The Immortality Key was one of those books that came to my attention in just the right way, and I had to investigate. Since getting sober, it has been a journey to get back on my journey. “Studying” and sponging up information is second nature—being teachable, however, is a new habit. Tribes by Seth Godin helped me step into the marketing and development role at Stigma Marketing & Development, but also rattled my faith. Godin was all about leadership, getting in front of your tribe, authentic connection, and being willing to be a heretic…things I needed to be thinking more about! Around then, I wrote a hypothetical thought experiment involving “re-giving my life to Jesus” and my struggle with heresy.
It turned out I needed this book and think more Christian leaders need to read it. Some people will read this and will feel lied to but won’t know who to point a finger at. I did.
The Gospel of John, the Samaritan Woman, and Divine Mysticism
The Gospel of John and the Samaritan Woman were subjects burning a hole in the back of my mind, quickly shaping up to be bigger projects than initially thought. A round of books had been cleared and there was an opening for an audiobook. Just as I began revisiting books on the Gospel of John, a random interview with Brian Muraresku popped up on my YouTube feed.
At this point, I was already convinced that John was a mystic, diving into research on first-century historical context, early Church Fathers, and even further back, looking into Mesoamerican and Aboriginal history and teachings. During that time, I wrapped up a short season investigating what Carl Jung was trying to understand in his study of magic and cults. Brian’s book was a niche and timely topic that intersected biblical history, cultural context, original languages, and church history, and I had already come to some conclusions that this book seemed to align with.
Psychedelics, Addiction, and the Subtleties of Recovery
So, when Brian started citing John in ways I had spent the last years coming to conclusions on and he was talking about psychedelics, it hit me. In Missoula—and I’m sure this will surprise no one—there are a couple of people who use psychedelics. In my second rehab, where I also met a couple of people who learned some hard lessons about psychedelics, I brought Tools for Titans by Tim Ferriss. Tim is vocal about his use of psychedelics, and his book summarizes hundreds of his interviews, including some with people from the psychedelic world, clinical researchers, and those working in addiction.
To be clear, I was sitting in rehab and hadn’t even attempted to get my life together yet – psychedelics were not a notion entertained. It wasn’t something on my recovery path. My family has a history of mental health issues, and I knew what drugs could do to our kind of brains. However, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, another book I read in that rehab, helped reinforce my impulsive curiosity, and so my interest in the topic was solidly planted.
After rehab, I found myself immersed in a world rich with addiction and recovery information. Before getting sober, I was fortunate to be exposed to AA & professional mental health frameworks—concepts that help me make sense of the world and myself. I had the blessing of helping with ASAM and sober-living development, became a licensed suicide prevention trainer, worked alongside an amazing Native American organization, networked for a Veterans organization, and cranked out certifications to be an Addictions Counselor (never applied 🤷♂️).
Addiction is no longer an irreducibly simple issue “some people have.” Objectively, “addiction” is something practically all of us deal with in some way and it is but one of a plethora of human conditions we struggle with. Working alongside professionals and others in recovery helped me get back on my own two feet without alcohol. All along, my “faith” was bouncing around behind me, in tandem with my Shadow, quickly catching up. I researched, watched documentaries, read news articles, studied peer-reviewed therapeutic studies, and followed content on the topic, all of which kept convincing me of the science of psychedelics.
This post, the last post, and the last Existential Hangover newsletter were rather difficult for me to put out there. Shame has taken a lot more than just sobriety to get over-I had to learn to let my ideas stand for themselves or fall, to be wrong, to ask for forgiveness, and more. The guilt of abandoning the American Evangelical title was real if not completely imagined, and unnecessary. Taking a stance on a psychedelic gospel, as a pastor in recovery, felt risky. Here’s the kicker about my experience: if that was mine, how many others are there actively struggling, unable to voice it because they can’t even bring themselves to question their doctrine?
Brian Muraresku’s The Immortality Key Enters the Scene
This summer, when Brian’s book came to my attention, I was already primed for it by the evidence of ancient psychedelic prevalence and the compelling medical research in the field. As one paper said, “This confluence of historical conditions has, in part, set the stage for psychedelics to reemerge from the realm of taboo.” The theology and practice of my faith had already turned into a mystical way of life I was just figuring out. But I wasn’t prepared for the weight of the theological implications of all of this. Nor am I alone. It’s a lot, eh? Easier to reject and get back to normal life.
Where I was in life, inner work, and faith…if this next part doesn’t make sense, skip it…the “theology” was already there and I had been exploring it for months. I was reading as far back as I could in the church fathers, whiteboarding ideas, dialoguing, and personally testing things out in my unfolding world as a recovering pastor.
Before hitting play on Audible, I listened to several interviews with Brian. Of interest is he asserts he’s never done psychedelics himself—a point I believe. By the time I finished his book, it seemed clear he hadn’t spent enough time studying the nature of psychedelic experiences. But that’s a point for later.
