How are the beliefs of scientology any more strange than those of Christianity?

Question

They both involve a series of unbelievable and impossible events taking place in order to believe.

There is absolutely no evidence that either one has any basis in reality, besides the word of their respective founders (Paul for Christianity, Hubbard for Scientology)

The only difference I can see is that scientology is newer and Scientologists are richer.

Answer 1

When a large number of people with a significant amount of power in society believe something it is a religion and questioning its validity is considered offensive.

When a small number of people do so it is a cult and fair game for ridicule and comedy.

There is no difference, of course, qualitatively in the claims made by both scientology and christianity. Both are supernatural and wholly unsubstantiated.

Mind you, Trey Parker and Matt Stone seem to have had problems the other way round getting away with a lot of christian-baiting but getting screwed for making fun of scientologists. Odd place, America. Full of contradictions.

Answer 2

It is free to be a Christan. You don't have to have a membership, buy a bunch of books, and get phone calls all the time asking why you missed a meeting.

I had some relatives that were Scientology's, they said it was like a freaking cult and they successfully got restraining orders on people cause they kept harassing them on the phone and even came to their house. They told me the donations they asked for were really high and required lots of work to be a member.

Answer 3

Christianity is a matter of Faith the Bible is real and so is Jesus Christ. he in himself was humble and simple scientiology on the other hand is a more materialistic religion that really doesn't make sense. the Bible talks about the things that would happen to mark the end of times such as wars, earthquakes and other disasters which we see are happening. these other religions are coming up because most people are empty and will grab on to anything to fulfil that void. Christianity is real pure and free it's a matter of you come as you are but your life changes for the better you don't remain the same.

Answer 4

One day a few years back a local deputy sheriff handed me a copy of a beautifully presented 590-page paperbound book entitled What Is Scientology? A guidebook to the world's fastest growing religion. He told me that someone just that week had delivered a big box of these books to the local county jail to be distributed without charge to any prisoner who would accept one. He thought that I might also be interested in seeing a copy. He was right. The subject of religion always interests me, and I am particularly interested in any religion that is said to be growing faster than all others worldwide.

Of course I had heard of Scientology before reading this book. In general, my impressions have not been positive, perhaps due in part to the decidedly negative disposition of the American media on the subject. The critical pieces have been ongoing and widespread, including the October '91 Reader's Digest article that termed Scientology a "dangerous cult...a racket disguised as a religion..." Five months earlier, Time magazine's cover story had referred to Scientology as a "thriving cult of greed and power...a ruthless global scam..." There are also all those multi-million dollar lawsuits that Scientology seems to constantly be filing. Many famous people like John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, and Tom Cruise are associated with Scientology, but often in controversial ways, as was the case when it was learned a few years ago that Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson was actually being used as bait to recruit her husband, Michael Jackson, into the church. All in all, it's been fairly difficult to be very objective in my analysis.

By reading this book, published by the Church of Scientology itself in 1993, I felt that perhaps I might be able to give Scientology a fairer hearing. I made a sincere attempt to compensate for my predisposed orthodox Christian bias and instinctive tendency to measure what I read against Christian Scripture. Yet even from a purely objective point of view it occurs to me that there would be problems with the credibility of Scientology on at least two counts. Let me address them separately, and directly, to any of our readers who may be scientologists. If you choose to respond, perhaps we can pursue the dialogue further.


If Scientology and Dianetics is "the only thing that can show you who you really are" (text, p431), what about all those who came before Scientology and Dianetics? Why would such a "helpful" and "tested" route to truth and self-improvement have been withheld (by God?) from the human race until one Lafayette Ron Hubbard finally came along in the middle of the twentieth century? The fact that Hubbard alleges Taoism to be "an ancestor to Scientology" and the scientologist "a first cousin of the Buddhist" notwithstanding, certainly no one had ever heard of ARC breaks, engrams, electropsychometers, pre-Clears, MEST, Operating Thetans, disconnection, and hatting before 1911. Might it rather be that this absolutely ingenious, brilliant, multi-talented man who traveled thousands of miles, spoke and wrote over 40 million words on the subject of Scientology during his lifetime, sold millions of books, and made millions of dollars, had actually, deliberately gone about fulfilling his own 1949 musing (related six years before establishing the Church of Scientology in W.D.C.), that "if a man wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."


How can Scientology be considered credible when it insists that it "respects" and "does not conflict with other religions" (text, p435) that clearly conflict with it? How can Scientology say "there is no attempt to change a person's beliefs, or to persuade him away from any religion to which he already belongs" (text, p435) when to identify with Scientology may necessarily involve the categorical denial of doctrines that a particular religion affirms? For instance, in terms of Scientology and Christianity, consider that Scientology "has no dogma concerning God" (text, p436) but Christianity does. Further, Scientology denies orthodox Christian teaching regarding hell, sin, the exclusivity of salvation through Christ ("There are probably many types of redemption", p435), and the fallen nature of man ("Scientology is based on the premise that man is basically good" (text, p434).

For Scientology to try to "include" Christianity is a little like the Mafia announcing that all FBI agents are cordially welcome to join the Mob. The two, by definition, stand in diametrical opposition to one another. You can¹t have it both ways and, by implying that you can, Scientology clearly loses credibility.

Sources and further references: What Is Scientology? (see above), The Phoenix Lectures, Hubbard, © 1969, Church of Scientology

Author: Daryl E. Witmer of AIIA Institute

Answer 5

Christianity developed through the teachings of annointed rabbis and brouth up through diligent prayer and exchange of divine teaching accented by miracles.

Scientology was made up by two guys on a Navy boat in the 1950's.

Answer 6

They aren't. The beliefs are equally as strange. Scientologists are just as gullible, naive and credulous as every other religion. God is imaginary, and so is Xenu

Answer 7

Science doesn't believe in a god and science believes in every ting to be proven before coming to a conclusion.

Christianity - every thing is according to the Bible !

Answer 8

Believing anything without proof is strange, but can be fun.

Answer 9

both are strange.