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DOES EARLY CHURCH FATHER JUSTIN MARTYR QUOTE THE GOSPELS?

Monday, 23 April 2012 Contributing Writers - Acharya S/D.M. Murdock   

In his new book Did Jesus Exist? (23), referring to my discussion in The Christ Conspiracy of the second-century dating of the New Testament gospels, Bart Ehrman summarizes a contention in my work about whether or not the early Church father Justin Martyr (fl. 150 AD/CE) mentioned or quoted the gospels, thus providing proof that they existed in his time. After presenting the contention, Ehrman then comments (in brackets):

The second-century church father Justin never quotes or mentions any of the Gospels (25). [This simply isn't true: he mentions the gospels on numerous occasions; typically he calls them "Memoirs of the Apostles" and quotes from them, especially from Matthew, Mark and Luke.]

Firstly, it should be noted that what Ehrman has "cited" here is not a quote from my book and nothing that I personally state on p. 25 therein. As I have observed elsewhere, it appears again as if Ehrman was working from "Cliff Notes" of my book, provided to him by his assistants, because the sentence he cites, "The second-century church father Justin never quotes or mentions any of the Gospels," is a summary of quotes I provided in The Christ Conspiracy ("Christ Con" or "CC") by John E. Remsburg and Charles Waite. In these quotes, the authors follow their assessment with sound commentary, a fact that Ehrman has evidently chosen to ignore—if he even read these paragraphs in the first place.

Secondly, if Ehrman had followed up on my work or even on my citations in Christ Con, he would have discovered that his claim concerning Justin Martyr, while shared by many, ranks as false and inaccurate. A closer look at Justin's writings reveals not what scholars and Christian believers want to find but what is really there: No verbatim quotes or unambiguous citations from the canonical gospels as we have them appear anywhere in Justin's extant works. Nor does Justin Martyr name any of the evangelists in any known text, an erroneous impression given by Ehrman’s wording here. In other words, Matthew, Mark and Luke are never named by Justin; nor is John.

"No verbatim quotes or unambiguous citations from the canonical gospels as we have them appear anywhere in Justin's extant works."

In addition to providing some evidence in Christ Con (25, etc.), in my books Suns of God ("SOG") and Who Was Jesus? I have written extensively about the issue of when the canonical gospels as we have them appear in the historical record, including whether or not Justin knew of them. As I demonstrate in CC and SOG (419ff), Justin is careful in his citations from the Old Testament; yet, he does not quote any gospel verbatim or cite any evangelist by name.

In this regard, in his book The Christ: A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidence of His Existence - in a quote I provided in Christ Con on the very page cited by Ehrman - Remsburg remarks:

The Four Gospels were unknown to the early Church Fathers. Justin Martyr, the most eminent of the early Fathers, wrote about the middle of the second century. His writings in proof of the divinity of Christ demanded the use of these Gospels, had they existed in his time. He makes more than 300 quotations from the books of the Old Testament, and nearly one hundred from the Apocryphal books of the New Testament; but none from the four Gospels. Rev. Giles says: "The very names of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are never mentioned by him (Justin)—do not occur once in all his writings."

As we can see, there is more to this story than meets the eye.

The Gospels and the Gospel

In all of Justin's extant writings, the word "gospels" appears only once, in his First Apology, while the word "gospel" is used twice in his book Dialogue with Trypho the Jew. Concerning the references to "the Gospel" in Trypho, which some have taken for knowledge of the canonical gospels, the Church father evidently is referring to another text altogether.

