Scientology is really !^%@$ up.

For those of you who don't know much about this "religion", it is heralded as an alternative to psychology. They seem to rope you in with some reasonable ideas such as "society relies too heavily on medication to solve psychological problems" and: Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that make up successful "livingness": affinity (emotional responses), reality (an agreement on what is real) and communication (the exchange of ideas). Hubbard called this the "ARC Triangle". Scientologists utilize ARC as a central organizing principle in their lives, primarily based upon the belief that improving one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two.

Then, once you're indoctrinated, they hit you with crap like:
Among these advanced teachings, one episode that is revealed to those who reach OT level III has been widely remarked upon in the press: the story of Xenu, the galactic tyrant who first kidnapped certain individuals who were deemed "excess population" and loaded these individuals into space planes for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth). These space planes were supposedly exact copies of Douglas DC-8s except with rocket engines. He then stacked hundreds of billions of these frozen victims around Earth's volcanoes 75 million years ago before blowing them up with hydrogen bombs and brainwashing them with a "three-D, super colossal motion picture" for 36 days, telling them lies of what they are and what the universe should be like and telling them that they are 3 different things: 'Jesus, God, and The Devil.' The traumatized thetans subsequently clustered around human bodies because they watched the motion picture together, making them think they are all the same thing, in effect acting as invisible spiritual parasites known as "body thetans" that can only be removed using advanced Scientology techniques. Xenu is allegedly imprisoned in a mountain by a force field powered by an eternal battery. He is said to be still alive today.

WTF?

Kraj,

I'm at work now so I doubt I will be able to find it, but I will have a look when I get home.

There is a book published freely on the internet by someone who used to be very high up in Scientology and got out just in the nick of time. Its quite long, but makes for *fascinating* reading. For anyone thinking of setting up a cult, this is your first textbook! ;-)

Sounds like what it is, a cult, just like The Book of Mormon.

After all, Tom Cruise believes in it, so it must be CRAP !!!!

Sounds like what it is, a cult, just like The Book of Mormon.

After all, Tom Cruise believes in it, so it must be CRAP !!!!

Yet most all religions begin as a cult, including Christianity, where cult means a small, not-so popular religion, and where religion means an organization of people who follow, always imperfectly, a belief system, and a mythology -- usually supernatural (there's often one or more "Sky Gods" in the mix) -- and a moral code, and who regularly perform various rituals to tighten the bonds of the group. The question often boils down to whether one religion is better than the other. Unanswerable, really -- but people will take their sides, sometimes with a vengeance.

Of course there are many others who will classify themselves as "non-religious." They are usually at odds with the mythology (they can't accept it since it's improvable and supernatural) or with the ritual (they feel it's trivial and a kind of brainwashing), or with the hypocrites, the religious members who espouse a moral code but don't live by it.

One thing is more or less certain: it's Saturday.

Regards,
Tim

I don't get it. Why is scientology so much harder to believe than Christianity or Greek and Roman mythology for that matter?

I don't get it. Why is scientology so much harder to believe than Christianity or Greek and Roman mythology for that matter?

It isn't. They are all really difficult to believe...:D

Well, I would have answered «Micheal Jackson on LSD watching Teletubbies crazy» even if the question was about Christianity, Greek or Roman mythologies.

Eve coming from Adam's rib, Mary giving birth while being a virgin, Hercules tasks, Râ giving birth by himself to the other gods while his tears creates the human race or that mayan god (name???) who cut his penis so that each blood drops would create every human on Earth.

Those are nice stories, but they are as credible as Martians or Santa Clause.

Those are nice stories, but they are as credible as Martians or Santa Clause.

What? No, please say it isn't so. We all know they are out there. In fact, once upon a time you said you were abducted by Martians.

There is absolutly no life on Mars. OK!:mad:
They were from one of Jupiter's moon.:D

Oh. OK, then.

There is absolutly no life on Mars. OK!:mad:
They were from one of Jupiter's moon.:D

As the our definition of life expands I think we may find many life forms in many places we had no idea of before.

Yes, there is life forms outside the USA.:p ;)

Yes, there is life forms outside the USA.:p ;)

But none of them are in Canada. :D :p

As the our definition of life expands I think we may find many life forms in many places we had no idea of before.
Life in the form of microbes exists throughout the universe, that's where we evolved from

But who or what owns the petri dish?

Life in the form of microbes exists throughout the universe, that's where we evolved from
I wasn’t necessarily talking about carbon based life.

As the our definition of life expands I think we may find many life forms in many places we had no idea of before.
arn't they still searching the White House (unsuccessfully) for any intelligent life?

Did anyone see GWB on prime time US telly last night? what a prat - he's trying to convince the US people that the war must go on in Iraq - sod the 2000+ US soldiers dead, sod the billions $$$$$$$ spent, sod the 20,000+ Iraqis dead. I can't remember when I last saw such a bad display of a "leader" trying to justify their decisions - he was such an amateur:rolleyes:

I reckon he's turned more against him after that effort.

Col

Life in the form of microbes exists throughout the universe, that's where we evolved from.


