# Does a celebrity's personal beliefs affect the way you perceive them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-celebritys-personal-beliefs-affect-the-way-you-perceive-them/247966 "2004-05-31T21:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-celebritys-personal-beliefs-affect-the-way-you-perceive-them/247966/81 "2004-06-07T01:29:23Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > I disagree. And I also think that comparing Kabballah to Scientology is insulting to Judaism. Kabballah study actually has an illustrious scholarly history. Just because Rabbi Berg has watered it down into Kabballah Lite and is raping it to get rich, does not mean it is equal to some made-up fantasy. > > :wally ;j My intention was not to insult Judaism. Madonna and her ilk have taken a real religion and taken the parts that appeal to them and tried to turn into something it’s not. This make’s it a fake religion. Just like Scientology. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-celebritys-personal-beliefs-affect-the-way-you-perceive-them/247966/82 "2004-06-07T05:10:08Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > My intention was not to insult Judaism. Madonna and her ilk have taken a real religion and taken the parts that appeal to them and tried to turn into something it’s not. > > This makes it a fake religion. Just like Scientology. Madonna has nothing to do with setting The Kabballah centre’s doctrine any more than John Travolta tells L. Ron Hubbard what to do in the afterlife. And as for it being a “fake religion”, it _does_ bear much relation to real Kabballah studies, which is part of why Jewish groups are so up in arms about it. For something to be a perversion, it has to resemble the original in a significant way in the first place. If it were all 100% gobbeldygook, real Rabbis wouldn’t care. So the last sentence of your post is like saying; “Because ephebophilic polygamists who defraud the government are perverting Mormonism, it’s a fake religion.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-celebritys-personal-beliefs-affect-the-way-you-perceive-them/247966/83 "2004-06-07T11:40:13Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > Madonna has nothing to do with setting The Kabballah centre’s doctrine any more than John Travolta tells L. Ron Hubbard what to do in the afterlife. No, but she’s helping to keep it alive. In some people’s eyes, the fact that she has embraced it makes it legitimate. This is quite sad. As you said: > [@](#): > > Just because Rabbi Berg has watered it down into Kabballah Lite and is raping it to get rich, does not mean it is equal to some made-up fantasy. Here’s a guy who’s figured out a way to make a quick buck by perverting a legitimate religion. He certainly isn’t the first. I retract my “fake religion” comment and apologize to anyone who was offended. I still don’t believe this version can be considered legitimate. If it were, people would be making up new religions everyday by picking and choosing which parts of an established relgion fits their needs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-celebritys-personal-beliefs-affect-the-way-you-perceive-them/247966.md?page=4)