"Oh, Scientology is not really any more far out than Christianity" (Subtext: this makes it "ok", it's like other bona fide religions and we let them stick around, right?)
I have heard this notion cast about for some time now, here at Slashdot and elsewhere, and it disturbs me that so many people miss the important point here. The issue is not whether Scientology is any weirder than other religions. Their bizarre beliefs are not in and of themselves the danger. The real danger is of the same kind we have seen before. It is very familiar, everyone here has probably read about it at one point or another, perhaps in a history book, or a newspaper.
And that danger is that to the average Scientologist the only hope for the world is through the philosophy of Scientology. It MUST be spread to every corner of the globe by whatever means necessary. Our society MUST be rewritten according to its standards and methods. And its current standards and methods are clear that any means are acceptable to reaching that end. ANY means. The laws, morals, ethics, etc. of the rest of the world are secondary and can be ignored if it means furthering the aims of Scientology.
THAT is the danger in a nutshell. As I have said, we have seen this sort of thinking before:
There are still other dangers to be considered as well. They turn people away from doctors, medicine and real mental help while giving pie-in-the-sky promises of curing all your problems (up to and including things like cancer, diabetes, schizophrenia, and homosexuality, which they consider a "mental illness"). Many have died believing Scientology would cure them.
Children of Scientologists are often denied education, either by being discouraged to go to college (and in many cases any non-scientologist school), or if the parent is a staff member (or if the child is), they may be forced into a Scientology children's organization of one sort or another where they will receive a substandard education, if any. In my experience (which others shared with me and I have found out is all too common elsewhere), I was recruited at a young age and told that my education would be provided for. I and all the other children at the location I was at were given a 4-5 hours a day in a classroom-like environment in which we were to pair off and study "whatever". There were math books, science books, books on spelling and such. But there was no teacher, no curriculum, no grades, no structure of any sort. Often the class was cancelled if we were needed for more important matters (meaning anything to do with Scientology's well-being). To get around this we were all instructed and trained in how to lie if the city sent someone by to check on conditions there, and we were to tell them that we were always getting our study in.
I understand that there are some similar practices in other religions as well. I oppose these too. Religions that forbid surgery or blood transfusions, those that sucker people into "faith healing", all are doing a tremendous disservice and must be opposed.
Slashdot Mirror
"Oh, Scientology is not really any more far out than Christianity" (Subtext: this makes it "ok", it's like other bona fide religions and we let them stick around, right?)
I have heard this notion cast about for some time now, here at Slashdot and elsewhere, and it disturbs me that so many people miss the important point here. The issue is not whether Scientology is any weirder than other religions. Their bizarre beliefs are not in and of themselves the danger. The real danger is of the same kind we have seen before. It is very familiar, everyone here has probably read about it at one point or another, perhaps in a history book, or a newspaper.
And that danger is that to the average Scientologist the only hope for the world is through the philosophy of Scientology. It MUST be spread to every corner of the globe by whatever means necessary. Our society MUST be rewritten according to its standards and methods. And its current standards and methods are clear that any means are acceptable to reaching that end. ANY means. The laws, morals, ethics, etc. of the rest of the world are secondary and can be ignored if it means furthering the aims of Scientology.
THAT is the danger in a nutshell. As I have said, we have seen this sort of thinking before:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism
And we have seen what happens when Scientologists are allowed to practice this "philosophy":
http://www.whyaretheydead.net/
http://www.scientology-lies.com/investigation.html
http://www.xenu.net/archive/go/index.htm
There are still other dangers to be considered as well. They turn people away from doctors, medicine and real mental help while giving pie-in-the-sky promises of curing all your problems (up to and including things like cancer, diabetes, schizophrenia, and homosexuality, which they consider a "mental illness"). Many have died believing Scientology would cure them.
Then there is the fact they their "disconnection" policies have, and are continuing to rip families apart: http://www.scientologydisconnection.com/
Children of Scientologists are often denied education, either by being discouraged to go to college (and in many cases any non-scientologist school), or if the parent is a staff member (or if the child is), they may be forced into a Scientology children's organization of one sort or another where they will receive a substandard education, if any. In my experience (which others shared with me and I have found out is all too common elsewhere), I was recruited at a young age and told that my education would be provided for. I and all the other children at the location I was at were given a 4-5 hours a day in a classroom-like environment in which we were to pair off and study "whatever". There were math books, science books, books on spelling and such. But there was no teacher, no curriculum, no grades, no structure of any sort. Often the class was cancelled if we were needed for more important matters (meaning anything to do with Scientology's well-being). To get around this we were all instructed and trained in how to lie if the city sent someone by to check on conditions there, and we were to tell them that we were always getting our study in.
I understand that there are some similar practices in other religions as well. I oppose these too. Religions that forbid surgery or blood transfusions, those that sucker people into "faith healing", all are doing a tremendous disservice and must be opposed.
Scientology too must be