I wasn’t necessarily talking about carbon based life.

As far as i am aware there has been no life found outside of Earth's atmosphere. One theory of life developing on Earth is amino acid or even microbial or viral seeding from comets. There have been well documented cases of microbes surviving for years in satellites with little or no protection from solar radiation and no atmosphere as well as comets containing complex hydrocarbons so at least the method of transfer is sound. However the obvious question is where did the comets get their hitchhikers from in the first place under what conditions did those molecules or microbes come into being.

One experiment - the Miller-Urey experiment - goes some way to showing how this might have happened here on Earth - or any other planet with the right conditions. The experiment shows that if you have a combination of gases and apply an abrupt electricial discharge - to mimick lightening - you can produce complex organic molecules that are the precursors to life.
The composition of gases attempts to match those at the begining of the development of Earth.
There have been a number of doubts raised about the composition of gases used in the experiment but the latest work suggest the original hypothesis is still valid. Even if the composition is incorrect it still proves that a particular combination of gases will produce the precursors to life, if that did not happen here then it quite probably did somewhere.

http://www.answers.com/topic/miller-urey-experiment

TS

Many millions years ago peaople from another planet nuke themself and while their planet explode, particule of themself travelled in space and landed on Earth.
Reminds me that one of the human's dreams is to explore some other universes.
Solution: We got to nuke ourselves 'till Earth explode.

(I hope GWB doesn't read this forum. He might as well take my joke for a thruth and start a nuclear war just to see if it works.)

Reminds me that one of the human's dreams is to explore some other universes.
Thats NASA's dream, not many people I know give a toss about it - most consider it a waste of time and money

Solution: We got to nuke ourselves 'till Earth explode.

(I hope GWB doesn't read this forum. He might as well take my joke for a thruth and start a nuclear war just to see if it works.)
GWB doesn't need to read it - he'll do it anyway given time, then that'll knock the earth off its axis then all these little squabbles with different countries and religions will pale into insignificance as we all freeze to death.:D

Col

I can't remember when I last saw such a bad display of a "leader" trying to justify their decisions - he was such an amateur:rolleyes:
Col
Why it was just a few days earlier when he was telling the Americans that the intelligence was wrong and he'd taken steps to improve it.
And just a few days prior to that when he was telling the Americans that it was all part of his war on terror
And just a few days prior to that prior that he was telling the Americans that he was winning the war.
And just a few days prior to that prior when he was telling the Americans that the world was full of terrorists lining up to attack them.
And just a few days prior to that prior he was telling the Americans :rolleyes:

I shall bring this hi-jacked thread (shame on you naughty boys ;)) back on topic by paraphrasing that other great American H Ford esq...... "Scientology is bunk"

arn't they still searching the White House (unsuccessfully) for any intelligent life?
So... we're discussing scientology which led to space exploration, and then Colin pipes in with a hilariously flimsy link to Bush? Hmmm...

OK... at this point either Colin is making a game of fitting Bush into every thread possible just to see who he can rattle...

...or Colin is obsessively in love with Bush and is bitter over the unrequited relationship. Sounds like the making of a new poll thread to me! ;) :p

...or Colin is obsessively in love with Bush and is bitter over the unrequited relationship. Sounds like the making of a new poll thread to me! ;) :p
Col gets a feeling in the pit of his stomach when Bush appears, but it doesn't create the same reaction in the throat as when one espies a loved one:D

I thought Scientology originated from a bet between L. Ron Hubbard and Isaac Asimov. Asimov wrote the Fountation trilogy, wherein a religion is created by a technologically advanced people to control and distribute a superior technology. In the story the founders of the Foundation's religion knew it was a scam, but packaged it that way to inhibit their clients from delving too deeply into how it all worked. Their observation was that if people fervently believe a thing is mystically delivered by some unfathomable intelligence they will not be motivated to question its origins, validity or purpose.
Hubbard bet that he could create such a religion; implement the fiction in reality, and apparently won the bet.
Scientology doesn't bother me any more or less than any other philosophy that might cause people to suspend their own critical thought processes. I have a Christian American aunt who is an avid Bush supporter, and her main argument in his support is that he prays to her God. It is this brand of blindness that frightens me more than anything. Those who believe that the "rightness" of their own perspective is given by some infallible divine sanction are not motivated to question, and have no mechanism to adjust their course of action.
I doubt that Scientology provides opportunity for this to any greater or lesser extent than Christianity or Islam or Blah Blah Blah.

Good points made by all. On the other hand, if we are going to treat blind faith in a religion as a character flaw, then I'd say it's a lesser flaw to believe in something that has been around for hundreds or thousands of years, has millions of followers and has been indoctrinated into you since birth. This is the case with most major world religions. Scientology, on the other hand, has been around for a few decades and it's followers are a handful of otherwise-intelligent (for the most part) adults who actively chose to convert.

After all, Tom Cruise believes in it, so it must be CRAP !!!!


