Pharmakeia: psychedelic drugs and spirituality

"Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery." (Revelation 18:21-23)

Above, GIUSTO de' Menabuoi 1376-78 Fresco in the Baptistry, Cathedral, Padua

We know from many verses that God is against sorcery, astrology, witchcraft, etc.; God hates sorceries.

The curious thing is that the word in the verse, "nations were deceived by your sorcery" the root Greek word for sorcery is actually pharmakeia. It is the word from which we get pharmacy. In the Strong's it means "from pharmakeuó (to administer drugs)." It is further defined as "the use of medicine, drugs or spells."

I am of the opinion that the verse in Revelation is NOT saying that legal drugs administered by doctors is bad. I am concerned with a trend I am seeing these days toward a renewed and vigorous interest in psychedelic drugs. How this ties in with sorceries, you will discover when you read on...

The trend I speak of is not new. It is ancient, actually. But in the search for God, many people take the broad way, the fork in the road that leadeth to destruction. That road is the search for experience, not a submission to belief. They seek feelings, and when they cannot find them, they turn to drugs. A melding of drugs and the spiritual is the most dangerous kind of sorcery, because it dulls the senses and creates a false god: self.
Above, a picture of someone's imagined entheogen, with the title "awakening the divine within" and a video link promising "expanded perception."

An entheogen is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic or spiritual context. Peyote, LSD, DMT are all natural or synthetic substances that are ingested with the intent to find God inside us. The very name entheogen is from the root 'God inside us', note the "theo" as in theology, and "gens", created, as in Genesis.

The upsurge in psychedelic drugs as an accompaniment in the spiritual path was brought to the mass population in the late 1950s. In 1957 Life magazine published an article called "Seeking the Magic Mushroom." The article documented the use of peyote mushrooms in the religious ceremony of the indigenous Mazatec people of Mexico. "Anthony Russo, a colleague of Leary's, experienced psychedelic (or entheogenic) mushrooms during a trip to Mexico, and related the experience to Leary. In August 1960, Harvard professor Timothy Leary traveled to Cuernavaca, Mexico with Russo and ate mushrooms for the first time, an experience that drastically altered the course of his life. In 1965, Leary commented that he "learned more about... (his) brain and its possibilities... (and) more about psychology in the five hours after taking these mushrooms than... (he) had in the preceding fifteen years of studying and doing research in psychology." source. Later we saw the rush to India by the Beatles and others in search of gurus who seemed to have all knowledge,  shamanic experiences sought by Carlos Santana, and Mircea Eliade's seminal 1951 study "Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy" finally becoming more popular as a form of 'spiritual ecology' in the 1960s. Pharmakeia.

Above, Leary: "You have to go out of your mind to come to your senses."

The most famous experiment back in the Leary days was the Marsh Chapel Experiment (a.k.a. "the Good Friday Experiment"). It was administered by Walter N. Pahnke, a graduate student in theology at Harvard Divinity School, under the supervision of Leary. The goal was to see if psilocybin would act as reliable entheogen, or, as a drug that offered or enhanced individual spiritual insight in religiously predisposed subjects such as the seminary students.

It wasn't long after that when Leary became known to the Beatnik generation for his motto, "Turn on, tune in, drop out." The 'turn on' was LSD. What is less well-known was the context of the speech and the reason for the motto. It was Leary's friend Marshall McLuhan who challenged Leary to he come up with "something snappy" to promote the benefits of LSD. By the time Leary gave his speech in New York, he'd thought of a snappy catchphrase:

"Like every great religion of the past we seek to find the divinity within and to express this revelation in a life of glorification and the worship of God. These ancient goals we define in the metaphor of the present — turn on, tune in, drop out."

Pharmakeia. The ultimate sorcery, because it uses mind-altering drugs in a search for God and, worse, replaces God with the devil's lie: that the divine is within us. Therefore, this witchcraft activity also becomes idolatry and blasphemy in their worst senses.

