Church of Scientology... Church?
I know this is kind of old hat, however, I really feel it is a worthy subject to bring up. This organization has far to much influence over our goverment. How many corporations can pull this off: <a href="http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/abuseprobe.html?FACTNet"; target="_blank">http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/abuseprobe.html?FACTNet</a>;
It astounds me that supposedly intelligent, influential and rational people like John Travolta and Tom Cruse can be pulled into this glorified "cult". I bet they can't even get out of it if they wanted to. They(CoS)have mananaged to shut down all of the main recovery groups that were around to help people break away from them. This is too much power.
What do you all think about this?
It astounds me that supposedly intelligent, influential and rational people like John Travolta and Tom Cruse can be pulled into this glorified "cult". I bet they can't even get out of it if they wanted to. They(CoS)have mananaged to shut down all of the main recovery groups that were around to help people break away from them. This is too much power.
What do you all think about this?
Comments
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It astounds me that supposedly intelligent, influential and rational people like John Travolta and Tom Cruse can be pulled into this glorified "cult".
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It astounds me that so many normal people around the world get pulled into any of the glorified "cults" including Christianity, Catholicism, etc. but it's a choice that people do have the right to make.
J :cool:
Scientology was founded on a bet by a manipulative dissalusioned sci-fi writer that had a circle of friends that include famous Satanists and ultra-rich weapons developers . . . does that sound like 'religion'???
And their practices are unbelievable . . . in the 80s someone (government or some powerfull person) was suing scientology something that would have closed down a scientology church in Portland Oregon. . . or something to that effect... and the scientologists organized a huge non-stop publicity campaign and court action campaign, including concerts by many jazz musicians, Chick Corea and his shitty music and others, celebrity visits etc . . and basically ground the city to a halt until the parties involved relented.
and this, from the article:
[quote] from filing 2,200 lawsuits against the IRS, to sending private investigators to pry into the personal lives of IRS employees, to hiring an IRS-insider, to filing an application experts say is riddled with fraud. An IRS staff member who claims to have worked on the case called the secret deal a sell-out by higher management. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the individual said that agents working on the case had endured frightening calls to their homes and disappearing pets, and that Scientology should have never been given what was given.
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and also, a cousin of my best friend (I know it sounds like a bad story, but its true) was a member, and was on Scientology boat . . . when he wanted to quit they would not let him off... for over a year . . he finally managed to get away and recieved letters of an ominous sort for years afterwards . . . .
its bad juju
and about these celebrities being intelligent... maybe, but you have to realize these guys are just actors . . they can become a surface of someone else... that's all . . and they are ultra ultra famous for it, as if it was something else that they did.... they live in fantasy lands !!. . to see an interview with John Travolta is to see a self-obsessed man who doesn't know real hands-on work, and actually believes that somehow he deserves all the glory heaped on him by the pathetic throngs . . . .actors are sheltered, self obsessed, they live in lala land both figuratively and literally and, for the most part, if they are stars, they make terrible films and think of themselves as making high culture...they act all the time and probably never touch a semblance of a real profound relationship with anyone . . .much less themselves
Yeah!!
Scientology, OTOH, has been more or less accurately assessed by the people here, utterly idiotic, it has no right to protection of religious belief just cause it refers to itself as a 'church.'
I'm hardly devout, but even I recognize the difference between a real religion, and scientology. Not the same.
[QB]The major religious traditions are hardly 'cults' though they often have newer forms appropriating their name/beliefs into cults. [QB]<hr></blockquote>
Priests who prey upon young boys and get their leaders to cover it up not a cult? :hmmm
<strong>It astounds me that supposedly intelligent, influential and rational people like John Travolta and Tom Cruse...</strong><hr></blockquote>
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> :eek:
Sorry...
Read up on your religious history and that doesn't look so bad in comparison with most major religions.
