This whole scientology thing...what the heck is it?
- Thread starter Isolde212
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Suicidal Zebra
Diabloii.Net Member
Armed? For good reasonjmervyn said:
farting bob
Banned
Yes, but that is a characteristic of most modern cults. Give us your money and all your belongings, and then you can get a nice afterlife, or inner peace or something like that.jmervyn said:
And those are some nice gns you got there merv.
Carnage-DVS
Diabloii.Net Member
I dont see any real difference between the beliefs of Sciencetology and the Bible, or the Koran for the matter. All of them have unbelievlable aspects to them, so I don't see why one is looked down upon while the others are accepted.
jmervyn
Diabloii.Net Member
Probably because Christians & Muslims don't sic lawyers on you in droves for leaving them. Muslims might try to cut off your head for blasphemy, but even they aren't as trigger-happy as Scientologists seem to be. Check out that site - it makes for some disturbing reading.Carnage-DVS said:
Scientology is also responsible for a lot of pseudo-science bull**** pop culture stuff. Scientologists basically pay for the church to never let them leave. They often try to convince college students that theyd be much better off with the SeaOrg (scientologists on boats), than with that degree their parents waste money on.
KillJoyBob
Diabloii.Net Member
IMHO, you're mistaken. Read the material from Cloud_Walker's post in this thread (second page I think). Scientology is a bad mix of rehashed outdated philosophy, very poor scientific dicipline, and modern greed.Carnage-DVS said:
What religion charges people for enlightenment?
I'm supposed to be possessed by the spirit of slain aliens from a volcano? Please!!
giantpinkbunnyhead
Diabloii.Net Member
Hey... a fool and his money are soon parted, and the wise man puts himself in a position to profit from it. Some people will believe anything.KillJoyBob said:
The defining characteristic of cult vs religion is whether or not the organization attempts to alienate followers from all nonbelievers (i.e. the rest of the community at large) for the purpose of exploitation. In this light, a lot of fundamenetalist sects can be seen as cult-like at best.
Scientology is very much a cult and one that has harmed hundreds of thousands of people world-wide and Tom Cruise is a jackass for helping to further their cause.
There are theories that a lot of religions start out as cults. Mormonism certainly did, but is no longered considered one by most authorities on the matter.
Edit:
I still love that Jack Parsons stole his woman though. Bwaahaaahaaaa. Love & Rockets. Excellent read about one of most bizarre characters in the development of modern rocketry.
Scientology is very much a cult and one that has harmed hundreds of thousands of people world-wide and Tom Cruise is a jackass for helping to further their cause.
There are theories that a lot of religions start out as cults. Mormonism certainly did, but is no longered considered one by most authorities on the matter.
Edit:
The reason scientologists will accept all this nonsense is because not accepting it means they have to live with the fact that they've been total larks for years and tens of thousands of dollars. That's why they don't kick things off by telling people the relgion is based on really crappy sci-fi. I think L. Ron Hubbard got a sick kind of kick out of making what higher levellers "discover" even more bizarre and outlandish the higher they get just to see how far he could push people's insane need to justify the fact that they've given everything over to the church. If I could go back in time and strangle that bastard I would, but I do have to admire how brilliant he was at selling complete and total BS to people. He was a very accomplished verbal story teller and an amazing liar.giantpinkbunnyhead said:
I still love that Jack Parsons stole his woman though. Bwaahaaahaaaa. Love & Rockets. Excellent read about one of most bizarre characters in the development of modern rocketry.
Dutchman
Diabloii.Net Member
From what I understand a Mormon is expected to donate x% of his/her pay directly to the church, and many other churches work the same way. I don't see wanting money as necessarily invalidating a religion, if that was the case there would not be a single religion left in the world.KillJoyBob said:
Dutch
farting bob
Banned
Yes, but theres a difference in giving what you can, and demanding a huge amount from everyone. There is no way a single mum could afford to be a scientologist, and at higher levels you have o give up your job and dedicate your entire life to these people. That is what makes it stand out as a cult rather than a religion IMO.Dutchman said:
jmervyn
Diabloii.Net Member
Plus, I may tithe, but I'm only under a spiritual obligation to do so - and there's really no 'thunderbolts & plagues' implied if I don't, nor would a Muslim be somehow condemned for not giving alms to a particular beggar. The idea of "paying for enlightenment" is pretty apropos from all I've heard - you have to fork over the specific amount of cash before you can attend whatever level meeting you desire. So far as I know, other than typical 'bribery' for the cleric to perform whatever office of service, there really hasn't been a comparable tradition since the medieval payments for indulgences. And those were generally bribing God for forgiveness rather than a requirement.Dutchman said:
Dutchman
Diabloii.Net Member
I'm not talking about a collection plate that you can pass along when your pockets are light, I'm talking about a % right off the top of your salary. I'm sure there are lots of people out there that could use that extra cash.farting bob said:
I'm not trying to single out mormons, I'm sure many religions take % of salaries, it just happens to be the one I know about as a former co-worker of mine was handing over an astounding (at least to me) 20% of his pay to the church. Point being that all religions need some money, and there is plenty of other stuff about scientology that warrants a raised eyebrow or two so we shouldn't just look at the cash and say "what a bunch of loonies!"
Dutch
jmervyn
Diabloii.Net Member
I'm not overly familiar with Mormons, though I spent some barracks BS sessions with some of them. My understanding is that a tithe, or even the 20% you mention, is still a voluntary contribution (i.e. no "taking") rather than a pre-requirement. There's a definite difference between the two.Dutchman said:
I honestly don't care; my concerns are with their malevolent legislative behaviours and their attempts to co-opt or manipulate the Gov't. Anything you want to point at regarding us 'terrorist Christians' pales in comparison to the stunts that Scientology has pulled.
Stevinator
Diabloii.Net Member
that's because you're broke.Geeno said:
technically catholics are supposed to tithe 10%. again, that's just a suggestion, not a hard and fast rule. Heck, a lot of catholics don't even go to mass.
the difference is that that money paid to the catholic church isn't buying you anything but a nicer church and helping pay for whatever churches need to run. in scientology the charge is required and it's supposed to buy some form of salvation.
Stevinator
Diabloii.Net Member
but does that tithe buy them a spot in heaven? or is it just expected so they can run their church stuff? See i don't care if it's just for church stuff...but if it's you pay this or you go to hell/don't achieve enlightenment/whatever that's a scam.Ranger14 said: