But don’t they believe in space men? I have trouble seeing how this differs (from an outsider-standpoint --from my religious standpoint I see a huge difference) from a belief in angels. Don’t they have beliefs concerning the hereafter, and reincarnation? It’s also true that they allow membership in other religions, but, I am not sure that on any of these points they differ from Buddhism, which most consider a religion.
The Belief in Angels relates to a person’s belief in a spiritual realm containing spiritual beings. The belief in Space-men is the belief in high order physical beings from another planet.
Both are similar, only in that the belief in them requires faith.
But some people, if they believe in anything at all, believe Angels are the result of mans early inability to concieve of higher physical beings.
What’s that quote about any advanced technology that can’t be understood will be seen as magic?
Cruise, who is currently promoting the Steven Spielberg blockbuster War of the Worlds, is a follower of the Church of Scientology which is against psychiatric medicine.
On Friday, the actor entered a heated discussion with Today host Matt Lauer, when he suggested some people could benefit from drugs such as Ritalin, which is prescribed to children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
“You’re glib. You don’t even know what Ritalin is,” Cruise told Lauer on Friday night’s show.
“Psychiatry is a pseudo science,” he said. “You don’t know the history of psychiatry - I do,” he added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4629147.stm
He knows, y’know. All his body thetans told him, and they were there!
Man is a spiritual being. I believe that, and Scientology also professes to believe that. