discoveries of the
Gnostic teachings termed the Nag Hammadi Library and the Essene “Dead Sea
Scrolls.”
In reference to the Tree of Life (and possible “cryptic references
to an entheogen, likely cannabis”), the Author’s quote from the Essene The Book of Hymns:
[For these hast Thou planted a tree]
which blooms with flowers unfading,
whose boughs put forth thick leaves,
which stand firm-planted for ever,
and gives shade to all [ ];
[whose branches tower] to hea[ven],
whose roots sink down to the abyss.
All the rivers of Eden
[water] its boughs
…this one, which puts forth the shoot
of Holiness
upon the stock of Truth,
Keep its secrets hidden, unknown,
sealed and unsuspected.
Moreover, O God, Thou has hedged in its
fruit
by the mystic power of stalwart angels
by holy spirits,
and by flaming sword turning this way
and that;
that [the wicked] may not [drink]
from the fountain of life
nor…imbibe the water of Holiness
…because, though indeed he has seen it,
he has never sensed what it was,
…but, instead keeps la[ying violent
hands]
on what is really a flower unfading.
[Pgs. 10-11]
We see many possible interpretations of this verse. For example, it may express a Hindu
or Vedic influence involving mudras (esoteric “seals”) and psychosexual spirituality. Or it may
symbolize the archetypal Savior Myth of the Christ crucified on the Tree of
Being via the Ancient Myth of Osiris (whose coffin was embraced by the roots of
a cedar tree growing in the middle of the Nile.) Or, of course, it may, as the
Authors speculate, represent a marijuana plant.
On page 16, the Authors quote from the Gnostic philosopher
Basilides concerning the pre-origin of cosmology:
There was when naught was; nay, even
that “naught” was not
ought of things that are…But…conjecture and mental quibbling apart,
there was absolutely not even the One…and when I use the term “was,” I
do not mean to say that it was…in any state of being; but merely to give
some
suggestion of what I wish to indicate, I use the expression “there was absolutely
naught.”
For that “naught” is not simply so-called the ineffable, it is beyond
that.
As the
Authors point out, this brief statement prefigures the speculations of
contemporary physicists (and mathematicians).
Even
Atheists and Nihilists might find an acceptable point of reference.
Aleister Crowley
summed it up this way:
0 = (+1) + (-1)
At the bottom of
page 20 there are two very interesting notes:
51. The Ophites, who will figure prominently in our study, were condemned
by the
Orthodox Church (who the hell wasn’t??? -. Ed) for their Tantric-like
sexual
practices. With an almost complete reversal of the Old Testament
cosmologies,
figures such as Cain, the Sodomites, and the Egyptians, became heroes to
them.
“The Ophites acknowledged Jesus as the savior, but rejected the
importance of
the crucifixion; Christ came to reveal gnosis (knowledge), not to die for
men’s sins”
(COLUMBIA 1968).
52. You could say the androgynous serpent mind was carried out on
their (Adam and Eve’s -.Ed) backs, as the Gnostic tractate,
On the Origins of the World records how the 7 archons,
(i.e.-planetary powers),
fashioned man one part at a time, fashioning “the brain and nervous
system” (i.e., spinal cord).
After that “he came a soul endowed man,” but only when the light-mind
descended from Sophia
into this properly prepared vessel.
The
Ophites were an ancient Judaic faction with obvious Pagan (“idolatrous”) links
and associations with snake veneration.
The second Note
relates to the intricate doctrine regarding The Body of Light. According to the
Gnostic Pagan view, this Body of Light is more than the so-called “Astral Body”
which every sentient being is said to possess by virtue of physical birth;
rather the Body of Light is self-created by the awakened Initiate who has taken
responsibility and guardianship for her or his own Spiritual Destiny—or as The
Christ is said to have phrased it—they have become their own Fathers and
Mothers.
The Chapter
concludes with a concise and comprehensive statement pertaining to the
Traditional Gnostic Goal of Self-Realization:
This “immortal man of light” is said to have descended from
the original King of Light, in order to redeem the sparks of light
trapped…in matter
back to their original source. In the Gnostic cosmology, there is a
correlation between light and
knowledge, thus the all potent King of Light is also known by its
emanating force, the Logos (Word).
Elsewhere, this…“man of light,” becomes…the figure…Anthropos, a figure
analogous to the Adam Kadmon
of the later
Kabalists…representing the androgynous, collective soul of humanity, its
corporate spiritual essence. Anthropos was seen as a composite being formed out
of the combined experience of all people, but also pre-existing before
humanity…The Gnostic “theory of salvation…did not confine the idea to the crude
and limited notion of a physical passion by a single individual, but expanded
it into a…cosmical process, wrought by the volition of the Logos in his own
nature.” (Mead, 1900).