Modern Christendom’s Shroom Debate
Not surprisingly with the wealth of information modern research is unearthing around history and psychedelics, the topic is officially in the public discussion of Christendom – i.e. it’s fair game for a recovering pastor to write about! Here are some articles from popular Christian outlets with an “interesting” quote from each.
- The Case Against Psychedelic Drugs
“Christians should mainly avoid psychedelics for two reasons: they disrupt nepho (sober-mindedness), and they are related to pharmakeia (sorcery or witchcraft).”
https://www.bcworldview.org/the-case-against-psychedelic-drugs - Mushrooms at the table?
“Entheogens may have played some role in the inspiration of mysticism in the early church and within the long Roman Catholic tradition..”
https://www.bcworldview.org/the-case-against-psychedelic-drugs - A Holy High: Advocating for the Spiritual Use of Hallucinogens
“Growing evidence confirms that there has been an appreciation and acceptance of the consumption of psychedelic substances (and medicines) by Christians over the last 2,000 years.”
https://christandcascadia.com/2023/04/27/holy-high/ - Joe Rogan and the Search for Transcendence
“I don’t pretend to know. We do know however from church history that theological and ethical clarity comes when the church is forced to confront new challenges.”
https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/article/joe-rogan-and-the-search-for-transcendence/ - The Dangers of a Psychedelic Gospel
“Yet believers promoting psychedelics as a Christian practice are advocating for an idol.”
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/11/psychedelics-drug-trials-clergy-risks-christian-gospel/
All of these sources are evidence of the tip of an iceberg that is a LOT bigger than most are willing to admit. If theologians are struggling with this, what about the average churchgoer? You can hear how some of these “biblical worldview” experts don’t know what to do with this – their worldview is shaken by this too. It threatens our understanding, specifically for us who have no tradition and cultural practice with psychedelics. This is all new and strange to us – but not to those in Hebrews 11 and early church fathers.
If paleo-Christians, one generation removed from Jesus himself, time-traveled to our context, they would be confused by our ignorance of these plants. These were so common, as mentioned in a previous post, all wine had some psychoactive or psychedelic recipe in it. We don’t think of wine, or beer, the same way they made it.
A Eureka Moment and a Mind Spinning with Insight
Before starting The Immortality Key, I had already done my research and spent two weeks lost in a “Eureka!” feeling. I became even more insufferable, pouring out tens of thousands of words, and rapidly exploring implications. Based on some study and fact-checking, I already found myself in agreement with Brian on paleo-Christian psychedelic use but had my own theological implications. I was ready to hear what he had to say.
That was about five months ago. I finally finished the audiobook on October 30, in the shower, with the paperback arriving in the mail that day. It took this long because each chapter makes you pause, dig further, and reflect deeply. Even when trying to write this introduction, I’ve found it hard to articulate all my thoughts fully.
Brian’s research and the findings he documents are the crux for Christians. We could, in theory, set aside his story and theory, what Muraresku calls “the pagan continuity hypothesis with a psychedelic twist,” and take a look at the evidence alone. That has already been enough to get some hardcore theologians to ask some questions.
This will continue to happen among Christians, from teens to congregants, and Christian media and scholarship. It is being debated in Christendom, so let’s not pretend this is a conversation that can be ignored. Let us give some honor to Luther’s “logic & Scripture” and the Berean’s honorable searching of Scriptures – they may have been dealing with a similar kind of thing we find ourselves grappling with now.
Given the nature of our world and the American Evangelical church, this feels like the exact conversation needed to let go of some things and address some of the insanity within the Church.
Psychedelics as a “Shortcut” and the Importance of Intent
One thing Brian may overlook is the significance of community, setting, context, and intent when it comes to psychedelic experiences. It feels as if he thinks we can just drop psychedelics on the mob of the world and everything would be pretty. He sometimes seems to gloss over the fact that while psychedelics have existed throughout human history, so have deeply flawed societies.
Psychedelics can not be a fix-all: we ought to have learned better by now. They can break things too – why else do societies with psychedelic histories have rich traditions and communal figures to guide people? He calls it a “hack” or a “shortcut.” Maybe that’s the wrong way of thinking about it or the perfect way of thinking about it. A hack may make something work – but leaves damage behind. As with wealth, knowledge, or speech, the purpose and approach matter—even more so here.
I love “hacking” and fixing things. I love the shortcuts and cheat codes. Any way to fix the mess of my life with as little effort as possible? Yes, please, and may I have some more? If there is some secret way of getting ahead, you bet my inner ego would love it. I’ve tried “hacking” things and fixing things. We all have, haven’t we? It doesn’t work. That doesn’t work with psychedelics – psychedelics may help break that, though, dramatically even, when setting, context, and intent are there; when there is a community and people around the experience. In today’s cyber-identity-crisis world, psychedelics will possibly bring a lot of good, maybe even “needed,” insights to humanity. They will also fracture and fragment people who do it in isolation or for their egoic comfort and self-delusion. Ancient kings who’ve done psychedelics often became monsters. We already have a world full of kings and queens, victims and judges.