Cut to today. One would think that with all the medical and scientific knowledge we've gained since the Leary days about the dangers of drugs and of the wonders of the brain, that we would have quit looking for God in a pill. No. Roland Griffiths is interested in entheogens and the spiritual, as they relate to patients suffering from dread diseases such as cancer. He has a lab in Johns Hopkins University, affectionately dubbed mushroom mecca, and is taking up where Leary left off, but with a focused purpose, more money, and better science. His initial paper is here. It is titled "Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance."

The God Chemical: Brain Chemistry And Mysticism
"But now, some researchers are using new technologies to try to understand spiritual experience. They're peering into our brains and studying our bodies to look for circumstantial evidence of a spiritual world. The search is in its infancy, and scientists doubt they will ever be able to prove — or disprove — the existence of God. ... "Andy Harvey, a ceremony participant, said peyote serves as a mediator between the human world and the divine. "Sometimes we ask the peyote to help us cleanse the illnesses away and cleanse our mental being, our spiritual being," he said. "And we believe that's what peyote does, too. That's why we call it a sacrament, a sacred herb."

Here is Griffiths' call for study participants:

"In recent years, scientists at some US universities have been conducting studies using entheogens, resuming research in pharmacology, psychology, creativity and spirituality that was suspended following the drug excesses of the 1960s.... ... participate in a scientific study of self-exploration and personal meaning brought about by the entheogen psilocybin, a psychoactive substance found in mushrooms used as a sacrament in some cultures, given in a comfortable, supportive setting."

The Apostles strongly urged believers not to use mind-altering drugs but to remain sober-minded and alert (1 Corinthians 15:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8; 2 Timothy 4:5; 1 Peter 1:13; 4:7; 5:8). These prohibitions likely are designed to remind us that we must be vigilant against the wiles of the Devil (1 Peter 5:8), who seeks to ensnare us through deception. The Christian disciplines his body and keeps it under control 1 Corinthians 9:27, so that he is able to set his mind on things above, [not within] Colossians 3:2. And even if you are in a "supportive setting" the devil will still come in, and give you a "divine experience" you are not likely to forget. If you're lucky, it will be an experience you are unwilling to remember.

Revelation says that Babylon-ish sorceries will be condemned. The use of mind-altering drugs in combination with the search for spiritual truth is on the upswing with shamanism, neo-paganism, and even University sponsored experiments. If there is legitimized use of these mind-altering drugs in the context of "finding God", with the Restrainer on the earth and the Holy Spirit easily available to all, just imagine how it will be when the Resterainer is removed, and most of the world is laboring under the delusion. Leary's line comes to mind, but it will be more like "You will go out of your mind and never come to your senses."

Stay strong, Christian! Do not seek Him in your mind through drugs, but in truth and in spirit with a clear head and scripture before you. Ask that the eyes of your heart be enlightened. Tune in to the Holy Spirit! Turn on the lamp that cannot be hid! And soon, God knows, we will drop out of the world only to fly, not with drugs, but on His wings of Grace and Glory, to the home of Grace and Glory!


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Comments

  1. Thanks for this article! I've written on the subject myself: ‘Pharmakeia’ in the NT Era: Exposition and Application: http://www.puritanboard.com/f25/pharmakeia-nt-era-exposition-application-64438/

    And, Are We Babylon?: http://www.puritanboard.com/f46/we-babylon-61763/

    I'm working on a follow up, Pharmakeia II: Sorcery in the 20th and 21st Centuries.

    Steve

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  2. I think the reason you don't like this is because it tends to lead people towards Buddhism rather than Christianity. Once someone feels and understands that everything is connected (one),they can't go back to Christianity and often lean towards eastern spiritual views. Often times these people realize that there is no point to do psychedelics again after that kind of experience.


    How can you not believe god is in everything and say you're christian?
    The same thing that gives us breathe is the same thing that makes a rose bloom. God.