It is by the spread of knowledge, or light, possible only through the
word, Logos,
that the redemption of humanity…takes place…“The Mind was to instruct the
mind;
‘self-analyzing reflection’ was to be the Way. The material mind was to
be purified, and so
become one with the spiritual mind” (Mead, 1900). The purpose of
humanity, in Gnostic belief,
was as “cosmologist.” In understanding the Universe, and humanities role
in it, the mind is unified to
the divine Mind. What is the meaning of Life? To the Gnostics, the
Question was the Answer.
[Pgs. 24-25]
Chapter 2, New Testament References to Gnosticism. This very short Chapter raises the possibility
that John the Baptist as well as Jesus were, in fact, Gnostics. [This question
will be explored at length in a forthcoming Review of THE JESUS MYSTERIES by Timothy
Freke and Peter Gandy.]
The Authors of SDVB
conclude:
Despite the Roman Catholic Church’s attempts to suppress the Gnostic
texts
and heresies amongst their own members…fragments of these works have
miraculously
survived for their rediscovery in our…era. Interestingly, two of the
texts in the Nag Hammadi
Library (The Gospel of the
Egyptians and Allogenes)
refer to having been intentionally stored in
a sacred mountain waiting for their eventual rediscovery at the “end of
time and eras.” The Gnostics
who hid these texts, apparently believed that their rediscovery would aid
those who found [them]
in their overcoming the tyranny of Ialdabaoth—Yahweh, and his followers.
[P.30]
Chapter 3, The Virgin Birth. Continues to examine the
alternative origins of the Jesus Christ Mythology as it pertains to Gnosticism,
as well as the highly influential Mithra Cult. SVDB’s view of this issue could
well be contrasted THE JESUS MYSTERIES; as the two studies provide totally
different perspectives that, somehow, are more or less reconciled under the
Gnostic umbrella. Unfortunately such a comparison is beyond the scope of this
particular Review; but suffice it to say that THE JESUS MYSTERIES is not
concerned so much about the alleged “Virgin Birth” of Jesus, as it denies that
there was ANY physical birth (“Virgin” or otherwise.)
SVDB draws the many parallels
between Mithraism and the Legend of Jesus Christ (including dates such as the
Winter Solstice Birth of the Invincible Sun, etc.) The book also points out the
questionable legitimacy of the “historical ” Jesus:
Traces of an illegitimate birth can even
be seen in the scriptures themselves.
The Gospel of Matthew, has Joseph
consider divorcing Mary when she suddenly becomes
pregnant “before they came together”
(Matthew 1:18-19). We are told that, “Because Joseph her
husband was a righteous man and did not
want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to
divorce her quietly”(Matthew 1:19).
[P.34]
Chapter 4, John the Baptizer.
Again, another very short Chapter, and one that presents valid
allegorical/daemonic connections between the Hebrew John and Pagan
counterparts. The Authors quote from the insightful Kurt Rudolph:
Jewish baptismal sects evidently had a
certain affinity with Gnostic movements [1971].
[P.37]
Incidentally, elsewhere
Rudolph demonstrates the importance of the Eastern Direction of Water in
Traditional Gnosticism, as corresponding to the allegorical Baptism of Christ
in the River Jordan. The Gnostic Pagan School allegorically also relates to
this concept as the East being the Direction of the Rising Sun (Horus, The New
Aeon) over the horizon, setting in the West (Water/Osiris, The Old Aeon).
In a footnote on Page 39, the
Authors state:
The Mandeans (an influential Gnostic
Sect, --. Ed) do not recognize the divinity of Jesus,
but rather forgave their own prophet John
for baptizing Jesus whom they see as a false Messiah.
Contemporary Fundamentalist Christians
make much of the image of Christ-as-the-“Fishermen of Men,” but SDVB draws on
allegorical and historical sources to indicate that, indeed, this Image of the
Fish is dependent upon a more ancient motif:
“The only satisfactory explanation why
Jesus should be represented as a Fish,
seems to be that in the quaint jargon of
the Talmud the Messiah is often designated ‘Dag’ or ‘The Fish’”
(King, 1864)
“…the Fish takes its place in importance
as a sign of Christ in his
special office of Savior…In the Talmud
the Messiah is called ‘Dag’ or
‘Fish’…Where did the Jews learn to apply
‘Dag’ to their Messiah? And why
did the primitive Christians adopt it as
a sign of Christ?… I cannot disguise facts.
Truth demands no concealment or apology.
