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THE SACRED MUSHROOM AND THE CROSS: Fertility Cults and the Origins of Judaism and Christianity
by Allegro, John M
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- NEAR FINE/NEAR FINE
- Seller
-
Portland, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Doubleday, 1970. First Edition. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. NEAR FINE/NEAR FINE. xxii, 349 pp. 8vo, black cloth, gilt stamped spine lettering. A few flecks of foxing, otherwise very clean and sharp with tight binding; DJ shows some light rubbing to tips, crisp and bright otherwise with price intact. Uncommon in this condition. John Allegro came to some scholarly prominence with his standard introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls in Penguin's Pelican series. His sexualized interpretation of Judaeo-Christian origins with particular emphasis on the role of Amanita Muscaria in ancient rite had less wide appeal initially but gained a wide audience in the work of Graham Hancock. 'The whole point of a mystery cult was that few people knew its secret doctrines. So far as possible, the initiates did not commit their special knowledge to writing. Normally the secrets of the sect were transmitted orally... Another way of passing information was to conceal the message, incantations, or special names within a document ostensibly concerned with a quite different subject. Plant mythology, known for thousands of years over the whole of the ancient world, provided the New Testament cryptographers with their 'cover.' Mushroom stories abounded in the Old Testament. The Christians believed that they were the true spiritual heirs to ancient Israel. So it was an obvious device to convey to the scattered cells of the cult reminders of their sacred doctrines and incantatory names and expressions concealed within a story of a 'second Moses,' another Lawgiver, named after the patriarch's successor in office, Joshua (Greek lesous, 'Jesus'). Thus was born the Gospel myth of the New Testament.'.
Synopsis
Where did God come from? What do the bible stories really tell us? Who or what was Jesus Christ? This book challenges everything we think we know about the nature of religion -- The ancient fertility cult at the heart of Christianity -- The living power of cultic rites and symbols -- The sacred mushroom as the emblem and embodiment of divinity -- The secret meaning of biblical myths -- The language of religion that links us to our ancestors. The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross sets out John Allegro's questthrough a family tree of languages to find the truth about where Christianity came from.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Arches Bookhouse
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 503158
- Title
- THE SACRED MUSHROOM AND THE CROSS: Fertility Cults and the Origins of Judaism and Christianity
- Author
- Allegro, John M
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover with Dust Jacket
- Book Condition
- Used - NEAR FINE
- Jacket Condition
- NEAR FINE
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Doubleday
- Date Published
- 1970
- Keywords
- , , , , , , , ,
Terms of Sale
Arches Bookhouse
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Arches Bookhouse
Biblio member since 2022
Portland, Oregon
About Arches Bookhouse
Brick & mortar humanities bookshop in Portland, OR. Philosophy, history, theology, literature, art.
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- Jacket
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- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Device
- Especially for older books, a printer's device refers to an identifying mark, also sometimes called a printer's mark, on the...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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