Why do people believe that Scientology is a religion?
I mean, those people are total lunatics that think aliens control our minds and that pain doesn't exist. Just check out the look on Tom Cruises face, is that guy deranged or what?. Are we going to have a mass suicide like at Jonestown or Heavens gate?
You want to know why people be live in it? They be live in it because thinking about having to be a good person or they are going to Hell doesn't let them sleep at night... I wonder why...
Lol, I guess Scientology is a belief. I mean all religions believe something so why not science? Well that's what scientists think...
Scientology believe in science, I guess it can be a religion...
Lil i am not quite sure about Scientology. i can see that tom is certainly trip pin the light fantastic lately. wonder what his new wife really thinks of all of this.
Scientology is a great way to shield your vast fortune from taxation. Scientology is all about money, and these celebs have enough money to protect, they're willing to pretend to believe in mind-controlling aliens...
But the truth is that Scientology kills. Search on http://www.ytmnd.com/
Well it IS a religion... religion isn't defined by whether people are nutty or not, its only defined by peoples demonstration of faith in whatever/whomever it might be
Scientology is completely bizarre. But then not anymore more strange and outlandish than any other religious belief based on nothing more than faith, which they all are.
I am by no means a Scientology's and can see the flaws with this coltish religion. However it still has the 'right' to be a religion as it still conforms to the definition - IE a system of social coherence based on a common group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object, person, unseen being, or system of thought considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or highest truth, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, traditions, and rituals associated with such belief or system of thought. Therefore I could set up a group surrounding the worship of me as a divine being and still call it a religion whether or not the vast majority of people saw it as wrong.
Scientology, always has been about money and exploiting venerable people. Just because you are a high profile celebrity, doesn't make you immune from the predators in society. Some of these celebrities live very unreal existences where they lose sight of who they really are - after all they pretend to be someone on film, they then have this public persona which follows them to the shops or any time they step outside the door. Leaving some of them very confused and frightened as to who they really are. Therefore they reach out to find things that can support them, sometimes it is drink, sometimes drugs, sometimes religion! Therefore Scientology is just one out of thousands of belief systems that is very cruel and cynically designed to fleece you for all your worth and then to thank the people that are fleecing you.
from dictionary.com Religion: 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.
It's a loose fit, but Scientology can be considered a religion.
The U.S. Tax Court, much to the chagrin of the I.R.S. has DECLARED Scientology (an organization formed in 1951) to be a religious organization under law.
The courts have spoken, even though the IRS sides with you.
Over 40 academic scholars have found that Scientology is a Nona Fidel religion.
http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/index.html
This is Scientology in my own words:
1. What is true for you is what you your self observe to be true.
2. Man is his spirit not his mind or his body.
3. The spirit creates his own mind. Please do not confuse the mind with the brain that is a physical thing. The mind is composed of mental image pictures as explained in Dianetics. These pictures serve the spirit to give him knowledge and experience. These pictures are composed of energy. The energy in the picture can affect the spirit. You can feel better by remembering something that you like or angry by remembering something else. These emotions are actually energy waves emanated by the picture. You can actually feel pain by remembering a pain memory. Sometimes this pictures are accompanied by ideas or considerations. Lets supposed that you father beat you mom up in front of you. Your father was the dominating figure so you might conclude that you have to act like your father in some situations. This is what we call in Scientology an aberration (a conclusion that is impose to you by a mental picture). This picture is what we call a engram; A pain memory that affects your judgment and free will.
4. A spirit is capable of considerations and ideas and this ideas are solely based on ugliness and bountifulness. The spirit reject ugly things and intends on making everything beautiful. Do you like your car, you house, your job, your friends? Are you friends nice with you? Can you improve things in your life? All these are ideas based on bountifulness and ugliness (Or order vs chaos, Or Good vs Bad). This is why the spirits rejects the ugly memories and by rejecting the ugly memories (not confronting them) he is unknowingly affected by them. Of course there are people that they can't create good effects. There are people that don't take care of them selves and don't take care of their possessions. This is of course an aberration.
5. You can discharge the energy in this pictures true communication. This is Auditing, the Auditor directs your attention to this pictures regardless of how ugly they are and you confront the picture and discharge the energy of the picture true the communication line. Have you ever experienced that after you talk about a problem you feel a lot better and the problem doesn't seem that bad?
6. The Spirit creates his own emotions. Are you happy? Are you sad? Are you depress? Maybe you think that something external of you is creating your emotions. Maybe you believe that you are sad because you had a bad day. Or maybe you believe that you are happy because you had a great day. And this might be true. But who made the decision that you had a good or bad day? You did. You decided if life was good or bad, and adjusted your emotions to respond to your own consideration. You created your own emotion.
Some people are born with everything they want and are still unhappy. And others are born into humble means and are happy. What's the difference? The only real difference is each persons ideas and considerations.
7. You are fully responsible for your condition. Blaming others for your condition will never solve that condition. Your condition is fully based on your ideas and considerations. Only by fully taking ownership of you condition can you solve that condition.
8. Scientology Ethics: Scientologist base their conduct on a non-denominational code of conduct. http://twth.org/eb/?id=16664j
Good are those actions that create the greatest good and bad are those actions that create the greatest harm. Un ethical behavior and wrong doings are the #1 reason a spirit diminishes it power. In order to stop your self from hurting others, you hinder your own abilities and force. The rehabilitation of your own abilities and force is dependent on you taking full responsibility for your actions.