Paganism has its types and prophecies
of Christ as well as Judaism. What then
is the Dag-on of the old Babylonians? The fish-god
being that taught them all their
civilization” (Lundy 1876).
[P. 41]
And on the same page, this
footnote:
Dagon’s cultic influence may have even
lasted down to modern times.
Commenting on the costumes that the
priests of Oannes (“John,” –Ed.)/Dagon’s
cult wore, well studied occultist Fred
Gettings commented that, “the curious fish-like
headgear is said by some to be the
origins of the papal headdress, which does indeed have
all the appearance of being a huge fish
mouth gaping at the skies—the symbolism pointing to the idea
that the pope is a high-initiate”
(Gettings 1987).
This no doubt is a fair
assessment of the historic realities—and what a fraud that bit of “costume” represents!
Chapter 5, The Anointed, Although
another Chapter of few pages, this one gets right down to the central thesis of
SVDB’s interpretation of the New Testament:
The ministry of Jesus marked the return
of the Jewish Messiah-kings,
and thus the reemergence of the
[psychoactive--Ed.] Holy Oil. If Jesus was not initiated
in this fashion then he was not the
Christ, and had no official claim to the title, it was only given
to those “having the crown of God’s
unction upon God’s unction upon them”
(Leviticus 21:12)
[P. 48]
To paraphrase the Authors,
historically the Anointing Oil contained powerfully psychoactive substances
like hashish as required by ancient Hebrew Tradition; and if Jesus was not
anointed with this oil, he was a false Messiah and a false Christ.
This position is highly
debatable from many diverse and opposing angles.
For example, contemporary
Judaism denies both the allegation of the Anointing Oil’s psychoactive recipe
and the claim that Jesus was the Messiah.
The authors of THE JESUS
MYSTERIES claim that there never was an historical Jesus Christ—which makes the
entire scenario of Anointing a moot point. They state that the Legend of Jesus
Christ was a Gnostic Pagan and Gnostic Hebrew reinterpretation of the (very)
ancient Mythology of the God-Man/Savior—including a pivotal role played by The
Great Mother Goddess.
Leaving aside Jewish denials,
the Gnostic Pagan School can see the legitimacy of both SVDB’s and THE JESUS
MYSTERIES’ positions on this issue, but from different perspectives. The main
thing is that we view Jesus Christ as a daemonic/allegorical figure existing
outside or beyond the limited boundaries and dimensions of ordinary physical
perception. It may help to smoke pot or take other Awareness Enhancing
Substances (A.E.S.) in order to personally and profoundly experience The Christ
or The God in Other Forms; but Daemonic Reality itself (as represented by Jesus
Christ—or any other Divinity) exists independent of what we term “physical
means;” and that includes whether or The Divinity is popularly depicted as
approving or using A.E.S. or not.
[Additionally, it is
interesting to note that Aleister Crowley, never one to be shy when it came to
advocating the use of hashish and other drugs, never mentions utilizing A.E.S.
in Ritual Anointing Oil.]
Skipping over to Chapter 7,
Jesus The Initiator, there are more references to the possible Early Christian
use of A.E.S., particularly as represented in various Gnostic texts.
We also find a fascinating
suggestion that the pineal gland and spinal fluid play a direct role in the
Evolution of Consciousness and Perception.
The Authors quote from G.R.S.
Mead (drawing a parallel between the substance of the quoted material and the
technique of the Gnostic Peratae/ Transcendentalist Sect and the practice of Kundalini
& Tantra Yoga):
The cerebellum, by an ineffable and
inscrutable process,
attracts through the pineal gland the
spiritual and life-giving
essence from the vaulted chamber [?third
ventricle]. And on receiving this,
the cerebellum [also], in an ineffable
manner, imparts the ‘ideas,’ just as the Son does,
to matter; or, in other words, the seeds
and the genera of things produced according to the flesh
flow along into the spinal marrow.
Fragments of a Faith Forgotten
Theosophical Society, 1900
[P. 87]
And this,
…we see the idea of an energy that is correlated to sexual energy,
[as pertaining to the Parataeic, Mithraic and Hindu Systems-Ed.]
redirected up through the spine, and in some mysterious way, reacting
with the pineal gland by exerting the “spiritual and life giving
essence,”
analogous to the “amrita” of the Indian system.
[Pgs. 88-89]
And finally, a
footnote in reference to the above, on Page 89:
In connection to amrita, or “life giving essence,” being released via
the spinal cord, into the pineal…refer…to the words of psychedelic and
pineal
research pioneer, Dr. Richard Strassman, who notes that a “source of
potentially relevant
theories concerning hallucinogen effects lies in the recent discovery of
serotonin-1c receptors
on the choroids plexus…which are involved in the regulation
of…[cerebrospinal] fluid production.
