Jesus’s open invitation to an immortality potion like the Eucharist would have shocked the wealthy pagans of Galilee, as well as the influential Jewish families of Jerusalem. Magical wine was supposed to be their prerogative, just the way it had been for thousands of years. Salvation didn’t belong in the hands of commoners. After his success in classical Athens, Dionysus was the first monopoly-buster in the Near East. For an extra kick in the pants, Jesus showed up a few centuries later with an even more convenient solution for anyone dissatisfied with the old-time religions. A solution the
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