I think the Daily Show and their take on it in This Week in God may help too (it's even got animation).
What the heck is Scientology?
- Thread starter Danoz
- Start date
check it
I have a message from Xenu For Mr Tom Cruise
It says I’ve escaped From my prison on Hlaktock 8
The message continues I’m on my way to Hollywood #I’m coming to get you In my DC8
There’s no escape The message continuesTom,
you don’t know psychiatry I do!
You shouldn’t have messed with the R6 implant
Did you get that Tom Cruise?I said I’m coming to get you
And your pretty wife And John Travolta It’s time for your tax inspections!
The message continues I’m going to gather you
And all the other scientologists
In my DC8 And take you into space
I’m going to stack you At the base
Of a big volcano On Hlaktock 8
And build a wall of fire
With hydrogen bombs
When you’re dead
I’m going to hoover your souls With my soul collector
And put you in little boxes Then I’ll take you
To the movies
To watch top gun
For the next 200 million years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eMIslbo98s
I have a message from Xenu For Mr Tom Cruise
It says I’ve escaped From my prison on Hlaktock 8
The message continues I’m on my way to Hollywood #I’m coming to get you In my DC8
There’s no escape The message continuesTom,
you don’t know psychiatry I do!
You shouldn’t have messed with the R6 implant
Did you get that Tom Cruise?I said I’m coming to get you
And your pretty wife And John Travolta It’s time for your tax inspections!
The message continues I’m going to gather you
And all the other scientologists
In my DC8 And take you into space
I’m going to stack you At the base
Of a big volcano On Hlaktock 8
And build a wall of fire
With hydrogen bombs
When you’re dead
I’m going to hoover your souls With my soul collector
And put you in little boxes Then I’ll take you
To the movies
To watch top gun
For the next 200 million years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eMIslbo98s
One awesome episode.
Scientology is proof of L Ron Hubbard's genius entrepreneurship.
I'm not religious but christianity is far away from Scientology.
Christians (usually.. apart from some hardcore fanatics) don't:
- make your life a living hell if you decide to leave, i.e. they don't terrorize you with phone calls and threats
- don't make you pay to attend church (donations are voluntary.. at worst your reputation gets a bit smeared if some people notice you don't make a donation when it's time but these are usually gossip people who'll smear anyone if it suits them)
- don't have a war chest (really true.. what other organizations might call their accounts/monetary volume/whatever it is called a war chest by scientology)
- reject proven medical treatments and claim only their method works yet can't or won't stand proof by a medical jury (though some far out christian fanatics do that too)
Scientology is nothing but a huge money scam which ruins people's lives.. avoid it at all costs and i cherish the day when all this is exposed and Scientology gets banned forever.
Plecostomus
Commodore
I'm going to stick my neck out and say this: I pay my church-tithe because I want to, not because I have to. That money (for the most part) helps pay for programs that help members who have fallen on hard times... and right now we've got a bunch.
I know/believe that God doesn't care *how* much I pay, salvation costs NOTHING, there is no toll to get into Heaven (just a math question/word problem!) and when I die the status of my CDs and investments are irrelevant.
I know/believe that God doesn't care *how* much I pay, salvation costs NOTHING, there is no toll to get into Heaven (just a math question/word problem!) and when I die the status of my CDs and investments are irrelevant.
You don't think there are sects of Christianity that do all of these things? Well, maybe not the "pay to go to Church" part, but some denominations do basically require a tithe. Now, those people will proudly and happily give it most of the time, but if they decided to stop one day, you can bet they'd be ostracized. That's what happened to my friend's JW family, right around the time they all decided the religion wasn't "right" for them anyways so it wasn't their loss.
Plecostomus
Commodore
There are indeed. Scientology just elevates it from "religious nuttery" to "wacky scam-artists with good marketing."
^I get your point and I agree with it, but Baptists, Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses and Pentecostals aren't just "small over zealous sects". They are large over zealous sects. 