Hallucinogens
bind them very specifically, LSD being the ligand employed in their
characterization.”
Referring to this in line with the speculations of Descartes that
thoughts came via cerebrospinal
fluids…almost identical to those of the Peretae concerning “ideas” coming
from the
“spinal marrow”…Strassman wrote, “Perhaps previous psychologists were
more correct than we had guessed with respect to the flow of…
[cerebrospinal] being the means which thoughts travel.
The Pineal Gland: Current
Evidence For Its Role in Consciousness
PSYCHEDELIC
MONOGRAPHS & ESSAYS, Vol. 5
Thomas Lyttle, Ed.,
(1991)
The Ancient
Egyptians too must have bestowed a preeminent value on the spinal cord, as they
had a special glyph representing it that is found on monuments and in texts
down through the ages.
Of the ţeţ [hieroglyph claimed to represent the
spinal cord],
which is the symbol of Osiris, or his emblem, more is known.
The text of the CLVth Chapter of the Book of the Dead associates
it with the backbone…and vertebrae of the god, and it clear that [it
also]
is a conventional representation of…his spinal column.
The [ţeţ] and [the “Buckle” hieroglyph
representing Isis]
certainly represent the ancestral idea which seems…to have been
the root of the cult of Osiris, for…the former symbolizes a part of
Osiris,
himself the great ancestor-god, and the latter is connected with the
womb,
that is to say, the very life of Isis, the great ancestress-goddess.
OSIRIS & The Egyptian Resurrection, Vol. II
By E.A. Wallis
Budge
Dover Edition
(1973)
Originally
published in 1911
by The Medici
Society, Ltd.
Chapter
7 concludes suggesting that Early (Gnostic) Christianity—as practiced by Jesus
himself—was a Mystery Religion with grades or levels of Initiation, “The Keys
to the Kingdom (of Light).”
Chapter 8, Sex and the Savior. The Gnostic Pagan
School has some problems with this Chapter as it (according to legal parlance),
“assumes facts not in evidence.” For example, on the scant evidence of two
short New Testament fragments (and, we might add, equally unsupported by supplementary
material from contemporary sources), the Chapter implies that Jesus was
homosexual, or at least, bisexual. Additionally, it paints a rather rosy
picture of the social acceptance of (male) homosexuality in the Hellenic world.
Whereas it is true that homosexuals were not persecuted for their sexual
orientation as in Hebraic society, there were definite restrictions placed on
homosexual practice. For example, having sex with young boys was OK (again, to
a limited extent); but having sex with a young man who had begun to shave could
open the older partner to ridicule, even to being ostracized (however,
presumably not death, as would certainly be the case in Judea).
Chapter 9, Sex, Drugs…and Violence? This Chapter debates
the traditional image of Jesus as a pacifist—an image that was so helpful in
controlling slaves and keeping a lid on potential social revolution.
The Authors quote
from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas:
Jesus said, “Men think, perhaps, that
it is peace which I have come to
cast upon the world. They do not know that it is dissension which I
have come to cast upon the earth: fire, sword, and war.
[P.131]
Pages 138-139
describe Jesus as a theological and social Anarchist, citing our “favorite” Bible
story, The Cleansing of The Temple, as evidence.
[For Readers unaware
of the passage in question, the Bible tale relates how when Jesus, at the
beginning of his public ministry, entered the Great Temple in Jerusalem, and
saw to what state of commercial corruption that edifice had sunk (primarily
selling hapless animals for ritual sacrifice); he flew into an understandable
rage and chased the ancient capitalists from The Temple. Many scholars feel
that by performing this ancient act of Animal Liberation and Rejection of Crass
Materialism, Jesus had effectively signed his own death warrant as the Hebrew
Authorities WERE NOT AMUSED!
Chapter 10, The Cruci-Fiction. Among other
topics, this Chapter reiterates the theory that Jesus Christ was at the center
of a revolutionary new Mystery Cult and that The Crucifixion was a deliberate
ploy engineered by the Cultists themselves in order to inspire faith in the
ultimate Mystery of the Resurrection.
If Christ arranged to receive a cannabis extract…
the resulting cataleptic state…could easily have been mistaken
for death by the Romans who stood guard over him…
[P.156]
Either those soldiers were
pretty stupid, or that was DAMN GOOD POT!
