Scientology's real failings.

Big Les · 14th January 2009, 04:08 PM

With all the hoo-hah over Jett Travolta boiling down to gossip and speculation, I thought it was time to take a look at Scientology claims. One good thing that has come of the former incident though, is that some have focussed upon the current "interpretation" of Scientology "doctrine". Although in comparison to mainstream religion it is still very proscriptive and hardly at all progressive, there is still room for an argument that Scientology is moving and changing with the times - that critics are hung up on the past.

I think this recent video series (amongst other things!) shows otherwise;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvoNUOIDT9I

21 parts - worth the watch even if your brain feels like its melting after a while.

The same old 1950s Dianetics pseudoscience, repackaged for the attention deficit generation, as far as I can see. All I've seen in 9 years of observation and 1 year of activism tells me that Scientology is stuck in the past, unable to adapt to the times, becoming less relevant as days go by. Of course, this doesn't mean that it won't continue to gain some adherents, and it certainly doesn't mean that individuals won't make some reinterpretations where possible. That, however, tends to result in them having to leave the "church" and set up on their own or join a smaller group - going "Free Zone".

Monketey Ghost · 14th January 2009, 04:12 PM

Big, Big, BigBigBig Big, Big, you -you're glib. You're glib, Big.

I'm frightened that otherwise intelligent seeming people get taken by this stuff. I'm among those who can't fathom the appeal. This should be a good thread.

Big Les · 14th January 2009, 04:17 PM

I can't be glib. I'm wearing a black roll-neck and a manic grin as I type this

As a bonus, a link to the wikileaks version of the "Assists Handbook". The "Bring Back to Life Assist" on p217 always seemed a particularly dangerous aspect of belief to me. It's one thing to suggest that you might see your loved one in another life. But to think you might be able to bring them back from death itself? And has a Scientologist ever gone for the MDC, I wonder?

ETA - Scans of the necromancy pages of a modern edition of the assists handbook here and here.

14th January 2009, 04:08 PM	#1
Big Les Not so much a medium as a large Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 5,004	Scientology's real failings. With all the hoo-hah over Jett Travolta boiling down to gossip and speculation, I thought it was time to take a look at Scientology claims. One good thing that has come of the former incident though, is that some have focussed upon the current "interpretation" of Scientology "doctrine". Although in comparison to mainstream religion it is still very proscriptive and hardly at all progressive, there is still room for an argument that Scientology is moving and changing with the times - that critics are hung up on the past. I think this recent video series (amongst other things!) shows otherwise; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvoNUOIDT9I 21 parts - worth the watch even if your brain feels like its melting after a while. The same old 1950s Dianetics pseudoscience, repackaged for the attention deficit generation, as far as I can see. All I've seen in 9 years of observation and 1 year of activism tells me that Scientology is stuck in the past, unable to adapt to the times, becoming less relevant as days go by. Of course, this doesn't mean that it won't continue to gain some adherents, and it certainly doesn't mean that individuals won't make some reinterpretations where possible. That, however, tends to result in them having to leave the "church" and set up on their own or join a smaller group - going "Free Zone".
	__________________ "Feeling you’ve done something is not quite the same as the empirical scientific proof." -Stephen Fry The BS Historian

14th January 2009, 04:12 PM	#2
Monketey Ghost Body of Work Join Date: May 2003 Location: I'm on your screen! Posts: 14,807	Big, Big, BigBigBig Big, Big, you -you're glib. You're glib, Big. I'm frightened that otherwise intelligent seeming people get taken by this stuff. I'm among those who can't fathom the appeal. This should be a good thread.
	__________________ _{The membership of this forum is henceforth to refer to me as potato-headed Bobby} _{SSKCAS, member in long standing}

14th January 2009, 04:17 PM	#3
Big Les Not so much a medium as a large Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 5,004	I can't be glib. I'm wearing a black roll-neck and a manic grin as I type this As a bonus, a link to the wikileaks version of the "Assists Handbook". The "Bring Back to Life Assist" on p217 always seemed a particularly dangerous aspect of belief to me. It's one thing to suggest that you might see your loved one in another life. But to think you might be able to bring them back from death itself? And has a Scientologist ever gone for the MDC, I wonder? ETA - Scans of the necromancy pages of a modern edition of the assists handbook here and here.
	__________________ "Feeling you’ve done something is not quite the same as the empirical scientific proof." -Stephen Fry The BS Historian Last edited by Big Les; 14th January 2009 at 04:22 PM.