An excellent study on the subject of when verbatim quotes from various Christian texts begin to appear in the historical record may be found in the thick tome by Walter Richard Cassels called Supernatural Religion (1905), which includes an 85-page, detailed study of Justin's work vis-à-vis the canonical gospels, with the original Greek and Latin, along with copious notes and citations. Concerning the appearance of the world "gospels" (εὐαγγέλια or evangelia), as applicable to the text Justin quotes called the "Memoirs of the Apostles," Cassels (186) states:

The title, Memoirs of the Apostles, by no means indicates a plurality of Gospels. A single passage has been pointed out in which the Memoirs are said to have been called εὐαγγέλια in the plural: "For the Apostles in the Memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels," etc. The last expression, ἁ καλειται εὐαγγέλια ["which are called Gospels"], as many scholars have declared, is probably an interpolation. It is, in all likelihood, a gloss on the margin of some old MS. [manuscript] which copyists afterwards inserted in the text. If Justin really stated that the Memoirs were called Gospels, it seems incomprehensible that he should never [elsewhere] call them so himself. In no other place in his writings does he apply the plural to them, but, on the contrary, we find Trypho [in Justin's Dialogue with Trypho] referring to the "so-called Gospel," which he states that he has carefully read, and which, of course, can only be Justin's "Memoirs"; and, again, in another part of the same dialogue, Justin quotes passages which are written "in the Gospel" (εν τω ευαγγελίω γέγραπται). The term "Gospel" is nowhere else used by Justin in reference to a written record. In no case, however, considering the numerous Gospels then in circulation, and the fact that many of these, different from the canonical Gospels, are known to have been exclusively used by distinguished contemporaries of Justin, and by various communities of Christians in that day, could such an expression be taken as a special indication of the canonical Gospels.

"The one instance of 'gospels' in Justin appears to be a scribal marginal gloss and explanatory note that was interpolated into the text."

As we can see, the one instance of "gospels" in Justin appears to be a scribal marginal gloss and explanatory note that was interpolated into the text. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why Justin only uses this word once in all of his writings. Hence, the term's appearance in his book is not an identification by Justin himself of the Memoirs with the gospels. The other "gospel" usages in Justin concern a single text commonly understood in his circle as "the Gospel," possibly the text Justin calls the Memoirs of the Apostles.

The Memoirs of the Apostles

In his First Apology and Dialogue with Trypho, Justin discusses several times what is called the "Memoirs of the Apostles" or "Memorabilia of the Apostles" (Grk: ἀπομνημονεύματα τῶν ἀποστόλων), from which he provides a number of quotes. These "Memoirs" are widely taken to be the canonical gospels, and it is therefore commonly asserted that Justin quotes from the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Who Was Jesus? (68), I write that, upon close inspection, the material from Justin Martyr does not correspond well enough to that found in the canonical gospels and is likely from another common source text or texts. Indeed, renowned biblical scholar Tischendorf only managed to find two pertinent quotations in Justin Martyr's works that could possibly come from the gospel of Matthew, for example. Again, these miniscule passages could very well come from a shared source text.

As I state also in Suns of God (419), upon examination, the quotes Justin uses from the Memoirs "differ more or less widely" from parallel scriptures in the synoptics, Matthew, Mark and Luke. As confirmed by Tischendorf, only a couple of short exceptions are sufficiently similar to warrant comparison with the synoptic gospels. The various passages cited by Justin to be from the Memoirs are repeated often enough that it is clear he is quoting them verbatim, rather than paraphrasing; yet, they are not identical to gospel scriptures, differing enough that they could not have come from those books. Also, several of the Memoirs sayings do not appear in any form in the canonical gospels. Moreover, Justin's version of the gospel tale and the Church history is different and contradictory in its details than that found in the New Testament.

"Upon examination, the quotes Justin uses from the Memoirs 'differ more or less widely' from parallel scriptures in the synoptics, Matthew, Mark and Luke."