    Honestly I think viewing god as outside of ourselves is just a way to be controlled instead of TAKING CONTROL of one's life,destiny, and happiness. As sentient beings we have the responsibility to better this world, ourselves, and humanity at large through the realization of our full power. Meditation and sometimes psychedelic experiences have helped people to realize their own worth and power and given them true insight to the meaning and purpose of their existence.
    Only something insidious and evil would seek to limit that.

    -Matt

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    1. the thing about "pharmakeia" particularly is the use of a drug to communicate with the "spirit world" which is divination.
      Divination will condemn you to hell. Buddhism and Hinduism both teach different methods and practices of divination.
      As far as the east, Jesus was an eastern man, Christianity an eastern religion.

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    2. Hi Joy,

      I liked what you said about drugs often being the vehicle people use to commune with the spirit world. So true! I hadn't thought of it like that. Yes, for sure that is divination, a practice banned in the bible. Yes, divination will condemn a person to hell. But so does every other sin condemn us to hell. And as with divination and every other sin, Jesus will forgive it if we repent.

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    3. The biggest lie ever told is that we would be like gods. And it is still being preached through these psychedelics.

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  3. Hi Elizabeth: I see you already have the link (below) to the sequel of my Pharmakeia thread, so I won't repeat it. This latest thread is more comprehensive.

    Matt, the teaching of Christ is that God is outside us, but we may enter into union with Him and partake of His Spirit. Of course everything in creation is in God, but creatures in Him may at the same time be antagonistic to Him and oppose His reign over the universe. Spiritual deception would lead one to think His message of salvation is "insidious and evil", when in truth it is love offered to us at the cost of Christ's life. He is now risen from the dead and is the Savior of the world - the only Savior.

    Steve

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  4. "The kingdom of God is inside you." -Jesus

    LSD, dmt, psyilocibin and MDMA are all crystals. Neither good nor bad, they simply are. Different effects come from the coinsuosness of the individual. "it's not what goes into the body that makes a man unclean but what come out of his heart that makes him unclean". "anything received with thanksgiving and spurs heart is clean" (paraphrased) I have no doubt that if you took these things it would be sin to you, but putting that on others is wrong.open your eyes and you'll see clearly. I have no doubts though that nothing can separate me for Gods love for me. Perfect love casts out the fear you pedal with your "don't taste don't touch doctrine. In the end it's just another law.

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    1. Dmt, psilocybin*, and all other dmt based indoles or drugs for that matter are limited to these realms. There is nothing there except earth based truths that will take you nowhere. Jesus is the true vine. He is the only way to life. If you are struggling with this sorcery, please hear me out. I used to be into TM, Hicks, and just listening to that little voice we all have. It is a blaspheming of the holy spirit and I will burn for it and I know this to be true from my own assumptions as well as reading the bible. I still struggle with this stuff and I don't use them anymore. I have been drug free for a month and a half now and I thank God everyday for Jesus. He is the only thing that lasts. Everything else decays away. Don't buy into the lies that the enemy has sold you into. Satan is behind it all. Give praise and trust into Jesus. He is the only way. Time is short brothers and sisters. Don't give it all away to this stuff. Give it to Jesus. Peace.


      Sources - (unwanted) personal experience

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    2. Hello ANonymous,

      Congratulations on being drug free for one month!! Keep leaning on Jesus- He is your hope and your strength-

      Philippians 4:13
      I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

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  5. Anonymous, if you are trying to use scriptures to defend your or anyone's use of psychedelic drugs, forget it.

    The do not touch verse you mention but did not put an address for is Colossians 1:20-23. It is about the new freedom to t eat certain foods, released from the Law's dietary restrictions.

    Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

    So even though the verse is about meats etc, please restrain your sensual indulgence. Even if psychedelic drugs were legally allowed "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive" 1 Cor 10:23.

    So in other words, grow up and do right.

