Holy Cow! Or Xenu. Whatever. CHRISTIAN SCIENTOLOGISTS?

[pulykamell]

@Contrapuntal

Here’s the problem. Scientology is insidious. It is an extremely powerful cult that essentially brainwashes people under the guise of religion. Undoubtedly it is capable of presenting sound moral values in easy to read pamphlet form. But the devil can quote Scripture, eh? Still, one needs to treat everything out of his mouth as blasphemy. Or so I’ve been told.

For another religion to justify Scientology, even tacitly, by accepting it’s teachings sets a very dangerous precedent. Especially when there is no need. You said yourself, everything in that book is sound Christian doctrine. What’s the point?

The point is, obviously people respond to it, so why not subvert use the power of the so-called Devil for the “good” of Christianity? Recontextualize it in the Christian framework, and nobody has the need to “defect” to Scientology. That said, before this thread, I had no idea that book was related to Scientology. If someone handed it to me as an example of good Christian ideals and living, I would be none the wiser and would have accepted it as that. The fact that it happens to be put out by Scientologists does not change my opinion of the advice contained in the book.

My main point was to refute the notion implied in the OP that somehow the article you linked to claims Scientology and Christianity are complatible. The article says no such thing and, as I have repeatedly pointed out, the main person in the story–the priest–says plainly they are not in agreement with each other.

[Terrifel]

@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies

I did discover that, imho, Hubbard was quite repulsive physically, that he is awful in front of the camera, and as such was an extremely poor choice of subject for an interview that was presumably made with the intent to attract people further into the fold.

In fairness, that film was made after Ron had already begun his slow metamorphosis into a Child of Dagon. Photos of him as a younger man reveal only subtle hints of his amphibian heritage. Later, as his froglike features became more apparent, he wore an ascot to conceal his developing gills. However, near the end of his time on land, it became impossible to disguise his increasingly batrachian form. It is of course no coincidence that he spent much of that time traveling the world’s oceans with his “Sea Org,” before finally embracing his destiny beneath the waves as a scion of Mother Hydra.

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

Attempted transcription of a portion of An Introduction to Scientology, a 1966 filmed interview with L. Ron Hubbard.

L. Ron: I remember Arch Bishop Odo Barry, here, uses Scientology in most of his sermons. He used to.

…

Interviewer: Am I to understand from what you say that you can be not only a Scientologist, but a Roman Catholic and an Anglican as well?

L. Ron: Oh yes. As a matter of sober fact, we have many, many denominations in Scientology and it is one of the principles of Scientology that one can be a Scientologist regardless of his race, color, or creed, anywhere in the world.

Interviewer: And Scientology itself is not exactly a religion.

L. Ron: Scientology could be called…well, you could call it a religion of religions. You will find in actual fact when you go round and look at the various religious philosophies and so forth, that man, has in religion many answers to his future survival. And he has many explanations of existence. And when you clarify those, various religions, feel that they are expanded or that they are clarified as well, and they are quite keen to find out how this illustrates or illuminates their own religion.

Interviewer: Are you saying then that any specific religion is rather narrow in its outlook?

L. Ron: No, no, no, any man is entitled to believe what he wishes to believe. I have no quarrel with man’s beliefs and so on, but religion has had so many facets that its main point of dispute in life is the fact that so many people in so many different places have so many different views of what life and god are all about. And if Scientology could reconcile those differences, it would be doing a great service to man.

Interviewer: Do you think it can, Mr. Hubbard?

L. Ron: I not only think it can, I know that it does. We have, in many instances, been able to bring a great deal of knowledge or relief or light into various situations of a religious nature without for a moment disputing the tenets which were held. After all, religion is basically an effort to make man good, an effort to give him a better society and so forth and Scientology does all of those things, so naturally it aids and abets the efforts of any religionist or any minister anywhere to achieve his own purposes.

Interviewer: But doesn’t Scientology have any dogma at all, for instance, life after death?

L. Ron: Well, life after death is life after death, and you can’t lay down a dogma when you’re dealing with fact. And its very interesting that an individual does survive life after death, but I’m afraid that’s too technical of a question to go into in a program of this nature.

Interviewer: Are you saying that Scientology has proved this?

L. Ron: Yes, it has proven it definitely.

[FriarTed]

@Skammer

I should probably explain that swipe at Episcopalians (I am one, by the way, but I am not simultaneously Muslim as the priest in the linked story).

I was thinking about her myself.

On one hand, it could be defendable to say “Hey, this book THE WAY TO HAPPINESS has some good basic advice that doesn’t violate our faith &
that could benefit anyone who uses it…” Heck, one could even do a
de-sensitization “counseling” session using e-meters & not adopt CoS
doctrines, but to call oneself a “Christian Scientologist” is just nuts.

Incidentally, a CoS public boast is that one can be any faith & still be CoS.
I want to see one celebrity CoS member who also actually practices another faith.

[FriarTed]

A quote from the CNN story in the OP

At Kennedy’s C. L. Kennedy Center, free tutoring based on Hubbard’s “study tech” philosophies is provided to dozens of children and some adults. Kennedy’s daughter, Jimirra, is one of the instructors. She said “study tech” and the Scientology orientation classes she attended helped her graduate from high school and become a poised woman.

Though Jimirra Kennedy insists she does not ascribe to the religious side of Scientology, she still considers herself, at least in part, Scientologist. “We say this all the time and I know my father says this, but I am like a Pentecostal Scientologist, that’s what we are.”
Uh-huh. Sorry Lady, that’s just nuts.

I wonder how long the CoS is going to let this continue before slamming the Center with a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

[Tuckerfan]

Apparently, once you get deeper into the bowels of Scientology (not quite so deep as the couch jumping levels), you’re taught to hate other religions as they’re a gateway drug for Xenu or something.

[Nancarrow]

I’ve no idea why Scientologists are so worried about people reaching Xenu. It’s flatly impossible!

Sure, the other religions might get you halfway there, but then you have to cover half the remaining distance, and then you’ve got to cover half the distance remaining after that…