9. Scientology vs Psychiatry. Psychiatry believes that self awareness, feelings, love and faith are merely cellular activity. Basically they think that you are your brain and you are not in charge of your behavior but your cells are.This is a totally materialistic point of view that denies the spirit and God. Psychiatrist allege that their believes are based in science but they are lying. Psychiatry have never pr oven that any "mental illnesses" (like they call it) has any connection with a physical illness. Any Neurologist will tell you that there are no medical test to identify a "Mental Illness". All Psychiatrist base their diagnosis on opinion and opinion alone.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3895596783332855545&q=Psychiatry+i s+fraude&hl=enhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8443414209115892468&q=scientology& hl=en
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?p=cchr&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&b=1&oid=12085d1e6c58d04e&rurl=video.yahoo.com&vd one=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fvideo% 3Fp%3Dcchr%26toggle%3D1%26cop%3Dmss%26ei%3DUTF-8
Happiness, exhilaration, depression and psychosis are states of mind, not diseases. All what you have to do to stop being depress is change your state of mind. How you do that? By changing your ideas and considerations.
But is not only that Psychiatry is a false science. Psychiatry is actually a leach on Society. First they promote the idea that you are not responsible for your actions. Psychiatrist excuse the most horrendous crimes as mental illnesses. This is actually a covert act to destroy morals in society. Second they promote that drugs are the answer for your problems. This is another vicious lie. Drugs only serve to calm your nerves but never solve the source of your problems. You still have your problems but now you don't have the symptoms. This creates a sense of unreality, a sense of numbness. People under Psychiatric drugs will create the most horrible effect just to feel something. All those kids that you hear that bring guns to their schools and start killing people, all of them are Psychiatric patients under medication. Psychiatry doesn't solve psychosis, Psychiatry creates psychosis.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4437051883726295326&q=psychiatry&hl=en
10. Scientology and aliens. The story of Xenu is just a fable like the story Jonah in the Whale in the bible. Fables are not intended to be taken seriously. The story of Xenu doesn't have any significance on Scientology beliefs. It is up to each Scientologist to identify what is true for him.
Scientology is a very interesting religion that takes years of study to master. I just mentioned a few fundamentals. Scientology is so advance and so different that people can't understand it. People think that they know everything there is to know about life. And when they see Scientology they jump to conclusions when in reality they don't have a clue what are they talking about. The reality is that man attacks what he can't understand. That's why Scientology gets so much bad press.
http://www.chaplaincare.navy.mil/Scientology.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/scientol.htm
http://www.beliefnet.com/sem/scientology-religion.asp?source=YAHSCT&campaign=096&medium=PPC &nopop=1&WT.mc_id=YAHSCT&WT.srch=1
I have no idea why some people consider it a religion. Some places, like Germany, have ruled that it's a cult. It IS a cult. Despite what a few fanatical members may say, it IS a cult. The church harasses & bullies anyone who they deem an "enemy" (basically anyone who has anything negative to say about the "church"). They will RUIN YOUR LIFE if you speak out against them long enough.
The founder is L. Ron Hubbard, the science FICTION writer who once told a friend that the best way to make lots of money is to start your own religion. Though being a very outspoken critic of psychiatric drugs, it was discovered upon Hubbards death that the anti-anxiety drug hydrolyzing (Vistaril) was present in his body, which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric & pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years.
Scientologists believe the evil alien ruler Xenu killed a lot of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by bringing them to earth & blowing them up inside volcanoes. They believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") have attached themselves to us & cause many of our mental & physical ills. Even members of the Church of Scientology who know of Xenu will publicly deny the existence of Xenu & Body Thetans, or attempt to minimize their importance. Scientology has many graduated levels through which one can progress. Many who remain at lower levels in the church are unaware of much of the these doctrines, which mostly begin at Operating Thetan level three, or "OT III". Because the information imparted to members is to be kept secret from others who have not attained that level, the member must publicly deny its existence when asked. OT III recipients must sign a waiver promising never to reveal its secrets before they are given the manila envelope containing the Xenu knowledge.
To rid ourselves of "Body Thetans" & also ?engrams? (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind) so that we can become ?clear?, we have to go through "auditing" with a member of the ?church? who uses an "e-meter" to measure our ?reactive mind?...... & we have to pay lots & lots of money for ?auditing? (purchased in 12.5-hour blocks, costing anywhere from $750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions) & to take courses on Scientology to advance to higher ?levels? in the ?church?. The ?church? has also taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional in everyday life. They deny the reality of chemical imbalance & profound mental disturbance & accordingly do NOTHING to effectively stabilize the dangerously unstable. The ?church? has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (with deadly results).
Scientology is undeniably a cult. For more information on what a cult is & what their damaging effects are, please visit the link provided at the bottom of the sources. Just know that Scientology DOES qualify by meeting these 5 criteria:
(1) It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate & retain its members. (2) It forms an elitist totalitarian society. (3) Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable & has charisma. (4) It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds & recruit people. (5) Its wealth does not benefit its members or society.
Why do people believe that Scientology is a religion?