In SOG (420), regarding the work of Edwin Johnson in Antiqua Mater: A Study of Christian Origins, I write that, concerning the "Memoirs of the Apostles," Johnson remarks that the "Memorabilia do not coincide on their contents as a whole with any work that has come down to us; nor are 'the Apostles' identifiable with any known historical person." He then explains that the term "apostle" is Jewish and pre-Christian, referring to wandering Jews of the Diaspora (Jewish dispersion throughout the empire), and that the Memorabilia may simply be their "moral sayings." In addition to these pre-existing Apostles are Messianic Saints (Hagioi), the Elect and the Congregation/Church (ecclesia)—terms and concepts all found within pre-Christian texts such as the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus (Ecclesiasticus), the Book of Tobit and the Book of Enoch, as well as the Didache, Epistle of Barnabas and Shepherd of Hermas, which Johnson has shown to be pre-Christian texts later Christianized. Concluding that Justin "knows no authoritative writings except the Old Testament," Johnson adds that "he had neither our Gospels' nor our Pauline writings."

Was Justin Martyr sloppy?

If Justin actually had the canonical gospels before him when writing his texts, he could only be considered sloppy in his citations, which is the accusation made to explain why his "Memoirs" differs so much from the gospels. The reality is that the Church father is surprisingly consistent and conscientious in his quotation elsewhere. For example, as I state in SOG, Martyr quotes from the Old Testament 314 instances, 197 of which he names the particular book or author, equaling an impressive two-thirds of the total amount. Several of the other 117 instances may not have needed citation, "considering the nature of the passage." Despite his remarkably fastidious record, when Justin is supposedly quoting the New Testament, he mentions none of the four gospels. Instead, he distinctly states that the quotes are from the "Memoirs." Since he is careful in his quotation of the Old Testament, it is reasonable to assume that he is accurately citing the "Memoirs" and that such a book is not the same as any of the texts found in the New Testament. There could be no reason why Martyr would not cite the gospel books by name, unless he was not using them. Since he never mentions the four gospels, it is logical to assert that he had never heard of them. Thus, the Memoirs text is not the same as the canonical gospels, and the mention of and quotation from this book does not serve as evidence of the existence of the gospels.

"The Memoirs text is not the same as the canonical gospels, and the mention of and quotation from this book does not serve as evidence of the existence of the gospels."

In his exhaustive analysis of Justin's writings (182-267), Cassels remarks (240):

...The hypothesis that they are quotations from our Gospels involves the accusation against Justin of an amount of carelessness and negligence which is quite unparalleled in literature. Justin's character and training, however, by no means warrant any such aspersion, and there are no grounds for it. Indeed, but for the attempt arbitrarily to establish the identity of the Memoirs of the Apostles with our Gospels, such a charge would never have been thought of....

As Cassels further says, in his section about the non-canonical text of the second century called the "Gospel according to the Hebrews" (266):

...We have already seen that Justin speaks of "The Gospel," and seems to refer to the Memoirs of Peter, both distinguishing appellations of this Gospel [according to the Hebrews]; but there is another of the names borne by the "Gospel according to the Hebrews," which singularly recalls the Memoirs of the Apostles, by which Justin prefers to call his evangelical work. It was called the Gospel according to the Apostles..., and, in short, comparing Justin's Memoirs to this Gospel, we find at once similarity of contents and even of name.

Thus, we may surmise that Justin's "Memoirs" text was the same as the "Gospel according to the Hebrews," also called the "Gospel according to the Apostles."

"We may surmise that Justin's 'Memoirs' text was the same as the 'Gospel according to the Hebrews,' also called the 'Gospel according to the Apostles.'"

In SOG (422-423), I conclude that the Memoirs of the Apostles reveals not the canonical gospels and their purported apostolic authors or scribes; rather, it is a text reflecting the efforts of religious Jews of the Diaspora who had established a pre-Christian "Church of God" with branches in various places, including the brotherhood sites addressed by "Paul." These anonymous Jews were eventually morphed into the New Testament apostles. Concerning this ecclesiastical organization revealed in Justin's works, Johnson concludes that here was a "class of Sectarians or Haeretics equally to be distinguished from orthodox Jews, as from the orthodox Christians." These could have been "Ebionites " or "Gnostics," but their distinctive features included "the attitude in which they stood towards the ancestral traditions of the Fathers, Circumcision, the Sabbath, the fast-days, the Temple and the sacrificial rites." Renouncing these traditions, "they dream of a universal Jewish Church, into which the strangers shall have gathered, as the new branch is grafted into the noble stock of the ancient Vine." Johnson next avers that "Philo may well be called the first Father of such a Church."

