Forums → WEPR → The Church of Scientology

A religion IS a cult. Here are the two word definitions from Dictionary.com.


re·li·gion
â
â/rɪËlɪdÊ'Én/ Show Spelled[ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
â"noun
1.
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.
a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3.
the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4.
the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5.
the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6.
something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.
7.
religions, Archaic . religious rites.
8.
Archaic . strict faithfulness; devotion: a religion to one's vow.
â"Idiom
9.
get religion, Informal .
a.
to acquire a deep conviction of the validity of religious beliefs and practices.
b.
to resolve to mend one's errant ways: The company got religion and stopped making dangerous products.





cult
â
â/kÊlt/ Show Spelled[kuhlt] Show IPA
â"noun
1.
a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2.
an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3.
the object of such devotion.
4.
a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5.
Sociology . a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6.
a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7.
the members of such a religion or sect.
8.
any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.

What I'm interested in is that the courts are getting involved in this question:

Is it harmful to the people that follow it?

I believe that Scientology has no right to advertise, that it is a cult and that the people following it are hurting themselves. This is a prime example of what can happen when religion goes too far.

$cientology.

Nuff said.

I believe that Scientology has no right to advertise, that it is a cult and that the people following it are hurting themselves.

Scientology is more dangerous that McDonalds. I don't even want to get into it.

Scientology is more dangerous that McDonalds.

well the evil galactic lord xenu, with his fleet of interstellar cruisers, that look a lot like DC8'S but with rocket engines, will come again, and freeze us, then dump us into volcanoes, then collect our souls, and brainwash them into beleiving another set of false truths about the origins of our civilizations. and i don't know about you, but im totally willing to give all my dollars to ensure this don't happen to me............(don't even think about assuming im being serious)

lol WOT(Web of Trust) gives the site a poor rep. Yeah, I think this "religions" is BS. All about just scamming money.

"religions"

They are quite a group of queer people. I've seen no benefit to society from them at all, the only thing I see about it is when another celebrity falls into it's clutches.

The funniest part is that it has no significant proof of the things they believe in a truth, at least other religions have books written more then 60 years ago >.<

at least other religions have books written more then 60 years ago >.<

the "unique" thing about scientology is that its beliefs have a lot to do with not so much "gods" but an alien galactic overlord and yadda yadda... the kinda stuff that would be wrote by a science fiction writer like L.Ron Hubbard... oh wait it was started by L. Ron....

while we're at it...

I can barely see the silhouette of the mysterious Caucheka... Hi there.I can see you.can you see me? I'll google....I DO google. joojle is a funny name... isn't it?

On a more serious note: Scientology was created by a science-fiction author. In various passages, people go through a series of enlightenment levels, explaining that, once you're enlightened enough and you know enough about Xenu, you are able to turn invisible, go through walls, shoot laser beams out your eyeballs, and fly. Sadly, such groups of people actually believe this. As it is not a religion, it has the influence of one and the effects thereof are more dangerous than the religions we have now. One such person is:

i already mentioned l ron, thanks very much freakenstein.

i have yet to mention operation snow white. (in a nutshell aka the wikipedia opening)


Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology's name for a conspiracy during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations and thefts from 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates, as well as private organizations critical of Scientology, carried out by Church members, in more than 30 countries; the single largest infiltration of the United States government in history with up to 5,000 covert agents. This was also the operation that exposed 'Operation Freakout', because this was the case that initiated the US government investigation of the Church.

Under this program, Scientology operatives committed infiltration, wiretapping, and theft of documents in government offices, most notably those of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Eleven highly-placed Church executives, including Mary Sue Hubbard (wife of founder L. Ron Hubbard and second-in-command of the organization), pleaded guilty or were convicted in federal court of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property. The case was United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., 493 F. Supp. 209 (D.D.C. 1979).