:D That was good, but more than that I agree. :D

I don't know. Broken Islam married us to 9/11. Broken Christianity gave us Iraq to have and to hold. Thousands of years religions darwinism had imperceptible mitigating effects on these. Broken Scientology hasn't yet hitched my spirit to some equivalently toxic relationship, but there's time.

Given sufficient time and a sufficient following I have every confidence that any flavour of "ism" will commit to history some novel and remarkable form of injustice. The saving grace of Scientology, and I agree here, is that it is obviously ridiculous enough from the outset that it'll never get strong enough to do us any serious harm.

But then maybe thank God for Scientology; thank God for diluting the concentration of blindness.

Tough call.

...or Colin is obsessively in love with Bush
He is after all, so suave, sophisticated, eloquent, he has that gorgeous accent that makes you believe what he says, he has a massive (um) following, he's clued up on world events, lovely eyes etc etc

I can't see why people dislike the poor chap, he's doing his best - christ! you no it ain't easy;) Its a horrible job he has, he'll always have opponents - I think you should cut him some slack - poor old thing;) you must stop being nasty about him, he's only doing what is best for the world and mankind and thats really all he has in mind, to make the world a better place to live

Col

Now that's more like it! :D :p
http://www.oxford.anglican.org/youthblog/archives/calvin%20hug.jpg

He is after all, so suave, sophisticated, eloquent, he has that gorgeous accent that makes you believe what he says, he has a massive (um) following, he's clued up on world events, lovely eyes etc etc

I can't see why people dislike the poor chap, he's doing his best - christ! you no it ain't easy;) Its a horrible job he has, he'll always have opponents - I think you should cut him some slack - poor old thing;) you must stop being nasty about him, he's only doing what is best for the world and mankind and thats really all he has in mind, to make the world a better place to live

Col

Are you loosing your mind?
Snap out of it man.

Now that's more like it! :D :p
http://www.oxford.anglican.org/youthblog/archives/calvin%20hug.jpg


I think that tiger is saying his blessings.

Just to get back to the original question, I used to work with a guy who'd joined the Scientologists while he was in the army. Supposedly, a lot of the people from his platoon did.

He said they believed that your body didn't belong to you but was 'on loan' to you, during your time on Earth, so it was your job to look after it as best you could. This meant that he hated junkies, alcoholics, tatooed people, prostitutes, etc., as they were wasting their (temporary) gift.

He was pretty passionate about it and got beaten up at least once for walking around Victoria in London, taking the prostitute's advertising postcards out of the telephone boxes (before anyone asks, it was a pimp who beat him up).

I have no idea about the rest of the Scientologists' beliefs, but isn't that 'body is a temple' part similar to some of the Eastern religions?

Also, where would they draw the line? Kirsty Alley was pretty obese for a while - which is hardly looking after your body - yet she's been a scientologist for years. If it's anything like most religions, I suppose the extra money she's able to contirbute doesn't hurt?

Also, where would they draw the line? Kirsty Alley was pretty obese for a while - which is hardly looking after your body - yet she's been a scientologist for years. If it's anything like most religions, I suppose the extra money she's able to contirbute doesn't hurt?

Ah now this one I can answer. There are two types of Scientologist; regular scientologists and celebrity scientologists. Obviously they don't attempt to get Tom Cruise to give up all his worldy possessions to them and spend the rest of his life recruiting more scientologists. He can go about happy in the knowledge he is a superior being because that few-thousand dollar Van Der Graph they sold him tells him he has magical powers. Remember, celebrities are mostly simple minded fools.

I saw this South Park episode about Scientology, it pretty much sumed up all their BS, ....accurately. It was hilarious!! I just cant imagine myself believing to such bullcrap. How can they!?

The easiest way to get into the church of Scientology and to advance is to be rich. the more money you give them the further you go into the church. I have read, sorry no sources, about persons who ran out of money and were let go from the church because they didn't have any more money.

and I believe that L.R. Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, is credited with the quote "the easiest way to make money is to start a religion"

and yet people are still part of this cult!?

........ stupid mammals....... sorry for the word, but who doesnt think they 'are' anyway!?

nuts.................

walking dead heads .....
Religion does have a place -but where
does god exist ..dunno

is there something more intelligent than Mankind (including Womenkind)
shit would not be hard .. sometimes I think worms have more intelligence

The easiest way to get into the church of Scientology and to advance is to be rich. the more money you give them the further you go into the church. I have read, sorry no sources, about persons who ran out of money and were let go from the church because they didn't have any more money.

and I believe that L.R. Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, is credited with the quote "the easiest way to make money is to start a religion"

Its not just the Scientology bunch- my nephew want to be christened /baptised and as he is in the US , most of the churches said he had to "Donate " a percentage of his income to the church !!! - I freaked out he came over on Holiday and we got him done over here Good old church of england - bunged the Vicar a couple of quid - as a donation church roof , vicars holiday - who cares and it was done - now its up to my nephew to decide if he wants to donate any money or time to religion

As he's only a younster - hopefully he'll be chasing the girls (or the boys if it makes him happy) and being CofE the church does not care too much either