After spending dozens of pages examining in minute detail every aspect of Justin's writings vis-à-vis the canonical gospels - again, including providing the original Greek where necessary - Cassels (266) summarizes :

...We have shown that there is no evidence that [Justin] made use of any of our Gospels, and he cannot, therefore, be cited even to prove their existence, and much less to attest the authenticity and character of records whose authors he does not once name. On the other hand, it has been made evident that there were other Gospels, now lost, but which then enjoyed the highest consideration, from which his quotations might have been, and probably were, taken. We have seen that Justin's Memoirs of the Apostles contained facts of Gospel history unknown to our Gospels, which were contained in apocryphal works, and notably in the Gospel according to the Hebrews; that they further contained matter contradictory to our Gospels, and sayings of Jesus not contained in them; and that his quoations, although so numerous, systematically vary from similar passages in our Gospels. No theory of quotation from memory can satisfactorily account for these phenomena, and the reasonable conclusion is that Justin did not make use of our Gospels, but quoted from another source....

The facts are that the terms "gospels" and "gospel" in Justin do not indicate his knowledge of our canonical gospels; that the quotes from the Memoirs of the Apostles are not the same as those in the canonical gospels; and that the term “Memoirs” appears to refer to a single text, like "Acts of the Apostles," rather than serving as a reference to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, whom Justin does not mention or even seem to know. In the final analysis, it is evident that Justin Martyr does not quote the canonical gospels and that, despite the wishful thinking, these texts do not emerge clearly in the historical record until the end of the second century.
http://www.freethoughtnation.com/contributing-writers/63-acharya-s/679-does-justin-martyr-quote-the-gospels.html

THE BOOK OF ENOCH

MANLY P HALL - SPINAL COLUMN & THE KUNDALINI

A REFLECTION ON DUALITY

What is duality? A natural law governing the whole of creation and life as we know it. Now life itself is an ethereal substance in search of a vehicle of some kind to express its intangible and immaterial nature, and the invisible and unmanifested energy of life impregnates and forms what seems to the naked eye to be solid matter.

We know that matter itself is condensed and compressed universal energy in spiritual alchemy, this energy is generally termed "primordial matter." Science calls it "chaos," and sees it as a formless substance that permeates creation in its entirety. That is why primordial matter incessantly waits to be energized and transformed by its unmanifested and intangible partner the unmanifested Light of Being.

Now, matter expects and anticipates to be transmuted into an infinite variety of multidimensional forms. By this ingenious method, the incomprehensible and unmanifested Source of Life manifests itself in the comprehensible and tangible substance called primordial matter, giving it an infinite and unimaginable variety of attributes and characteristics. Thus, together, the unmanifested Center of Pure Being and primordial matter impregnate all animate and inanimate manifested creations alike with their ethereal characteristic.

Primordial matter fills the whole of creation, and yet, under the influence of spirit, it incessantly transforms itself into new shapes and forms. Hence, through these two completely opposite and contrary poles that govern the whole of creation, the Law of Duality comes into play, controlling the whole process of life and creation.

As individuals, we personally experience the effects of the Law of Duality on a daily basis, since it is part of creation itself. However, in simpler terms, we could say that duality is based on the law of attraction and repulsion, and therefore creation itself is founded on the Law of Duality. But why is this so?

First, let us clarify that the invisible complement of primordial matter is the unfathomable nature of unmanifested Being. Here is the inconceivable and extraordinary paradox that demonstrates that an unmanifested essence, an essence that does not belong to creation itself, and therefore does not exist as such for us, incomprehensible to scientific and rational minds alike, can somehow mysteriously cause of all creation. Similarly, this inconceivable essence is also the source and cause of consciousness. Why? Because without consciousness, we would not be able to understand the goal of creation, and the reason and cause for experiencing duality. Clearly, without the Law of Duality, consciousness and creation alike would have remained formless and completely unconscious. Hence, we, as conscious beings, would not be able to grasp our own mystery, let alone question our nature.

