BF2S Forums Project Chanology, thoughts?

S.Lythberg wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

S.Lythberg wrote:

The catholic church doesn't have a sign up fee, nor do they encourage paranoia and suspicion of other religions.
The amount of money you donate to the clergy does not influence your standing in the church hierarchy (only a degree in theology can do that)

However, if history truly repeats itself, i think we can count on Scientology to self-destruct in the next decade or so, cults never last long.

In a practical sense, things like indulgences can actually grant quite a bit of influence in the Catholic Church.  There are periods of time where indulgences aren't allowed, but if I'm not mistaken, they legalized it again.

Whatever the case, practically every organized religion involves some palm greasing for influence, but the only difference with Scientology is that they are more blatant about it.

I believe indulgences were responsible for the splitting, and near destruction, of the church, I doubt they would bring it back as a "pay and be saved".

I'm not saying they wouldn't gladly accept donations, but you can go to church every Sunday and donate nothing.

Christians, Muslims, and Jews have all shown great interest in converting the people of the poorest areas of the world, at great expense.  Why is it that Scientology only recruits the rich?

Good points, but I guess my point is...  organized religion in general is still mostly a business.

I've never quite understood the logic behind believing in a religion that sees so much evil in humanity but still relies so heavily on community.  If people were nearly as flawed as Judea-Christian religions claim, then logically, it would make more sense to live as a hermit.

S.Lythberg wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

Good points, but I guess my point is...  organized religion in general is still mostly a business.

I've never quite understood the logic behind believing in a religion that sees so much evil in humanity but still relies so heavily on community.  If people were nearly as flawed as Judea-Christian religions claim, then logically, it would make more sense to live as a hermit.

Why do you think I haven't been to church in a year?  There's not a whole lot of logic going on there at all (although I give my church credit for being one of the most progressive I've ever seen)

But the point is, other religions do what they do because of a genuine belief in a higher power, and use their vast stores of wealth to better others, including members of other religions.

Scientology exists only to further itself, at the expense of both the community and it's own members.

Hey, I agree with you on many religions, although I see a lot of evil in the Muslim community as well.  I'd say the fanaticism that is rampant in certain parts of Islam is actually quite a bit worse than Scientology.

Truth be told, I don't like religion in general, but there is a wide spectrum of repulsiveness among religion.

Agreed...   Religion is a necessary evil in my book.  As China has shown us, where religion is absent, state worship replaces it.

Turquoise wrote:

Agreed...   Religion is a necessary evil in my book.  As China has shown us, where religion is absent, state worship replaces it.

Necessary for some people I suppose, who need a person they perceive as higher up to tell them what to do with their lives, because they are apparently unable to do so.

I'm willing to bet we'll see a return of religion in China as the government converts more and more to a capitalist state. (let's just hope Buddhism is the religion of choice, that seems to be the only religion that is truly tolerant of all others)

Home wrote:

DoctaStrangelove wrote:

Home wrote:

2. I don't understand why everyone sees Scientology as "The biggest scam of the 21st Century," as S.Lythberg put it. What about Catholicism? The Vatican is worth more than Scientology will ever be.

Yeah but the purpose of real religions is not to make money. The Catholic Church makes hardly any profit, if any, from most of its members while Scientology charges massive fees for its "services".

The purpose of real religions is debatable. You can't simply rule out the idea that religions are at least partly profitable businesses. I'm sure Scientology makes a higher profit amongst its members, but it's ridiculous to say the Church makes "hardly any profit, if any" from its members. Hell, they even turn the dying of a pope into a tourist thing. "Come to the Vatican to pray for the sick Pope! Entry fee is $60 per head!"

I don't think they charged $60 to enter the Vatican, but look, if real religions were out for profit why do they run so many programs, which are free of charge mostly, to help the poor? All the programs of churches are funded by donations and operated by volunteers, unless trained professionals are needed. It is outright stupid to think that real religions are out for a profit when most churches are barely getting by and still manage to run programs that give free stuff to poor/old people.

Good post, Home.

....and it's not just the Catholics doing it.  There are plenty of megachurches in America that are Protestant.  When you look at how expensive these buildings are and you consider the tax exemptions that religions receive, it's quite obvious that a lot of money is being made in God's name.

I'm not saying religion is bad in and of itself, but it's pretty naive to not think that it's a serious moneymaker for certain charismatic individuals....

Turquoise wrote:

S.Lythberg wrote:

Turquoise wrote:

In a practical sense, things like indulgences can actually grant quite a bit of influence in the Catholic Church.  There are periods of time where indulgences aren't allowed, but if I'm not mistaken, they legalized it again.

Whatever the case, practically every organized religion involves some palm greasing for influence, but the only difference with Scientology is that they are more blatant about it.

I believe indulgences were responsible for the splitting, and near destruction, of the church, I doubt they would bring it back as a "pay and be saved".

I'm not saying they wouldn't gladly accept donations, but you can go to church every Sunday and donate nothing.

Christians, Muslims, and Jews have all shown great interest in converting the people of the poorest areas of the world, at great expense.  Why is it that Scientology only recruits the rich?

Good points, but I guess my point is...  organized religion in general is still mostly a business.

I've never quite understood the logic behind believing in a religion that sees so much evil in humanity but still relies so heavily on community.  If people were nearly as flawed as Judea-Christian religions claim, then logically, it would make more sense to live as a hermit.

And thats the reason why I'm a Buddhist.

But I still don't condemn the criticizing of other religions because they all point to the same truth.

However Scientology is just a means of brainwashing and nothing more. I doubt you could find a single Scientology who has learned more about something other than knowing how to fund a cult.

Before you yell at me for digging up a semi-old thread, I did so because I was interested in it and SEARCHED for it.

www.xenu.net

That basically explains it.

I know of a few people have partaken in anonymous activities. 
one such:
1.  He is a fully legal adult.
2.  He did not partake in the DDoS attacks/prank calls. 
3.  He is well versed in what the Co$ believes, because of a close friend of his was sucked into the cult and hasn't been heard from since.
4.  His actions have been done legally.

Now, that is not me, but an example of one person I personally know that has joined the ranks of anonymous.  But, along those lines, I know of many others.  Most of them older than 20 who have taken this seriously and contacted Congressman and women.

While I think that anonymous will eventually die out, I think that their work will help advance knowledge of the crimes the 'church' has committed.