Christians Consuming Flesh and Blood of Christ etc. like Greek Dionysus.

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The Old Testament substituted human sacrifice with animal sacrifice, but retained the concept of sacrifice and consumption of what has been sacrificed. Dionysus, not simply the god of wine, is associated with delirium, frenzy, and madness through communion and drinking his wine, symbolized as his blood. This parallels the christian concept of consuming the flesh and blood of Christ to attain eternal life, a seemingly cannibalistic and drastic idea to ancient Jewish beliefs. The central promise of christianity is immortality through consuming Jesus' flesh and blood, leading to skepticism among a significant percentage of American Catholics.

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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