Why does this Law of Duality exist at all? Simply because if we didn’t have duality, we would not yearn and strive for wholeness and unity. In other words, we would not be impelled to return to the unmanifested Source of Being.

Duality, therefore, makes us conscious beings, tying and binding the concrete and abstract parts of our thought processes and intuition. It is apparent also that through duality, we can learn to harmonize our unmanifested essence with our incarnated body. Hence, it is clear that both need each other to manifest the light of consciousness here on earth. Thus, we can conclude that, on an individual level of consciousness, our physical body is the cup that receives and manifests the unmanifested spirit, and that and through their blending and harmonization, duality dissolves into unity and wholeness. We can further say that duality governs creation and nature, since it is only through its action and workings that we are led to the unmanifested Center of Pure Being.

We could compare the physical body to a sacred toolbox in which are all manner of sophisticated functional and unknown psychic processes, hidden within the duality of the body and psyche of all humanity, waiting to be awakened by Cosmic Consciousness.

This implies that when consciousness is awakened in being, it has the possibility and impelling desire to ascend to higher levels of consciousness, and that these higher levels of consciousness are in themselves pathways taking incarnated beings back to their unmanifest Source? However, consciousness can be awakened only gradually, and the Law of Duality comes into play here, since consciousness is linked to eternity and infinity. Consequently, because, as human beings, we all belong to distinct and varied levels of consciousness, then there exists a parallel plane of reality, since creation is governed by the Law of Duality, and duality itself is based on the natural power of attraction between the unmanifested and the manifest.

We could also add that numerous planes and levels of consciousness exist, which explains why, say, the physical body of an illuminated mystic differs from that of an athlete. One is more muscular but both are physical vehicles for spirit and soul. But, what can we say about their levels of consciousness? Of course, both carry soul and spirit, but will they both be on the same level of awareness? Will they both be conscious of the same things and understand them in the same way? Of course not, unless the athlete happens to be a mystic at heart, meaning that he has also opened his consciousness to the realm of the abstract and spiritual.

Lastly, let us clarify that by the word "mystic," we mean any human being who knows how the Law of Duality can affect him or her, and still chooses to pass through its heavy portals, learning from trial and error, which in turn harmonizes the poles of duality within human nature. Consciousness, the harmonizing factor that blends the two extremes together, has, within its ethereal substance, the essential component that unfolds what is called "mystical love." Hence a mystic is a human being who unites the two extremes within him, transforming them into a rod of illumination that draws self-consciousness back to the unmanifested Center of Pure Being.

http://www.plotinus.com/reflection_on_duality_copy.htm

DMT AND THE PINEAL

Fact or Fiction? by Jon Hanna v1.1 - Jun 29, 2010

Citation: Hanna J. "DMT and the Pineal: Fact or Fiction?" Jun 3 2010.

A well-known factoid bandied about by psychedelic drug geeks is the idea that DMT, or some other psychoactive tryptamine, is produced by the pineal gland. When did this idea originate? And is it actually true?

During his talk "Psychoactive Drugs Throughout Human History" at a 1983 University of California at Santa Barbara conference, Andrew Weil mentioned in passing, "Dimethyltryptamine [...] is almost certainly made by the pineal gland in the brain." Meanwhile, at U.C. San Diego, Rick Strassman had begun to wonder whether or not the pineal might produce psychedelic compounds. That same year, in his booklet Eros and the Pineal: The Layman's Guide to Cerebral Solitaire, Albert Most claimed that: "A pair of naturally occurring pineal enzymes [...] is capable of converting serotonin into a number of potent hallucinogens." Most stated that the pineal could transform serotonin into 5-methoxy-N-methyltryptamine, and then make that into 5-methyoxy-N,N-dimethyltrptamine. Alas, no references were provided to support Most's description of pineal catabolism. Nevertheless, it seems likely that this general line of thinking--that some psychoactive tryptamine is created in the pineal--was birthed in the early 1980s.1