[quote]and basically ground the city to a halt until the parties involved relented.<hr></blockquote>
Oh my God! The people took a stand and made a point and influenced the government to do something!? Sweet Jesus, you'd think this was a representative democratic republic or something!
[quote]they live in fantasy lands !!<hr></blockquote>
Fantasy lands... like people who believe that if they go into a certain building every specific day of the week they'll get into a .... fantasy land ... when they die?
Or the people who roll around in the aisles at churches and babble incoherently claiming it's the true language of God?
Or people that drink ARSENIC to show their faith in a guy who might have gotten nailed to some wood 2000+ years ago?
[quote]Scientology, OTOH, has been more or less accurately assessed by the people here, utterly idiotic, it has no right to protection of religious belief just cause it refers to itself as a 'church.'<hr></blockquote>
What is your guideline for determining what religion is in the United States? Whether or not you think it's feasible? Whether or not the people in it do naughty things? Whether or not it teaches naughty things?
If I take a shit on my porch and say it's my God and other people agree and we worship it then that's a religion as far as you, me and the federal government are concerned.
Is Scientology any more ridiculous than any other religion out there that believes in any God? Honestly, it's all pretty goddam stupid if you want to look at it that way.
[ 06-24-2002: Message edited by: groverat ]</p>
I just barked out laughing here in my office when I read this.
It's funny cuz it's true! - Homer J. Simpson
Or the people who roll around in the aisles at churches and babble incoherently claiming it's the true language of God?
Or people that drink ARSENIC to show their faith in a guy who might have gotten nailed to some wood 2000+ years ago? <hr></blockquote>I agree completely . . . I didn't mean to say that it didn't get to rank as HIGH as other religions . . .but what I don't get is whether or not it even really has a religious element... meaning is it about a god or a faith . . . I think its really just a kind of psychiatry . . . but . . . your right there too... even those are belief systems.
I do wonder what their vision of the ultimate nature of this thing that;'s happening to us all is . . . I wonder if that would be a theism or what?
as far as the tactics used they were NOT democratic . . .they flew throngs in from places outside of Oregon and strong-armed the law and local citizens into excepting what nobody but the Scientologists wanted . . . so the story goes that I heard.
Groverat, when I was talking about 'fantasy lands', I was refering to the world that superstar actors inhabit . . . they would have a difficult time being normal even if they wanted to be, due to the focus on them by so many people... and many of them actually believe that somehow what they do for a living makes them worthier humans . . . now if they dug ditches in wyoming then they might be advancing humanity somehow, but.......
Same for most American Christians. They think they've got the ticket to heaven and they let you know it. Not only do they seek glory for their "pious" works ("I'm a starvin' mahself fer Jesus!") but they discuss religion with the attitude that everyone but them is just off-base and silly.
To me, this is funny because it's like the two last place kids in a race calling each other slow.
Man, where do you come from? Around here half the Christians don't even believe in God and the other half are christians by name only. Thangs muss'm be diff'ern were you come from.
Some years back I met a gal involved with CoS. Not because of me but she decided to break away. Man, talk about some f***ed up people. They , through my license plate I presume, found out where I lived after she moved in with me for awhile. On a regular basis we would come out in the mornings and find tires deflated, keyed paint-jobs(where I came from you get a severe ass whupping for this kind of activity...) and crap like that. I did not have a video camera(couldn't afford one back then...) to record these activities. She moved in with me because of crank calls she had received at all hours of the night. The police couldn't do squat because I had no concrete evidence. I KNOW it was her old CoS "friends... All this came to a halt during the time the Uncle Sam had them up against the wall. Only to let them(CoS) get off with even more priveleges and special treatment.
This is why I feel they are more dangerous than the average, run of the mill American "religious" organization.
<strong>I'll take deflated tires over being shot in the head for performing abortions.
You perform abortions groverat?? :eek:
J :cool:
[/end Bill Hicks reference]
He only aborts things from his bowels. <hr></blockquote>
FECAL RIGHTS NOW!!!!