#406 — The Legacy of Christianity

What was the secret that kept ancient Greeks and early Christians from fearing death? In The Immortality Key, attorney and scholar Brian Muraresku argues that the origins of Christianity are rooted in the psychedelic rituals of ancient Greek life and that these rituals allowed people to embrace their mortality.

Presenting a decade’s worth of research and evidence, Muraresku delves into the origins of Christianity, its overlap with pre-existing pagan customs, and its eventual diversion. Along the way, he asks how we might glean some wisdom from those ancient traditions to reconsider the place of psychedelics in the modern world—can a transcendent experience provide a key to our immortality?

In this guide, we’ll discuss the evidence and arguments Muraresku presents about Christianity and its connection to Greek paganism, as well as his questions about what psychedelics have to offer humanity. We’ll also explore current research and varied viewpoints regarding the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.

In The Silk Roads, historian Peter Frankopan identifies Central and Western Asia as the crossroads of human civilization, the birthplace of the world’s major religions, the battleground where the great empires of history rose and fell, and the garden from which today’s global economy first sprouted. He argues that understanding the East is crucial to our understanding of the world—particularly for Westerners who have lost this global perspective.

In ancient times, trade routes known as the Silk Roads first brought European merchants to the luxury markets of the East, enabling the flow of both material goods and ideas from East to West. According to Frankopan, the Silk Roads have always been history’s crucial connection point, spreading not just luxury goods like silk and spices, but also technology, religion, languages, cultures, ideologies, and even conflicts and diseases. In this guide, we explore Frankopan’s history of the Silk Roads, while also incorporating insights and feedback from other scholars to supplement his analysis.

What is a “self”? Should we look for our selves in our innermost feelings or in our social contexts and traditions? In The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Trueman argues that cultural developments of the past three centuries have transformed our conception of selfhood—from a self rooted in religion, tradition, and community to one rooted in individualism, emotion, and sexuality. A professor of biblical studies and ecclesiastical history, Trueman asserts that this change has been disastrous for Western culture because it undermines traditional Christian understandings of marriage, gender, and authority while stigmatizing Christian beliefs as bigoted and irrational.

Our guide will explore Trueman's historical analysis, from the philosophy of the Enlightenment to the rise of the LGBTQ+ alliance and the student activism of the left. You'll read about 19th-century English poetry, the rise of internet pornography, and Sigmund Freud's take on childhood sexuality. Our commentary also dives into the historical context of these developments while exploring multiple perspectives on the culture wars of today.

When his wife announces that she’s become a believer in Christ, former Chicago Tribune legal affairs reporter (and avowed atheist) Lee Strobel embarks on a quest to investigate the truth of Jesus. Using his skills as a law-school graduate and long-time journalist, Strobel interviews—and occasionally interrogates—an array of scholars specializing in Christianity and the New Testament. He discovers that the evidence for Jesus Christ—His existence, His divinity, His resurrection—is overwhelming. By the end of his journey, Strobel realizes his atheism simply doesn’t hold up against the evidence, and he takes the natural next step: he becomes a believer.

The entire philosophical and religious canon consists of collective delusions, according to 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In Beyond Good and Evil, he constructs this argument with logical premises, insults toward his peers, and challenges to the assumptions underlying Western thought. He then offers an alternative worldview arguing that people are primarily motivated by a desire for power and domination.

Our guide covers Nietzsche’s critique of philosophy and his theory of the will to power—the desire for control and domination inherent to all living things. We also discuss his belief in subjective morality and his critique of Christian values. In our commentary, we explain the philosophy Nietzsche critiques, how Beyond Good and Evil fits into his other works, and how he influenced philosophers who came after him.

For millennia, humans struggled with three serious problems—famine, plagues, and war—which led to the deaths of millions of people and to the rise and fall of global empires. People coped with these problems and answered life's questions with religion. However, in the modern era, we no longer rely on prayer—we’ve mostly overcome these three problems through the development of technology and medical knowledge.

In Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, envisions a future in which technology replaces humanist ideals and liberal government. Dissecting the concepts of religion, immortality, and technology, Harari argues that the world of the future may be run by advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, not human beings.

In The God Delusion, University of Oxford biologist and anti-religion activist Richard Dawkins seeks to demystify religion and discredit faith. He explores the unlikelihood of God’s existence; how evolution by natural selection explains the centrality of religion to the human experience; and how religion promotes immoral values, impoverishes the human mind, and provides justification for intolerance and persecution. He argues that ultimately, we as humans must free ourselves from our self-imposed shackles by destroying faith and religion and positively embracing the full potential of our species.

The entire philosophical and religious canon consists of collective delusions, according to 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In Beyond Good and Evil, he constructs this argument with logical premises, insults toward his peers, and challenges to the assumptions underlying Western thought. He then offers an alternative worldview arguing that people are primarily motivated by a desire for power and domination.

Our guide covers Nietzsche’s critique of philosophy and his theory of the will to power—the desire for control and domination inherent to all living things. We also discuss his belief in subjective morality and his critique of Christian values. In our commentary, we explain the philosophy Nietzsche critiques, how Beyond Good and Evil fits into his other works, and how he influenced philosophers who came after him.

For millennia, humans struggled with three serious problems—famine, plagues, and war—which led to the deaths of millions of people and to the rise and fall of global empires. People coped with these problems and answered life's questions with religion. However, in the modern era, we no longer rely on prayer—we’ve mostly overcome these three problems through the development of technology and medical knowledge.

In Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, envisions a future in which technology replaces humanist ideals and liberal government. Dissecting the concepts of religion, immortality, and technology, Harari argues that the world of the future may be run by advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, not human beings.

What is a “self”? Should we look for our selves in our innermost feelings or in our social contexts and traditions? In The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Trueman argues that cultural developments of the past three centuries have transformed our conception of selfhood—from a self rooted in religion, tradition, and community to one rooted in individualism, emotion, and sexuality. A professor of biblical studies and ecclesiastical history, Trueman asserts that this change has been disastrous for Western culture because it undermines traditional Christian understandings of marriage, gender, and authority while stigmatizing Christian beliefs as bigoted and irrational.

Our guide will explore Trueman's historical analysis, from the philosophy of the Enlightenment to the rise of the LGBTQ+ alliance and the student activism of the left. You'll read about 19th-century English poetry, the rise of internet pornography, and Sigmund Freud's take on childhood sexuality. Our commentary also dives into the historical context of these developments while exploring multiple perspectives on the culture wars of today.