It took a couple of decades for the meme to spread into the wider drug-geek pop culture, more recently and rapidly due to the Internet, after the 2001 publication of Strassman's popular book DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Consider the following transcription from a radio rant [audio file online here] given circa 2005/2006 by the actor-comedian Joe Rogan, host of the TV show Fear Factor:

It's called dimethyltryptamine. It's produced by your pineal gland. It's actually a gland [...] that's in the center of your brain. It's the craziest drug ever. It's the most potent psychedelic known to man. Literally. But the craziest thing [about it is that] it's natural, and your brain produces it every night as you sleep. You know, when you sleep, during the time you're in heavy R.E.M. sleep, and right before human death, your brain pumps out heavy doses of dimethyltryptamine. Nobody knows what sleep is all about. Nobody knows why dreaming is important. But dreaming is hugely important. If you don't dream, you'll go fucking crazy and you'll die. While you're dreaming, while you're in heavy R.E.M. sleep, you are going through a psychedelic trip. And very few people know about this. But it's been documented.

There's a great book on it called DMT: The Spirit Molecule by a doctor named Dr. Rick Strassman. And he did all of these clinical studies at the University of New Mexico on it. And you take this shit, and literally you are transported into another fucking dimension. I don't mean like, you feel like you're in another dimension. I mean you're in another dimension. [...] There's fucking complex geometric patterns moving in synchronous order through the air all around you in three-dimensional space; and it's like they're arteries, except there's not blood pumping through them, there's fucking light--pulsating lights with no boundaries. And you couldn't really understand it. And there's an alien communicating with me. There's a dude who looks like, like sorta like a Thai Buddha, except he's made entirely of energy and there's no, there's no, like, outline to him--he's just one thing. And he's concentrating on me, and he's trying to tell me not to give in to astonishment. Just relax, and try to experience this. And I'm like, 'You gotta be fucking shittin' me.' And I'm a stand up comedian, you know. 'Cos as a stand up comedian, we pride ourselves in being able to describe things. So I'm like, 'How the FUCK am I gonna talk about this?!'

As of June 2010, there is currently no scientific evidence that the pineal gland produces DMT. Someday there may be evidence that DMT is produced in the pineal gland, but that day has not yet arrived.

Rogan does an excellent job of expressing a number of bullet points from Strassman's book in a humorous manner. But the problem is that none of these points are known to be true. And although Strassman clearly states that his ideas about DMT and the pineal gland "are not proven"2, many people have accepted them as fact. As of June 2010, there is currently no scientific evidence that the pineal gland produces DMT, much less any evidence for the more far-out speculations that Strassman makes about DMT being a chemical modulator of the human soul. When Strassman examined the pineal glands from "about ten" human corpse brains, there was nary a trace of DMT to be found in them. This doesn't invalidate his theory, since DMT is metabolized quickly, and none of the corpse brains were fresh-frozen. Further tests on fresh-frozen brains could be done. Someday there may be evidence that DMT is produced in the pineal gland, but that day has not yet arrived.

By the end of his book, Strassman proposes that DMT may provide access to parallel universes (and alien beings) via superconductive quantum computing of the human brain at room temperature, or via interactions with dark matter. Strassman states: "Because I know so little about theoretical physics, there are fewer constraints reining me in regarding such speculations." And for those who know virtually nothing about any given topic, there appear to be no constraints on speculation. It is for exactly this reason that Strassman's theories have both been accepted as fact by many people, and then expanded into creative new directions. A few offshoot theories include the idea that ancient prophets produced more DMT, that electro-magnetic fields increase DMT production, that spending a couple of weeks in total darkness increases DMT production, and that fluoridated water suppresses DMT production. An Internet search will turn up a bounty of wacky spin-offs, all of which cite Strassman's speculations as the facts backing up their further claims.

