# Scientology! Good? Bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 8, 2000, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616 "2000-08-08T20:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stonedge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@Stonedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonedge)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/21 "2000-08-09T07:21:37Z")
Make sure you check all sides, indeed. To bring back down to earth from the craze the debate may generate, check [http://bernie.cncfamily.com/ars.htm](http://bernie.cncfamily.com/ars.htm) as well. The perspective of this site is quite interesting. It’s one of the very few that doesn’t get slanted one way or the other and tries to be informative rather than bring you to either hate or love the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/22 "2000-08-09T15:26:43Z")
You should go to the sites that hve been offered and print the material you find there. Give it to your friend. I have went to war with these psychos before, they are not nice people. $cientology isn’t good or bad, it’s downright EVIL. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/23 "2000-08-09T15:36:44Z")
Thanks for the link Stonedge. That site actually is quite informative. As are the others. I’m going to have a talk with her tonight. I’ll let everyone know how it goes. BTW, my personal last straw with Scientology was a book of theirs I read on drugs (I don’t know why this pushed me over the edge, some things just do). It stated that LSD caused falshbacks becasue it was stored in your fat. ARRRRGH. That’s just untrue. Anyone that would preach an anti-drug philosophy based on scientific lies is just stupid, the least they could do is come up with some weird theory on how it interferes with engrams or some shit. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/24 "2000-08-09T23:35:12Z")
I would always question publically anyone who, with their very first post on a board, posts a link to a page which seeks to gloss over the many documented misdeeds of the cult of $cientology, draw attention away from its criminal excesses, and make its critics out to be demented and raving incompetents. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2000, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/25 "2000-08-09T23:58:44Z")
Bad ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/26 "2000-08-10T00:07:33Z")
And I thought the telephone tarot readers were wackos. Do you mean to tell me that these people actually profess to be able to “kill you with their minds”? What, like Jedi mind control? Do they help you develop other skills, like developing your own light saber and levitation and such? AND they actually have an “E meter”??? This sounds like a bad dream. Tell me people are not that gullible. I’m begging you! Also, oldscratch- tell your ex to double check her health insurance. She may be covered after all. Also have her check her workplace- they may offer free or low cost therapy. Many psychologist will charge on a sliding scale for people without insurance. Encourage her to get real help and stay away from scammers. Zette ---
**Author:** ![dubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dubs)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/27 "2000-08-10T00:36:58Z")
I would need an explanation of how L. Ron Hubbard has continued to write books after he’s died. Lord knows it must be hard enough when you’re alive. ---
**Author:** ![pLt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb9ed0/32.png) [@pLt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pLt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/28 "2000-08-10T00:56:01Z")
My take is … Anything that John Travolta tells you is worthwhile and spiritually important … avoid! ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/29 "2000-08-10T04:14:59Z")
Elron wrote shit when he was alive… ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/30 "2000-08-10T06:43:47Z")
**’scratch** , go with your gut. Do everything you can to talk your ex outa this. And **'Zette** was right about health insurance. And if she’s not covered by work or other means, even an established _church_ (and this is an atheist speaking) offers better counselling than Co$. If she _does_ become ensnared by these snakes, she will need you in the future. Let your love and friendship guide you. Good luck, **oldscratch**. I hope your friend trusts you. ---
**Author:** ![Prosser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@Prosser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prosser)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/31 "2000-08-10T07:20:12Z")
Well, as far as I know, L. R. H. was “dared” by Asminov in the '59 convention that he couldn’t create a religion. Thereafter, RLH came out with the 1st book of Scientology. However, this is hearsay. More to the point, I distrust any religion that demands payment for spiritual progress. In Scientology, every time one wants to seek a new level spiritual enlightenment, one must purchase the next book. This is why the IRS was engaged in litigation for 20 years with this “religion”. Last, why does Scientology seem to only focus on the richest of our society? It seems there is a large convertion rate among “hollywooders” compared to the rest of society. ??? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2000, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/32 "2000-08-10T08:51:03Z")
A ra streamed _60minutes_ about the Co$'s takeover of the Cult Awareness Network . [http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/60minutes/](http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/60minutes/) ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/33 "2000-08-11T01:36:02Z")
I have just had time to look at the _60 minutes_ clip that was at the previous link. WOW , that’s scary shit. Since the thread dropped like a brick after my last post I’m bumping it just to say if you haven’t seen that _60 minutes_ episode you should really look at the clip . ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616/34 "2000-08-11T12:37:19Z")
The $cieno’s takeover of CAN was a day that shall live in infamy, indeed. Here’s a link containing a plethora of transcripts on the subject from a wide variety of sources. I find some of it to be fascinating reading. Be sure not to miss $ceino president Heber Jentzch’s appearance on _Larry King_, it’s a laugh riot. [http://www.primenet.com/~xenubat/transcript/transa.htm](http://www.primenet.com/~xenubat/transcript/transa.htm) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology-good-bad/28616.md?page=1)