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  6. psychadelics can give you a glimpse of different realities, opening you up to the numinous unseen world, and different states of consciousness. If the use of psychadelics makes people question their existance and opens them up to thinking about God then how can this be bad...people are looking in the wrong direction when they want wholeness through drugs, but they may question how to be filled with the holy spirit when they cannot satisfy their hunger through drugs.

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  7. I remember when I thought psychedelics were good for spirituality. Then I had a few friends get possessed by wicked spirits after taking shrooms, and they couldn't get rid of them until they went to a born again christian who cast them out.

    Don't mess with drugs. God is 10000X more powerful than any drug you could possibly imagine. That's why people are SCARED to come to Christ and God: they know they couldn't handle it.

    Narrow is the way that leadeth to eternal life. People would rather die eternally than live eternally sadly.

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    1. Don't mess with drugs, good message Anonymous. God IS pwoerful, people can't handle the power of a God who makes is necessary for us to confront our own sinful nature and who at the same time delivers wrath that we're sinners but sends His Son to save us. You're so right, they would rather die eternally than submit to that kind of power.

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  8. It's not psychedelics. Look at the amount of pharmaceuticals in our food, our water, our vaccines, etc. Big Pharma, as they're called these days, is polluting humanity with their drugs. These are global merchants of drugs the Bible is talking about, not hippies selling acid. Fluoride has been proven to lower our IQ. It's in our water. All you have to do is look at the relationship between Big Pharma and the FDA & USDA to see how evil these folks truly are.

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  9. Grace does not give us occasion nor the right to grieve the Holy Spirit. "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient, all things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1st Corinthians 6:12) Paul is speaking of not being under the schoolmaster of the Law. The Law is still completely Holy and true, but we can never live up to the righteousness of the Living God. Therefore Christ came and shed His blood for us. But every time we sin we grieve the Holy Spirit. Witchcraft, which is exactly what these mind-altering substances are, was a sin worthy of DEATH in the Law. Praise God that we are under the New Covenant. Yet, the Law remains true. So if you truly want to please the LORD, why then would you do something He told the Israelites not to do on pain of death?! This is quite serious to our LORD because many, many times He admonished us NOT TO BE DECEIVED!!! The ancient mystery schools of Babylon focused on just this kind of "experience". Our enemy, Satan, is a liar and a murderer! He wants only to destroy us, and these things come from him! Christ indeed brings us freedom, so why would you subject yourself to anything? As Paul said, I will not be brought under the power of anything!
    Please allow me to share with you a bit of personal hardship. I severely injured my back both working as a carpenter and later in a horrible auto-accident. 4 surgeries later, I'm worse off than ever. So of course my doctors put me on pain medication. And I was thankful for the relief because my pain was unbearable. Yet now I find myself in a terrible quandry. My dose of pain meds was incredible, almost unbelievable. I was on them so long that my body's tolerance to the meds forced me into an ever increasing doseage. So when my doctors mysteriously declined to prescribe me these meds that they had put me on, I found myself in a terrible state of withdrawl. I had allowed myself to be brought under the power of these medications, these "pharmakeia". I'm certain you believe me when I profess that I cried out to the LORD then! We, as followers of Christ, have only ONE master. We are bondservants (slaves) for Christ. Even though He has called us friends. How can a servant have two masters? He will cleave to the one and despise the other, just as Christ Himself told us. It is better to not place yourself into the position to even have to choose. Sadly, I do not have the answer to those, who like me, suffer wrenching, constant pain. But I will place my faith and life into the hands of the Living God. I say to you to keep His commandments, to be a separate and holy people. Even though we may not be judged by the Law if we be in Christ, I say to study it and follow the commandments to please our LORD, to try to be perfect even as He is perfect, just as Christ commanded us.
    I apologize for the length of this comment, I just felt led to share this.
    Your brother in Christ,
    Dell

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    1. Thank you for your heartfelt testimony, Dell. I am so sorry you live under a cloud of pain. I am so joyful that you appeal to the Lord for help. He is a very present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

      That doesn't diminish the pain but you are definitely glorifying the Lord when you choose Him as master and not painkillers. Please continue to pray and submit to Him, His grace will be sufficient. And the day when you get there will be glorious in triplicate as you feel no pain for the first time! I can't wait to see you then and thank you for your testimony in person.