Is DMT produced by the pineal gland? Maybe...

Addendum by Rick Strassman

"I did my best in the DMT book to differentiate between what is known, and what I was conjecturing about (based upon what is known), regarding certain aspects of DMT dynamics. However, it's amazing how ineffective my efforts seem to have been. So many people write me, or write elsewhere, about DMT, and the pineal, assuming that the things I conjecture about are true. When I was writing the book, I thought I was clear enough, and repeating myself would have gotten tedious.

"We don't know whether DMT is made in the pineal. I muster a lot of circumstantial evidence supporting a reason to look long and hard at the pineal, but we do not yet know. There are data suggesting urinary DMT rises in psychotic patients when their psychosis is worse. However, we don't know whether DMT rises during dreams, meditation, near-death, death, birth or any other endogenous altered state. To the extent those states resemble those brought on by giving DMT, it certainly makes one wonder if endogenous DMT might be involved, and if it were, it would explain a lot. But we don't know yet. Even if the pineal weren't involved, that would have little overall effect on my theories regarding a role for DMT in endogenous altered states, because we do know that the gene involved in DMT synthesis is present in many organs, particularly lung. If the pineal made DMT, it would tie up a lot of loose ends regarding this enigmatic little organ. But people seem to live pretty normals lives without a pineal gland; for example, when it has had to be removed because of a tumor.

"In both these regards--the pineal-DMT connection, and endogenous DMT dynamics--we ought to know a lot more within the next several years due to the efforts of a research group being led by Steven Barker at Louisiana State University. He, with his grad student Ethan McIlhenny, are developing a new super-assay for DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, bufotenine, and metabolites. This assay will be capable of detecting those compounds much more sensitively than previous generations of assays. They're looking at endogenous levels in awake sober normals, to assess baseline values of these compounds. We should have some data from those samples within a year. They also will be looking at pineal tissue. Once we have some baseline data in normal humans in normal waking consciousness, comparisons can be made between those levels and levels in endogenous altered states, like dreams, near-death, and so on."

Notes #

1. Albert Most is perhaps better-known for his 1984 booklet Bufo alvarius: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert, which explains how to collect and smoke the 5-MeO-DMT-containing secretions from this animal. Coincidentally, Most was one of the first two volunteers in Rick Strassman's DMT studies, which started in 1990 and ended in 1995. And during the period when Strassman was researching DMT, Andrew Weil went on to co-author two journal articles with Wade Davis on the topic of B. alvarius's psychoactive secretions.
2. Strassman's DMT: Spirit Molecule on DMT in the Pineal :

   These hypotheses are not proven, but they derive from scientifically valid data combined with spiritual and religious observations and teachings. [...]
   
   The most general hypothesis is that the pineal gland produces psychedelic amounts of DMT at extraordinary times in our lives. Pineal DMT production is the physical representation of non-material, or energetic, processes. It provides us with the vehicle to consciously experience the movement of our life-force in its most extreme manifestations. Specific examples of this phenomenon are the following:
   
   When our individual life force enters our fetal body, the moment in which we become truly human, it passes through the pineal and triggers the first primordial flood of DMT.
   
   Later, at birth, the pineal releases more DMT.
   
   In some of us, pineal DMT mediates the pivotal experiences of deep meditation, psychosis, and near-death experiences.
   
   As we die, the life-force leaves the body through the pineal gland, releasing another flood of this psychedelic spirit molecule. (pages 68-69, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, 2001)
   
   

Photo Credits #

1. Image from René Decartes' Meditations on First Philosophy; augmented by Erowid.

Revision History #

• v1.0 - Jun 3, 2010 - Jon Hanna - Does the pineal gland really produce psychoactive tryptamines?
• v1.1 - Jun 29, 2010 - Addendum by Rick Strassman.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_article2.shtml

DENNIS McKENNA