Scientology is a scam. How can anyone take any religion that requires financial contributions in order to have access to the information? If their way of thinking is so great, why don't they want everyone to know about it like Christians do? Because it's a scam!
Scientology is a scam. How can anyone take any religion that requires financial contributions in order to have access to the information? If their way of thinking is so great, why don't they want everyone to know about it like Christians do? Because it's a scam!
I don't think Jehovah's Witnesses are a sect by definition as they didn't branch off from a particular Christian faith...
From skimming Wiki, I can't figure out what precisely Pentecostals branched from (though in the back of my mind, I remember reading something about it university)...
But wow, FordSVT, I had no idea they were such a large group! Apparently almost 25%% of the world's 2 billion Christians... but maybe thats because there are a quite a few groups? (For want of a better term).
I remember the Scientology South Park episode- funny part with the rapper! I didn't notice (too short of an attention span) til someone pointed it out, that the end credits are all John and Jane Smith for it!
From skimming Wiki, I can't figure out what precisely Pentecostals branched from (though in the back of my mind, I remember reading something about it university)...
But wow, FordSVT, I had no idea they were such a large group! Apparently almost 25%% of the world's 2 billion Christians... but maybe thats because there are a quite a few groups? (For want of a better term).
I remember the Scientology South Park episode- funny part with the rapper! I didn't notice (too short of an attention span) til someone pointed it out, that the end credits are all John and Jane Smith for it!
For me, Scientology's biggest problem is that it is purely made-up. Admited as much by its own creator.
Now, we could argue that all other "main-stream" religions are made-up but we've really no proof or evidence of such at least not as much as we do with Scientology where it's OWN CREATOR said he made it up.
I mean, CHRIST! The religion is about an ALIEN who dumped prisoners in Earth's valcanos and the spirits of those aliens attack human emotions!
That is just wacked-out. Sorry.
It's a "religion" written by a Sci-Fi writer. I don't understand why it gets so much credibility nor do I get why Scientology's "leaders" are so adamant againt the "truths" about it getting out or even open criticism against it.
Now, we could argue that all other "main-stream" religions are made-up but we've really no proof or evidence of such at least not as much as we do with Scientology where it's OWN CREATOR said he made it up.
I mean, CHRIST! The religion is about an ALIEN who dumped prisoners in Earth's valcanos and the spirits of those aliens attack human emotions!
That is just wacked-out. Sorry.
It's a "religion" written by a Sci-Fi writer. I don't understand why it gets so much credibility nor do I get why Scientology's "leaders" are so adamant againt the "truths" about it getting out or even open criticism against it.
Plecostomus
Commodore
^I get your point and I agree with it, but Baptists, Mormons, Jehova's Witnesses and Pentecostals aren't just "small over zealous sects". They are large over zealous sects.
If you are visited by Mormons/Latter Day Saints they will have a little black tag that says "Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints." If you aren't interested in what they have to say tell them that Elder Richard from the Palmyra Ward already talked to you online and they'll leave without any further ado.
If you are visited by Mormons/Latter Day Saints they will have a little black tag that says "Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints." If you aren't interested in what they have to say tell them that Elder Richard from the Palmyra Ward already talked to you online and they'll leave without any further ado.
I bet you get tired of polygamy jokes, don't you?
No, it does not. Shiggy would come up with MUCH better ideas for a Zelda sequel than that one.
Pentecostals are a Calvinistic form of Protestantism. Therefore, they subscribe to the 'Humanity is depraved' school of thought and think most people are doomed to Hell. That's not a belief I'd want to share.
It sure is hard to find a church that DOESN'T seem like a cult these days. I thought I found one last summer but, it didn't work out. There were too many ideological differences between me and them.
Plecostomus
Commodore
If you are visited by Mormons/Latter Day Saints they will have a little black tag that says "Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints." If you aren't interested in what they have to say tell them that Elder Richard from the Palmyra Ward already talked to you online and they'll leave without any further ado.
I bet you get tired of polygamy jokes, don't you?