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  10. If, as Jesus states in John 15, you did not choose me, but I have chose you, what difference does the definition of pharmakeia make?

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    1. What difference does anything make? Because we are still responsible for our own actions.

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  11. Jamie Kidwell said,
    All of you made great points, and gave glory to God. The one point I want to make which someone did earlier. There are more people dying from LEGAL drugs today than illegal drugs. If you really think about this, you will see that this is true, just go to church, and listen to fellow Christians, talk to your neighbors and friends, just have a conversation with anyone these days, and you will find, that at least one person in every family is addicted to legal drugs, come on people, open your eyes. I'm not saying that illegal drugs are a way to go either, you must pray about your individual circumstances, and pray that you are doing and putting the right things in your body. What makes me so sad, is the Christians who are luke warm, believing every thing their pastors say, never questioning anything, believing every thing there government says. America and any country who wants the New World Order, is Babylon. Why do you worship on Sundays, when this is a pagan holiday? The seventh day is for rest not the the first day. Why is Passover and Easter, only two days and two nights? It's these very questions, that have been going on for far too long that you guys aren't asking? I'm not judging, I just pray others to open there eyes, and stop accepting what is. Do your research, ask your preacher the questions your scared to ask him, because you feel you might be questioning his love for Christ and his church. Never take anyones' words for it, not even mine! Stop being lazy and do your Geopolitical research as well! I'm guilty of this, and I was so angry when I finally found a lot of truth, that had been missing from my fellowship with my church, Many churches. Anybody can throw scriptures up, but true understanding of the bible, is not only to read one gospel, but to read them in succession, so that you get the big picture. Thank you for this, I just want every one, to question what we have called Christianity for so long, if you do step out, you will be looked down upon for asking this questions and if you do, then you know your going in the right direction, and take faith, on the questions you do have, don't give up, this is what God wants us to do, seek, learn, don't just be a luke warm Christian. I pray I did not offend anyone, but I'm want to be a true follower of Christ, and I'm just finding all of this out, and I was scared and felt like running away from it all, but when you find the truth, about what this country has turned this religion into, you will be disgusted with yourself, trust me on that. Most of all Keep the real Sabbath.

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    1. Amen Amen!! That is the same journey myself and husband went through fighting tooth and nail. We are Glad the Lord saw fit to take the blinders off. My mother is in a real spiritual batter with legal prescription drugs and her faith. She put's more trust in the meds than God. Praying for her and other's like her. Shalom

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  12. Hi. Best would have been to hear from someone who was a committed entheogen user, but then got born again (according to Romans 10:8-10) and filled with the Holy Spirit.

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  13. Interesting article.
    However, the word "Pharmakeia" used in Revelation 18 means drugs/sorcery. It does not specify only one class of drugs. You can get both psychedelic drugs and Tylenol at a "Pharmacy" - which gets it's name from that same Greek word in Revelation 18. Notice that the Bible specifically says "ALL nations" are deceived!
    It also says that the "blood of ALL" was found in her. That means that when someone dies from Tylenol - it falls under that verse!
    In fact, Acetaminophen is number 5 on the list of legal drugs that are killing people.
    There are many connections between "Pharmakeia", modern medicine, and the devil's plan for this planet.
    I know - because I just lost my son to LEGALLY mandated drug poisoning!
    You can read more about his story here
    http://www.swiftrunnerministries.com/about-us.php
    We also just finished compiling a documentary on Pharmakeia which you can watch here.
    http://www.swiftrunnerministries.com/invading-the-castle-of-the-dragon-series.php
    or here
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gDnDE_WpU8
    We desire to wake up the world, to the massive deception of Pharmakeia that they are under.

