GRACE
Science and the Bible by Bolton Davidheiser, Ph.D. L SD - P A R T III
. . . "That the world may believe . . . " John 17:21
H a v in g p r e v i o u s l y considered some of the physical and mental e f-. fects of the use of LSD, let us look at its religious implications. Accord ing to one writer, it was on Good Friday in 1963 that a group of 20 ministerial students entered the Marsh Chapel of Boston University to take part in what seems to have been the first deliberate attempt to produce a religious experience “ sci entifically.” The experience was a success, in the opinion of those in volved, and the conclusion was that LSD can produce a “ deep union with God.” As a result of this experiment a minister preached to his congrega tion that LSD can bring one near to God, and a professor at Princeton University said that if a religious experience is produced by a drug, the manner of the origin of the ex perience has no bearing on the ques tion of its validity. One author says that about 20% of the ministerial students who have taken LSD have abandoned their preparation for the ministry because they were convinced that the reli gious experience produced by LSD is so much more profound than that found in organized religion. A popular magazine reports that Walter Clark, psychologist of reli gion at Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, had a vi sion which he compared to the ex perience of Moses at the burning bush (Exodus, Chapter 3). As a re sult of this experience with a drug, he declared that the psychedelic drugs provide a means of studying religious experiences in the labora tory and that no psychologist of re ligion can afford to ignore this tech nique. There have been several attempts to start new religions involving the use of LSD or marijuana. Opposition to their use in this way would be challenged in the name of freedom of religion. Timothy Leary, formerly a Har vard professor, is one of the found ers of the LSD movement. It is re ported that he became a convert to Hinduism. Now he is the “ guru” of a religion called The League of Spir itual Discovery. In November, 1966, this religion held its second celebra
tion, and the theme was “ the rein carnation of Christ.” The LSD newspaper published in San Francisco has editorial com ments separated by the numerals 666, which is the number of the antichrist (Revelation 13:18). This can hardly be a coincidence. It is most unusual to use any numeral in this way. For generations some Indians have used in their religious practices mushrooms which produce effects similar to LSD. Sidney Cohen, a medical doctor, applies Scripture to this and says: “ ‘Taste and see,’ says the Psalmist, and this is what the native literally does.” The Psalmist, however, is not referring to mush rooms when he says, “ O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34: 8). Dr. Cohen concludes that by eat ing these mushrooms “ God and brotherhood become living, palpable realities” to the Indians. Dr. Cohen further states as though it were a fact that shewbread eaten by the Old Testament priests of God contained herbs which produced an effect similar to the Indians’ mush rooms and imparted to them “ the gift of prophecy.” However, the prophets of the Lord were generally distinct from the priests and they did not eat the shewbread. If by the gift of prophecy, Dr. Cohen is re ferring to the ability to foretell the future, it is evident that his explana tion of acquiring this ability through the eating of herbs or mushrooms cannot be scientific but must be as signed to the realms of magic or demonism. Thus he does what so many others also do —- he tries to elevate heathen religious practices to respectability, even making them seem Biblical, and at the same time he tries to explain away the acts of God. The words sorcerer and sorcery always have a connotation of evil in the Bible. On several occasions the Greek words thus translated are de rived from the word pharmakon, re ferring to a drug. (We get our word pharmacy from this.) The words for drug, sorcery, and witchcraft are closely related, and the connotation is to a drug which produces “ a spell.” All the evidence points to the same conclusion — such a use of drugs is an abomination!
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