In talking to those in my school directly involved with 'discipleship,' the concern has been for the need for students to have significant encounters with God in order to solidify and invigorate their spiritual lives and commitment to God and the Christian community. This is true of my church as well. Yet, no one really knows of any reliable formulas for having these encounters. Many of our practices are simply trial-and-error, either doing what has sometimes worked in the past, doing what we believe Jesus or other figures in the Bible modeled for us, or doing what has seemed to work for other Christian communities. Unsure as to whether the perseverance involved in doing the same things over and over is insanity (per Einstein) or moral development (per St. Paul and St. James), we tend to vacillate between pressing in or checking out.
I don't know of any (Western/mainstream) Christian communities that have seriously considered the use of psychedelics, mainly because of the fear/stigma associated with addiction or the possibility of demonic activity. Even in my own drug-free spiritual experiences, I've often been left asking questions similar to those Evans lists in his post under the subheading "Revealing spiritual reality?":
- materialist: is this just all in my head/body?
- Jungian: am I tapping into experiences accessible to all due to our common humanity?
- literal: am I having a legit spiritual experience? if so, what kind of spiritual experience this is: possession, influence, benevolent, malevolent, holy, demonic?
Evans and Strassman seem to suggest that if psychedelics are to have a role in our spiritual well-being, we need to avoid making it just about transgression against organized religion (i.e., mainstream cults) and instead, with discernment and wisdom, seek to integrate them in a safe, pro-social way. The challenge in doing so within Christianity, I think, is having a critical mass of both faithful and competent practitioners, and developing the theological backing to legitimize it.
What do you think? Should the church offer "[c]ontrolled places to lose control"? What about a Christian school?