Here come the full out Hijack:
So which organized religions are not guilty of teaching lies?
Can you list them for our edification?
I am very against Scientology, it combines the worse aspects of Organized Religion and Organized crime in my opinion.
I am just curious which religions pass muster as not teaching lies.
Jim
Well, I’m *trying * to keep up, but since other organizations *do * teach lies (in my and many others’ opinion) I don’t understand how scientology is any different in that respect 
“We’re for total freedom!”
“Yes, this is a public street but you’re not welcome.”
So, let me get this straight. If the KKK get a parade permit and close down Martin Luther King Street for a few hours, they can dictate to the police who can and cannot watch the parade?
I don’t blame the L.Ron devotees from wanting “Mark the Wife Beater” to attend their little recruiting party because he obviously wants to spoil their party. But I do blame the police department for kowtowing to any group who wants the freedom to recruit people in a public place yet denies access to anyone they deem to be unsavory.
Gosh I hope I don’t get picketers in front of my house.
other religions you get the lies for free; with Scientology you have to pay good money for them.
If it’s a “lie in your opinion,” it’s not really a lie: it’s just an opinion that’s different from yours. Scientology lies: that’s not an opinion, that’s a cold, hard fact, as amply demonstrated by this thread. What demonstrable lies are being taught as a central tenet of a mainstream religion? Remember: shit like creationism doesn’t count, because creationism is not a central tenet of Christianity, and the majority of Christian churches do not support it. Is it something like, “There is a God”? Because that’s not a demonstrable lie. It’s just something you don’t agree with.
What the. . .? Creationism isn’t supported by the majority of christian churches? That’s a new one on me.
I think it would take considerably less time and effort to list what demonstrable facts are being taught as a central tenet of any mainstream religion, seeing as everything is based on faith, which by it’s definition makes it unprovable.
Also, which part of this thread has amply demonstrated the cold hard fact that scientology lies? Don’t get me wrong; I agree that they do. I just don’t see where anything here points to that. Are you refering to one of the links, because I admit I didn’t read them all.
Well, then clearly you don’t know much about what you’re condemning. Consider this a wake-up call to develop a slightly more nuanced view instead of your generalized opposition to religion.
It’s not necessary for me to know all the details of the mythology to know it’s fictional.
So, the bottom line is that you don’t know much about Christianity, but you’re sure it’s eeeeeeeeeeevil. That’s very nice.
I tend not to see the point in arguing with ideologues. You’ve decided that OMG ORGANIZED RELIGION IS TEH EVILLL!!1!!1one!1 Fine. Bully for you. And lucky for me, now I know not to take you seriously.
Well, glad I could educate you, then.
Yes, it would be much quicker. Exactly what point do you think you are proving, here? If Scientology preached only unprovable metaphysics, it would be no different than any other religion. That’s what religion is supposed to do: give people answers for questions that aren’t answerable through secular, scientific means. The problem with Scientology is it teaches things that are not only contrary to modern science, but in such a way as to present a clear and definite danger to its adherents. Creationism is stupid, but you aren’t going to have untreated manic-depressives running loose because of it.
Did you miss the earlier link to the Scientologist’s Fair Game policy? It specifically mandates lying in order to ruin the lives and/or reputations of people perceived to be “enemies” of Scientology. It was penned by L. Ron himself. Lying in order to harm others is an explicit part of the Scientology doctrine.
No, but it is necessary if you want to offer criticism of that mythology without sounding like an idiot.
Well, as in God Created Earth? Sure, but most churches accept Evolution with no problems at all. Some even point to it as evidence of God’s guiding hand. Mostly, they have no problem with the calculated scientific age of the Earth, either. Very very few Christian churches push what you woudl call Creationism.
Ok, enough with the hijack, OK? Start another PIT or GD thread, willya.
Back to Scientology and the OP. Please.
Good work, Weirddave, BTW, took guts.
Hmm…guess I touched a nerve. Of course I’m right, so I discount your baseless insult.
Well, I guess there is that 
Bottom line for me is yeah, Scientology is wacked, but no moreso than any other mythology. It’s just newer wackiness.
Yes, thank you, I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it there for a while.
(Far be it for me to peer into the maw of a free equine, but what took guts? I didn’t shhot that film if that’s what you’re thinking)
I never said or even implied organized religion was evilll, evil, or even bad. That’s what my first post was about; me not agreeing with, or understanding what the big freakout is over scientology. I don’t find them any more threatening or interesting than any other organized religion, nor do I give any more or less weight to their doctrines. That’s not to say that they aren’t tied to some weird and scary stuff, but it’s not likely to touch me nor do I see how it’s likely to impact the average citizen. I believe people voluntarily join the organization, do they not?
Please don’t start with the “you need to research christianity’s tenets before you can have an opinion or I’ll call you stupid” tactic. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an atheist, but for arguments sake, let’s say I am. Is that not a valid belief system in your eyes? One either has faith or they don’t. I don’t need to read the entire bible to know that I don’t believe it. For the record, my family is Jewish, which technically makes me a Jew also, so I have had religious education; I rejected it long ago.
