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About LinkBacksAnd that differs from the other religions, how?Originally Posted by directhex
And that differs from the other religions, how?
Other religions dress it up better.
Scientology just haven't managed to hide themselves that well in the modern society.
Kids are getting smarter, eventually no amount of parental controls will be able to stop themI guess we're expected to do quite well
Is Scientology 'officially' recognised as a religion?
Just noticed TeePee's comment about Tithes..
I've been going to church at least once a week for the last 10 years or so of my life. I've never heard of tithes. I've never seen anyone pay Tithes.
Tithes are dead.. at least in the anglican church.
I have no idea about the Catholics.. I'm not a Catholics.
TooNice - Universal Declaration of Human Rights, AND the American thingy... the one they steal in National Treasure. Scientology started in American under American rules I thought. I don't know though, I'm trying desperately to remember a lesson I had on "Cult or Religion" about 2 years ago.
Kids are getting smarter, eventually no amount of parental controls will be able to stop them
no. not in this country or several others
you can ask a muslim or a christian what they believe without needing to pay them £16k starter fee?
You can get most religious texts for under a tenner in waterstones. I'm an atheist, I believe God is a creation of mankind. Not the other way around, but I don't have any problem with people believing whatever they want(aliens or beardy father figures, whatever).
I do have a massive problem with vulnerable people being conned out of thousands of pounds for some 'secret knowledge' and subsequently being persecuted when they come to believe that it's bull.
directhex (09-09-2008)
l ron hubbard 's books were crap and but this guy is really good and making money from the grave... other than that i think scientology is a bunch of nonsense and i would dare them to open a branch in china. lets see how they fare. try defrauding crazy chinaman "they kill you!!"
They just have the fee spread over a larger populace.
There is a VERY big difference between scientology and other "mainstream" religions.
I'm an atheist, so all of it is bunk as far as i can be bothered.
If you go into a church, they won't stop you from reading the bible for free, hell, you can buy your own copy for under £3. Scientology won't let you do that - oh no - if you want to find out what happened to us a trillion, trillion years ago in the great volcano where we were all murdered, you have to pay big bucks.
This isn't about plausability (although the fact remains that El Hubbardo was a pitifully bad science fiction writer, and oh wait.. their scriptures read like a bad space opera) or whether it deserves to be a religion or not, the fact is that they extort their members in a way that is no better than a pyramid scheme.
How exactly do the other religions do it for the money? Most of those religions are about helping those in need (at least they claim to) "love thy neighbour" and so forth. Most religions don't have a history of raping their followers (yes, we all know about priests, but at least they claim that the children consent).
Regardless of what the back story is and whether it's truth or lies, the message behind most religions is the same - "be nice and don't hurt each other". Scientology is almost the exact opposite.
If you look into it there are actually very few countries that concider it to be a religion. Most countries see it as a money making scheme similar to the pyramid schemes. And aswell as France Germany has also at least looked into banning it.
I'm an atheist but have been to church a few times, and never had to pay. I certainly wouldn't expect to have to pay for 'audits' and hand over a percentage of my pay just to learn what the religion is about. Those who've tried to get out of scientology do not paint a pretty picture as to what it's actually like and how they've been treated.
scientology wouldn't have been criticized as much if it was in the 16th century..
Yeah but neither was murdering people for their beliefs and selling off your female relatives, but hey if you really want a tast of the 16th century I'll happily cover your street in faeces and ask the hospital to treat you with leeches and a hacksaw.
Criticism would've been the least of of their worries in less tolerant times as they probably would've been persecuted by more established religions. Now, they get to sue those who criticise them.
Edit: I think I am on the same page as chuckskull, I pretty much agree what you've said in post #23.
Yes, the concept of tithing is very much alive in Christianity but the difference is that it is purely voluntary. How much you tithe and indeed whether you tithe at all is a matter for yourself and no-one else and has absolutely no bearing on your membership of the church or anything else.
The quality and scope of the teaching you recieve if you tithe is exactly the same as if you don't. People tithe (or contribute to the churches finances) because they want to, because they value what they get from the church and want to help it do it's work. They don't do it to get on the fast track to heaven.
"Free speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative provided it does not tend to provoke violence. Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having."
Scientology is not a religion - it's a cult, and should not be discussed as a religion. The problem with Scientology is not it's doctrine of beliefs but the way it operates like some sort of crime syndicate.
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