Early Christianity: From Underground Religion to State Religion

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This chapter explores the early days of Christianity, highlighting its status as an underground religion in Rome and discussing its differences from present-day Christianity, including the absence of physical church buildings and an agreed-upon bible. The influence of ancient mystery religions, the pagan continuity hypothesis, and the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Gnostic Gospels are also covered.

Sam Harris speaks with Brian Muraresku about ancient mystery religions and the possible psychedelic roots of Christianity. They discuss the Mysteries of Eleusis, the “pagan continuity hypothesis,” the cult of Dionysius, the Dead Sea scrolls and the Gnostic Gospels, Christianity as a cult of human sacrifice, the evidence for the use of psychedelics in ancient rites, the chemical analysis of ancient wine and beer, why Brian hasn’t tried psychedelics, the need for a modern Mysteries of Eleusis, and other topics.

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