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  14. Sir, you are judging the lives of people who have done these things and assuming it has led them down the wrong path. Do you even know any Christians (or any one for that matter?) who have done entheogens?

    So you think the shamans in South America is basically a demon worshipper? We look by their fruits? Or not?

    Some people who have done entheogens have healed from other issues in their lives and have seen things outside our 3-D existence of Gods creation. Maybe there is more that God wants to reveal to us, hints of the New Heaven and New Earth.

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    1. God is not revealing anything new to us. He said the work was finished and the canon is closed. (John 19:30, Rev 22:18-19). Read Revelation 21-22 for news of the new heaven and new earth.

      Drugs are not the way to find God. Read how often the bible tells us to be in our right mind. (Mark 12:30, Romans 12:2, Eph 4:23). The mind needs to be clear and focused on Him, not drug filled and wandering.

      Last, drugs are not legitimized by saying "everyone else is doing it". Hasn't your mother ever told you that? :)

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  15. I would tend to think from the context that it was more in reference to legal drugs that doctors prescribed or that can be obtained over the counter. I tend to think this is more the context for a number of reasons. 1. They have a pretty high death count so far. 2. They are used by nearly everyone to some degree. "because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery." 3. the fact that it says they were "deceived" which is what legal drugs do. You take a drug for a headache for example and it covers the symptoms so that you are deceived into thinking that you have solved the problem when in reality you might just need to drink a few glasses of water. It's why most who take prescriptions end up more and more sickly.
    Christ says "you will know them by their fruit" this is in reference to false prophets/teachers but I tend to think that the general idea can apply to most things. For example when I interact with people who consume poison like McD's or other fast food I notice the fruit of their choice - Obesity, lack of alertness/awareness, general lack of self control, reduced ability to safely pilot a vehicle, reduced desire to learn and so on. It's not to say that everyone who eats fast food has all these symptoms or "fruit" but nearly everyone I've met who eats that junk has at least some of those symptoms. It's the fruit of a bad choice. One thing that really stands out to me is that those who consume a lot of poison loose their ability to reason well.

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  16. part two-
    . Psychedelics in contrast tend to cause people to desire to live better. The fruit of my first hand experiences with mushrooms for example has led to a much stronger desire to follow Christ and abandon destructive life choice patterns. It's opened my eyes to the damage that sin causes and has helped me work through some of my bad habits and thought patterns. It's helped me understand how a lot of my actions and choices hurt others vs helped them. The fruit seems to have been good, at least in my case. It's also helped me realize the spiritual battle we are in here on earth. However I must note that I've seen a lot of bad also, but this doesn't seem to be the byproduct of the psychedelic mushrooms as much as the byproduct of a stubborn individual who is already well bent against God. Typically the individuals who have no desire to change or grow in any way (spoken or unspoken) seem to have bad trips. They can have decent trips also but there is an explanation for that. A bad trip is a lesson about your own bad character, if that lesson is ignored there is a good chance that the person will learn nothing of much value further. If the lesson is headed, the person is given another and continues to grow. It seems that a person isn't given more when they refuse to deal with what they have been given. If a person keeps taking mushrooms without improving their character they leave themselves open for additional conflict or "motivating factors". It's not much different than if you ignore when your sleepy for too long. Eventually the lack of sleep compounds and since the need to sleep is ignored your body begins to shut down. You loose motor skills, ability to think clearly, and so on. However with mushrooms, since it's such profound lessons ignoring them can in turn invite spirits to attack you. In my view that is why psychedelics end up being harmful in some ways, particularly to unbelievers.
    That said I have taken mushrooms many times and because I desire to learn and better myself. What I have noticed by taking them in this way is that the next trip will be much nicer than the last. I have taken shrooms and been shown the impact of sin (that which is against God's commands) which led me to repent with tears and sorrow. The fruit was a turning from evil and desiring to do good. I have a hard time thinking that something that has aided my walk with God in such profound ways is bad. If your not the type of person who wants to better yourself you should probably not take mushrooms. If your just trying to obtain powers or further your own selfish ambitions mushrooms may be harmful to you. If your desire is to grow closer to God and to follow him more and more... in my experience mushrooms can be very beneficial in that healing process. I would say that it's a bad idea to simply take mushrooms to party.
    I'm open to being wrong about this topic which is why I ended up at this site to start with. I'm currently re evaluating a lot in life because I strongly desire to follow yeshua and to leave anything that would hold me back behind.

