Scientology - Your Opinion

[Ben Kenobi]

Yep. From what I have heard about scientology, since my previous landlord left them, one of the things they like to do is to control the diet of those who participate. Particularly, stripping them of protein, to make them more suggestible.

I think they have broken the law, which is why they ought to be prosecuted for doing so.

[Ben Kenobi]

Hmm, I remember reading that in previous historical periods that you could pay to become a bishop or cardinal in the Catholic church, so is this anything really new to religion?

How is that the same as forcing members to contribute? If someone didn't want to be a bishop or cardinal, they didn't have to become one.

And secondly, they don't do this anymore because of some of the abuses that result from letting people pay to be put into a position of authority.

[OzzyKP]

Control their diet?!?

I never heard of an organized religion with dietary restrictions before!

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


How is that the same as forcing members to contribute? If someone didn't want to be a bishop or cardinal, they didn't have to become one.

And secondly, they don't do this anymore because of some of the abuses that result from letting people pay to be put into a position of authority.

If someone doesn't want to move on to the next level of the religion, they don't have to.

[Japher]

The religion has levels?!

[Ben Kenobi]

Control their diet?!?

I never heard of an organized religion with dietary restrictions before!

Well, they eat this porridge with some dietary supplements to ensure that they get what they need and no more.

[Nostromo]

In other news...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8133757/

Did Tom Cruise try to recruit Scarlett Johansson to Scientology?

The “Lost in Translation” star was expected to co-star with Cruise in “Mission: Impossible III” but was dropped because of “scheduling conflicts.” But it seems that there may have been other conflicts as well. Cruise invited Johansson to a Scientology center where he showed her literature about joining his controversial church, according to a report. “After two hours of proselytizing,” according to RadarMagazine.com, “Cruise opened a door to reveal a second room full of upper-level Scientologists who had been waiting to dine with the pair, at which point the cool-headed ingénue politely excused herself.”

The Scoop called Johansson’s mother/manager for comment and she declined, referring us to Johansson’s publicist, who didn’t return calls or emails. Cruise’s rep didn’t respond to requests for comment, but Rick Ross of CultNews.com told the Scoop: “Is this Tom Cruise’s version of a first date? It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make distinctions between his personal, professional and religious life. Tom Cruise and Scientology seem intent on recruiting a hot young star. Apparently, Scarlett Johansson flunked her test, but Katie Holmes passed.”

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Japher
The religion has levels?!

Yah, know, i went up to my rabbi, and told him that what with POTMs bat mitzvah this year, id been attending more than usual, and should be getting at least a couple of XP's for each time, plus a whole bunch for the Bat Mitzvah,etc and that i thought it was about time to level up, and that i wanted to add character points to wisdom and agility, and ya know, he just went away shakin' his head.

[laurentius]

this thread begs for this:

[Provost Harrison]

WTF Laurentius?

Tom Cruise is an utter midget freak isn't he?

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
WTF Laurentius?

Tom Cruise is an utter midget freak isn't he?

You're jealous 'cos he gets more dates than you.


And as F. Scott Fitzgerald pointed out, diamonds don't come as big as the Ritz


(molly bloom, five foot six of bile and whirling lassitude)

[Provost Harrison]

My God, you're even shorter than me

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
My God, you're even shorter than me

And my mother was even shorter than me- four foot eleven.


My brother, however, is six foot one of heavy metal and prog rock fan.

[laurentius]

Its from their book PH

[Elok]

Some of the arguments here seem to be disingenuous.

Dietary Restrictions: The point of kosher or halal is or was the avoidance of cruelty to animals, and rudimentary concepts of hygienic living. Plenty of Jews live kosher their whole lives with no health problems AFAIK. Feeding people mush while they're at seminars to lower their mental acuity seems different somehow. It's not technically a dietary restriction, as it's not permanent; they just deliberately sabotage the metabolism of potential suc-er, believers.

Going further into the religion: When you become a Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, or just about anything else, you join and that's it. Outside of the clergy, there's just one level. If you want to "go further," all there is to it is studying scripture, or meditating, or something along those lines. While, for example, priests are paid for performing weddings, the fees are usually more modest than a hundred grand, which is what it costs to get up to some OT level in the CoS. Nor are people constantly pressured to obtain a service that costs money in normal churches. Normal churches, except for the Mormons who have mandatory tithing, rely on voluntary contributions. Let's keep some perspective here. Scientology is indistinguishable from any given snake-oil scam except insofar as it is tax-exempt.