Definitely an interesting listen, even if I think the author is a little cooky. I do think we should critically examine the Bible and not always accept it at face value.

This book was well descriptive and an eye opener. This was the first book of its type that I have read. The way the author explained the myths and kept everything neutral was surprising. I was expecting to be pressured into the beliefs, but instead there were just facts. 5 stars.

I wasn't able to finish. This was so dry; I felt like I was stuck in a boring college lecture, which is a pity as I find the subject matter very fascinating. The narrator did his best but it wasn't enough to keep me interested. The information could be presented in a way that is more entertaining/interesting/captivating. Perhaps this infowould be best told through visual medium such as a documentary. Hard to know.

The Scientific Christian

This was a very scientific and academic read.

I found it very interesting and quite fascinating.

Although it went over my head a few times, I felt it was very well written.

Learned a lot!

3.8/5

First. let me say that narrator Mike Cooper did a superb job with this audiobook. Kudos to him.

That's the only positive thing I have to say about this book. The author died 35 years ago, so I don't have to worry about hurting his feelings. I generally try to avoid using ableist language relating to mental health conditions—but y'all, this book is nuts.

It was originally written in 1979 and last updated in 1991, three years after the author's death. For some reason, someone decided that 2023 would be a good time to make an audio version. I don't know, I think it would have been better if the book were relegated to the trash-heap of history, but somebody might make a few bucks on this. Better than nothing, amirite?

You would think, since John Marco Allegro was given the responsibility for piecing together and translating some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, that he must have been a scholar of some renown. And maybe he was…until he started publishing about the Dead Sea Scrolls.

His ideas were…shall we say…a little fringe. The cover of this audiobook (the version I read), as well as the preface, mention the author's book, "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross." As I understand it, in that book, the author put forth the proposition that the idea of Jesus Christ originated with the Essenes. And that Christ wasn't a man, but a magic mushroom. And the early Christians just got confused and thought he was a man.

Now, I recognize that there isn't much direct, scientific evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. But there's quite a bit of direct evidence of the existence of Paul, in the form of all those epistles he wrote. And there's also evidence of James, the brother of Jesus, with whom Paul had a contentious relationship. I feel pretty confident that Paul and James really existed.

And I also feel pretty confident that James wasn't confused over whether his brother was a mushroom. Like, if his brother had been a mushroom, he would have known that.

But I digress. As far as I know, this book didn't go so far as to propose that Christ was a mushroom. I can't say so for sure, because I gave up at 60%. I had so completely lost the plot that there was no point in continuing.

This book seems to be about all the bizarre religious sects that existed in the Levant in the first century CE, and all the weird ways it's possible to interpret their writings. For instance, the word "anoint" might mean to smear with male reproductive fluid. Well, okay, I guess that's one possibility. Like, I can't prove it doesn't mean that.

All I can say for sure is, this book had words in it, but they didn't make much sense to me in context. It got worse as the book continued. If the book had anything to do with Christianity, I suppose I must not have read far enough to find out.

Who knows, maybe this audiobook will become a cult classic, like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Because, let's face it, that's a terrible movie, but so bizarre you can't look away. Maybe this audiobook will be like that.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.