And you’ve never given me the impression that you take me or anyone else who doesn’t share your * opinions* (and that’s what they are, no matter how hostile or longwinded you want to get when you express them) seriously so I’m pretty sure I can continue to live with that 
It’s not a “tactic”, it’s the truth. If you’re trying to assess the validity of Christian doctrine, you need to be familiar with it. If you decide to offer up such assessments and they clearly reflect your unfamiliarity with the topic, I’m going to call you stupid. That’s because people who have opinions about topics they don’t understand are stupid. People who attempt to draw false equivalences like “Oh, every major religion does that!” when every major religion doesn’t do that are stupid. If you go around making proclamations about topics that you simply don’t understand, yes indeedy, that makes you stupid.
Now you’re making assessments of my beliefs without understanding them! See, now, if you weren’t attempting to engage in some immature argument about whose beliefs were best, you would recognize that this doesn’t relate to my personal religious beliefs at all. In fact, if you had bothered to ask before writing my down in the “religious” column, you would have found out that I’m not religious at all. Apparently the only way you can conceptualize a disagreement is as an argument between two people with conflicting views; perhaps when you grow up a little and no longer find it quite so important to pick sides in discussions, you will come to recognize why some of us don’t care for it.
Funny thing, incidentally: atheists don’t tolerate shitty reasoning any more than religious people. In fact, I’d venture to say a lot of us are a lot less tolerant of it.
Obviously not. But you better understand most of it before you decide to offer up your opinion about what its believers believe.
That’s very nice. Wait, no, it’s completely irrelevant. Making judgments about things you don’t understand is stupid no matter what religion you or your family are! None of this relates to my beliefs or yours; it fundamentally relates to the fact that it’s stupid to go around opining about matters you know nothing of. It is stupid in a box. It is stupid with a fox. It is stupid in Manila, it is stupid with a gorilla. It is stupid in a car, it is stupid in a bar. It is stupid for a Buddhist, it is stupid for a nudist. I don’t care what your own personal beliefs are and in attempting to boil this down to a personal disagreement over opinions, you have grossly misjudged my opinions. I am an atheist. I don’t believe in God. I don’t even consider the question relevant.
What’s funny about your attempt to diss me here is that you actually couldn’t be making a statement further from the truth. In fact, if you had any idea what you were talking about, you would recognize that there is no conflict whatsoever between my (lack of) religious beliefs and your (lack of) religious beliefs. I have explicitly not made this discussion about my personal beliefs, because they are wholly and completely not germane to the matter at hand. Not only that, but I have never been shy about criticizing statements by people who share my beliefs and opinions - hell, I started a pit thread once that lasted quite a few pages castigating leftists on the SDMB for their argument tactics, and you won’t find much of anyone to the left of me on the political scale. I’ve also made no secret of the fact that a lot of my favorite people around here have major differences in opinion from mine; what I value is the opportunity for a reasoned discussion with intelligent people who are capable of arguing rationally.
And since you have obviously fallen short of my standards, I can almost see why you might want to try to reassure yourself that I’m only acting this way because my opinions are in conflict with yours. Sure, it’s sort of pathetic. But at least you won’t have to recognize that the closest thing I’ve done to being unfair to you is to not be understanding and forgiving enough of your stupidity. So sure, chalk me up as a religious fundamentalist. That way you can pretend that the only possible reason someone would disagree with your idiotic statements is because of their wacko religion.
I watched the video a couple of days ago and haven’t been back. So just going on memory, I think the reporter could have done a better job. It seemed that his schtick was ‘Hey, I just want to ride the Ferris wheel. Why won’t you let me?’ and ‘Oh, yeah? Well what about this woman the Church killed?’
I would have liked it if, when he was asked if he had stopped beating his wife, he replied with ‘Have you stopped molesting children?’ Use their own ‘clever 13-year-old’ tactics against them. And I think he should have asked for a definition of ‘crimes’.
Well, let’s see:
-Operation Freakout
-Operation Snow White
-Fair Game
-Quentin Hubbard
Ex, could you link to that thread? I’d like to see if I can improve my arguments.
I dunno, I have a friend that’s a Scientologist and he’s a very nice, sane, and educated guy. Apparently he doesn’t follow it strictly by the book, but picks and chooses the stuff he agrees with. He assures me that Xenu is not taken seriously by him or any Scientologists he knows, and admits it’s a little embarassing.
I was raised Catholic and have recently become an agnostic, but this guy showed me a little bit of what they call “Study Technology” and I found myself amazed by how much the techniques worked for me. Personally I do find the past life stuff a little fishy, but I haven’t studied up on it and only a fool believes everything he reads on one-sided websites.
I’m also not sure about the anti-depressants being a world evil, but I do think we’ve gone a little overboard with medicating children for everything.
The subject does interest me though and I think some of you are being unfair, calling every Scientologist a nutcase because you all of a sudden have a degree in theology from a few Anti-Scientology websites.