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    1. Hi Anonymous,

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts and daring to share about the mushrooms. I'm so relieved you said you were open about being wrong on the topic, because you are.

      Ingesting illegal drugs is in no way going to help you get to know Christ. You're sinning, and breaking the law.

      If the drugs you took were not illegal, you're still sinning because you're ingesting a mind-altering drug that harms your body. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, that is IF the Spirit is in you. Test yourself to see if you are in the faith, unless you fail the test because you're condemned already.

      If the Spirit is in you, then it is the HOLY WORD then gets you closer to Him. It is the Holy Spirit, not the Drug Spirit that heals. It is the Holy Spirit, not the Mushroom Spirit that convicts you of your sin. You will never get to know the true Jesus if you gaze upon Him via a drug-induced fog.

      In addition, all that taking drugs does, as you yourself noted, is look within, and see one's own character. There is nothing in us to commend us, we are all depraved sinners. It is Christ in us that is the Good. Squelching Him via drugs, alcohol or any other idol that comes between you and Him is just that, an idol. You THINK you are doing something for Jesus, but you're only doing something for yourself.

      Get off the drugs. And repent of your sin.

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  17. Colossians 3:2-3 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." I am not afraid of death or pain as I live in pain daily, Jesus came and died on the cross for not only our salvation but for victory over every circumstance in this life. I challenge you to find your life in Christ Jesus....yes, I too was mislead and I lived a life of drugs, sex, and the worst culprit alcohol. But when I confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and believed in my heart that God raised him from the dead I became a NEW creature one that is dead to sin and PHARMAKEIA and is very much alive and serving my Father God with newness of life. I challenge everyone that reads this post to find the truth in the pages of the BIBLE dig into it and prove that it is the WORD OF GOD ALMIGHTY. If you suffer from pain, MY GOD who created you can fix you so that you do not rely on drugs or alcohol. He knew you before you were ever born and all I can say is the fullness and love of my Father God is more than I can handle at times...TRY IT he's no respecter of persons. Since I don't have any type of account and I am not ashamed of the Gospel I will sign my name Donna Perri.

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  18. I've done DMT, Cubensis mushrooms (lab and field grown), as well as less psychoactive substances such as marijuana, cocaine, Jwh-18 and atleast 20 other cannabanoid analogs. My view, inconsistent with orothodox Christian belief, is that you will most definitely have an incredible amount of change in your sense of self from the experience. Researchers have found that psylocibin etc... Interfere with the part of the brain where we perceive our 'self.' Dr. Leary's experiments mentioned above at Harvard brought (paraphrased) the most intense night of religious experience that any of the priests had ever been through. Having been through these experiences myself it is easy to see how one interprets this phenomenon as a religious experience. You feel as if you are almost looking outside your mind into the self -which is great introspectively; However, the experience is most definitely not recreational. Anyone who is prone to schizophrenia, psychosis, Bipolar disorder etc... Are going to have 'bad' trips. Part of the process I use to define life, truth, and reality are to define the 'edges' of the 'box' we exist in. Meaning that if you can shape out what the limits of our minds abilities are you can discern between truth and untruth. Only when you have reached the edges of insanity and madness can you know how to fully appreciate sanity. Many venture too far into the void and do not return whole. Every trip will take a little something from you -the price for such knowledge. I think God put our reality together incredibly well. Post-ichtal psychosis is the only non Psychoactive experience I can relate to a trip (but it resulted from a overdose so its hard to distinguish the two). You should be very careful experimenting with powers beyond your comprehension because you may not return intact.