That and the odd looks this conversation causes:
"Hey Brian, wanna go bowling Friday?"
"Can't, got temple-work to do."
"Oh. So what do you do in that temple there anyway?"
"Well I'm going to baptize a stack of dead people, then confirm them members of the church."
"No seriously, what goes on up there?"
My best friend is Mormon and I tease him about it, lightly, sometimes.
He told me once about baptizing dead people and I admit I gave him a look like "... really?!" But then he filmed me in on it.
He told me once about baptizing dead people and I admit I gave him a look like "... really?!" But then he filmed me in on it.
Plecostomus
Commodore
My best friend is Mormon and I tease him about it, lightly, sometimes.
He told me once about baptizing dead people and I admit I gave him a look like "... really?!" But then he filmed me in on it.
It's a rather cool ritual, especially if you do the genealogy work yourself, you get to learn some cool stuff about people you thought you knew... some times you even learn The Rest Of The Story when it comes to family history.
Other times its a great way to disturb the &*@& out of people.
I was fixing my mailbox one day, and a couple of missionaries in the neighborhood stopped off at my house for a chat then went on their way. Neighbor comes over while I'm measuring my mailbox post and asks me a couple things about the Church, missionaries and "that big temple down in Palmyra." Which leads to the following conversation.
"So what do you do in there? Can you discuss it with outsiders?"
"Oh yeah... Nothing strange or freakish. For example one of our rituals is the baptism of dead people so they might have a chance to join our church."
"That sounds like an... interesting... ritual."
"It is, in fact I'm going to do some relatives next week. While you're over here can I borrow your shovel?"
"
" Comedy is all in the timing. Its not what you say but HOW and WHEN you say it.
Speaking as a Five Point Calvinist...
You have no clue about what you're saying.
Pentecostals are ARMINIANS. They REJECT the at least 4 if not all five of the petals of the Calvinist TULIP.
They may affirm Total Depravity, but they affirm Universal Prevenient Grace, which thereby negates the depravity of man. We Calvinists affirm total depravity,but we affirm that saving grace is specific not universal.
They affirm election on the basis of foreseen faith. We Calvinists affirm election on the basis of God's sovereign will alone.
They affirm General Atonement. We affirm particular atonement (except for the Amyraldians).
They affirm the resistability of prevenient grace. We affirm it is irresistible.
They affirm that one can apostatize from grace. We deny that is the case.
So, before making comments about who is a Calvinist and who isn't,you may want to compare a representative statement of faith with something like, oh, I dunno, the Westminster Confession of Faith or the Second London Baptist Confession, before you make such obviously mistaken statements.
Oh, and for the record, Calvinists as a group have never taken the position that "most of us are going to hell." In fact, if you'd care to read a representative work like Loraiine Boettner's work on Predestination, you'd find the exact opposite is true. To paraphrase Boettner, "there is no reason to assume that (the statement 'many are called few are chosen') refers in any way to the ratio of the elect to the reprobate, and, in fact,the exact opposite could well be the case." What we affirm is that God would be, because of the depth of man's sin, be perfectly just in condemning us all to hell if He so chose. We affirm the miracle of salvation by grace is that God has chosen to save any one person at all, for He is under no constraint to do so.
Are there Calvinists who believe in the continuation of some spiritual gifts? Yes. Calvinists have historically been divided. Continuationism is a minority opinion. Most are cessationists or semi-cessationists.
Pentecostals are a branch of the holiness movement of the 19th century, with its roots in Methodism and Baptistery, the former of which is Arminian, and the latter of which, by the end of the 19th century was increasingly semi-Arminian. Pentecostals today are semi-Pelagians and Arminians who are continuationists.
So, how, since Calvinism is generally defined by the Five Points of Calvinism (and Amyraldianism is defined by four of them), do you get the idea that Pentecostals are "Calvinistic?"
They're on to him already >_> Don't go home and get off the grid.
I saw a bit of that ceremony with Cruise and the current leader. It was like some sort of Nazi ceremony.
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