We tend to disagree with the
world-view SDVB seems to present to the effect that History is a Great
Conspiracy invoked to suppress knowledge of the widespread use of pot in the
Ancient World—and particularly by Hebrews and Gnostic Christians. We are
prepared to grant that some Gnostic sects engaged in varying degrees of group
sexual activity as suggested by (primarily hostile) Sources. However,
considering what gossipmongers most historians are, it is surprising that so
little has been documented (even with Church and State censorship) to support
this ritual use of hashish theory.
We’d like to believe it, but,
if true, one would think that The History of the World Part I would have been a
much MELLOWER Story…
Chapter 11, Life After Jesus.
Opens with this insight:
As with many social and religious
movements,
once the dominant and creative
personality through which
it originated is gone, they either fall
apart…or into degradation.
Almost immediately after Jesus’
disappearance…The fight for control of the “faith”
soon lead to divisions and these
divisions multiplied with the precession of time.
[P. 166]
We found a footnote on Page
197 interesting:
Tertullian…held a romantic enthusiasm for
martyrdom, even encouraging it:
“You must take up your cross and bear it
after your Master…The sole key to unlock
Paradise is your own life’s blood.” …The
Church father, was particularly incensed at Gnostics
who sneered at the idea of willing
martyrdom, and outwardly denied their faith to their Roman persecutors while
continuing to practice it secretly.
[Incidentally, during the
days of the Protestant Reformation, Roman Catholics who publicly lied about
their faith in order to escape persecution were sometimes called “weir-locks,”
or worlock—oath breaker.]
Chapter 15, The Church Fathers. Details
the “Orthodox” (Literalist) Anti-Gnostic Counterrevolution. The Authors call
Paul the Anti-Christ of this authoritarian solidification of the Early Catholic
Church. (According to the Authors of THE JESUS MYSTERIES, Paul was, in fact, a
Gnostic and his many Anti-Gnostic, Anti-Woman letters or “epistles” were, in
reality, forgeries.)
On Page 206, the Authors of
SDVB quote from THE SACRED MUSHROOM AND THE CROSS, by John Allegro (Paper
Jacks, 1970).
Describing the Post-Gnostic Purge of
Organized Early Christianity, Allegro states:
Christianity purged itself…and drove
its drug-takers into the desert
as “heretics,” and eventually so
conformed to the will of the State that in
the fourth century it became an
integral part of the ruling establishment. By then
priests were raising wafers and
sweet wine at the altar trying to convince their followers
that the host had miraculously
become the flesh and blood of the god.
TRANSUBSTANTIATION
is the theory described in this passage.
This
a devotional aspect of PANTHEISM.
Chapter
16, The “Holy” Roman Empire. Correctly equates the psychotic and
murderous Constantine with his State creation of The Roman Catholic Church.
Conclusion.
SDVB’s Concluding Chapter contains some really good propagandistic writing, as
well as presenting political views that we cannot allow to go unchallenged.
On
the plus side, the Authors adroitly describe the post-Nicene Creed Catholic
Church as a “FrankenChrist” (P. 218).
On
the other hand, the final Chapter falls into an unscholarly description of one
of the Author’s personal “trips,” equating a marijuana leaf to that kooky
absurdity, “Revelation” (P.224).
And
this statement on Page 225:
In the 1980’s when young Russian
soldiers fighting against Afghani rebels (i.e. “reactionaries”—Ed.)
began smoking pot…many deserted
their ranks. This type of tolerance and compassion…has
always made it a threat to those who would enslave and separate mankind.
Oh,
please!
Soviet
military command incompetence and bureaucratic bungling had more to do with
lowering Russian Recruit moral than smoking pot—and it certainly did not turn
them en masse into particularly lovable or loving characters. Not only that,
these “Afghani rebels” were the same louts who killed school teachers,
oppressed women like something out of the Dark Ages, and who went on to
eventually blow up Buddhist monuments and the Twin Towers in New York.
The
Authors seem to relate to a 60’s mentality that believes, when enough people
get high, it will usher in a New Age of Peace & Harmony.
This
“Lifestyle” approach ignores the economic basis of class reality.
As
Blues Rock diva Janis Joplin phrased it, “There will always be more straight
people around who won’t go for it.”
Other
than the few critical observations above, SEX, DRUGS, VIOLENCE AND THE BIBLE is
loaded (excuse the pun) with great writing, information, historical revelations
and extremely valuable references. We would only suggest that a reediting for
typographical and spacing consistency and reorganization of notes to an
Appendix would benefit a second printing—and lose the personal stuff and witty asides unless they are absolutely
germane.
SDVB has all the potential to be Pop classic.
+++++++
To order SEX, DRUGS,
VIOLENCE & THE BIBLE Contact:
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Review: JEFarrow
Updated 11/06