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    1. Anonymous, if your "view [is] inconsistent with orothodox Christian belief," then change your view.

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  19. "I am of the opinion that the verse in Revelation is NOT saying that legal drugs administered by doctors is bad. "

    They are, though. Prescription pills are extremely harmful drugs and their usage accounts for self-destructive behavior and not being sober. Both of which are sinful.

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  20. Excellent Article!!

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  21. I cannot believe I came across this.
    I am very interested in psychedelics. Spending far too much time reading accounts or stories of those who has taken them and the stories they tell.
    I have taken mushrooms many times and after a bad trip I am conflicted.
    Can the images I've seen in my mind on a bad shroom trips really be of my own mind?
    I've read accounts of many people saying there was a sinister feeling in the room. The deeper they dig into their mind the stronger the feeling. One account even claimed that entities from a different world were watching them. In the room.

    On a bad shroom trip I truly felt like I was in hell. I was shown just how little control of my mind I had.



    The wisdom I thought I found in shrooms was not there. All the issues I thought I put to the side never stayed buried for long. The major breakthroughs are nothing I could have come to with a sober mind. Such as I need to get a job, work is good. I do think these drugs are the root of sin and the only way that these have not destroyed me is because God has used them to show me the foolishness and the threat of them.

    The drug in itself was sin but God found a way to teach me through them. By scaring me into submission. I would be too ignorant to see how little control of my mind I had if he had not shown me the complete loss of control. If these things weren't etched directly to my core, I wouldn't have remembered them so vividly. My good shroom trips are remembered as fun mood enhancers as were my bad ones leave mental scars down my existence.

    "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose"
    Romans 8:28

    Even something as terrible as drugs has taught me to open my eyes.

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  22. I LIKE HOW THE ARTICLE SAY'S DRUGS GIVEN BY DOCTORS ARE NOT BAD WHICH IS TRUE,THEY ARE HORRIBLE...TAKE A CHILD GIVEN RITALIN FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY ATTENTION IN SCHOOL....DID YOU EVER THINK THE CHILD JUST ISN'T OF THE WORLD AND THE THINGS IN IT?..... WHERE CAN I POP A TENT AND LIVE OFF THE LAND?..........YOU'D HAVE TO BE OF THE WORLD TO LIVE IN THE FILTHY BAY AREA THESE DAYS.

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  23. As someone who has tried shrooms, I would like to say that the "revelation" given under the trances that these drugs puts you in, are no more "truth mixed with lies". It is nothing more but the same old lie from.the beginning "eat and ye shall be gods." Shamans who supposedly can see the future where not saved in Noah's Ark, neither where witches who uses witch potions like ayahuasca or other ingredients
    It is the abuse of nature. God gave us cannabis, but when you smoke it, you are more vulnerable to the spirit of the air which Eph 2 talks about. Jesus on the cross was given drug to ease the pain, what did he do? He chose to not drink it. We are to walk in Christ. Drugs do nothing more but give you an experience which contradicts Gods Word and which makes it easy to contact "spirits" through the trances. What is alsl interesting is that DMT lovers often start following Gurus, but Gurus themselves admit how following the Eastern path of mythsisiscm can end in one taking suicide due to the voices they hear. And in some cases, they see it is a former of liberation. I hope anyone truly searching for truth will not see the "hippy/Hindu/Beware/Et movements to find God, but rather find God. For it is written. Keep on asking and it will be given, keep on seeking and you will find. Peace and Godless anyone truly searching for him in Jesus name, amen.r

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