In The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, John M. Allegro proposes that Christianity originated as a fertility cult that worshipped a hallucinogenic mushroom.
He argues that the stories of the Bible are allegories that encode the secrets of this cult, and that the language of the Bible and other ancient texts contains numerous puns and word plays that can only be understood if one is aware of the hidden meanings of these texts.
According to Allegro, the cult was originally centered in the Middle East, and spread throughout the ancient world as a mystery religion. He suggests that the cult was suppressed by the Roman authorities, and that its members went underground, continuing to practice their religion in secret. Allegro believes that the stories of the Bible, including the stories of Jesus and the apostles, are all symbolic representations of the cult’s beliefs and practices, and that the true meaning of these stories has been lost over time.
According to John Marco Allegro, a scholar who spent 14 years deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls, Christianity was originally based on fertility rituals and psychedelic mushroom use.
In his book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, John M. Allegro referred to the species Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita. This is a psychoactive mushroom that can be found in many parts of the world. Allegro theorized that this mushroom played a significant role in early Christian theology.