The story does matter here. Brian tells a story that deserves to be told, rich in history and facts, while still rich with his opinions. Look at the sources for yourself. Don’t just drink the Kool-Aid uncritically. Psychedelics, from clear research, have already helped many people. But they will also harm others due to the identity crises and fractured personalities of our modern world. They will be debated, stigmatized, commercialized, and exploited. Eventually, Christian capitalism will run with it if it hasn’t already started. There are also already people using psychedelics to form religious communities, from Buddhism to Christianity. This is just starting.
Initial Christian Rejection and Confusion
Some accused me, in my earlier full “Eureka” mode, of making faith all about psychedelics. That’s not my point at all – my point was that our faith, and Bible, come from people who actively used psychedelics. My point is the paleo-Christians’ use of psychedelics means that they were mystics, at least when it came to Scripture and when they wrote it (i.e. John & Revelation, Paul the Apostle being caught up into the third heaven and instructing the women of Corinth, or Moses with a burning acacia bush). This fact alone cracks open thousands of years of orthodoxy and doctrine. It rips the foundation out from under an American Christian Western Worldview. Psychedelics have left trace evidence on every page of the Bible and we’re just now seeing it. This was a part of the world the original biblical writers were comfortable engaging with, even Jesus.
If you’ve grown up in a Western Christian world, that last paragraph is a lot to chew on: I know, right?! That’s the point. For long before psychedelics entered my random theologizing brain, I was convinced a new reformation was here and heard other pastors hint at it too. Martin Luther went back to the source of Scripture, to the original sources. We already have the last centuries of research that have helped us more fully understand them. Before all of this psychedelic research just beginning, without ever having to touch a psychedelic, Christians were already beginning to rethink their faith. If Martin Luther were alive now, there would be more papers on more church doors.
The reaction Christians will have in response to psychedelics is more birthed out of unfamiliarity and stigmas: we struggle to allow ancient people to be themselves when so much of our modern faith has been built on a staunch look at the past from our present. We also have a hard thinking about a “drug,” especially a new one that messes with consciousness, in any other perspective than addiction and escapism.
The negative reaction against psychedelics is often about it being new and strange to people, something they don’t understand. It also highlights people’s need for control and to understand something. In many ways, Christians assumed rejection of psychedelics could be pitched as symptomatic of our problem with letting go of control and our ego, of having to control the narrative rather than being a part of it
On Death, Ego, and Spiritual Rebirth.
Dying to ourselves and Love all has always been Christ’s central call – to love others as He loved us. Psychedelics may help people with faith: did for the first Jesus converts. It can lead people astray too. Let’s not assume we know what we’re dealing with. We’ve done that with other breakthroughs and advancements.
The individual is paramount as is their setting, context, and intent. The people in our life and who we do it with all play a part in the world we are aware of. If we’re with unhealthy people, unhealthy things can happen. If people use it to face themselves and meet their Maker, to come to terms with their life, then who are we to reject the healthy, biblical, and well-researched use of it?
As Brian’s fave saying goes, “Die before you die, and when you die, you’ll live” (pulled from an old Catholic monastery). Psychedelics, as research has shown, recreate a near-death experience and impact the ego and identity profoundly. Studies are examining their use in treating depression, addiction, bipolar disorder, autism, and schizophrenia. We don’t have time to spend going over all of this, just know it’s still early research.
Psychedelics were used by early Christians and were part of their world. It does not mean a lot of things. It’s a world we still uncovering. Yet, finally, we have more resources and now tools to understand their context and manuscripts more fully. We see our struggles with ego and identity much more clearly today. We’ve been painted into a corner and there is nowhere to run: even a stupid mushroom is staring us in the face now.
Perhaps, at this moment in history, this research was the last piece of a puzzle we didn’t even realize we were trying to complete. Perhaps, the psychedelic wave that is already here fits exactly within God’s Divine plan, as He moves nations, people, and boundaries so we all might reach for Him, though He is not far from us (Acts 17). Maybe, this is the Eucharist that will finally help the Church mature in love (Ephesians 4). I don’t know but am excited to finally have something objective to discuss the subjective around.
An Introduction Before a Review
So, one last time – this is not about psychedelics nor is it about how people “should” or should not use them. Meditation has also proven to yield the same kind of results. This is about understanding our faith and doing something with it. This is about preparing for what’s coming. This is letting go of past assumptions and strict ways of thinking that have impacted all of humanity, the people sitting in our pews and the kids we leave behind. This is about stripping away all of the church baggage from the Gospel of Christ so Christians can finally start being disciples, like Dallas Willard, AW Tozer, and Kierkegaard all criticized the church for missing.
All this needed to be said before we dive into a recovering pastor’s breakdown of The Immortality Key—a review that will both celebrate the book and point out some areas I found lacking or off-base. More importantly, we’ll try to focus on the very first Christians: the people who walked personally with the historical Jesus and His Apostles.
Until then, stay tuned for another Drunk Pastor musing, or catch up on old ones.
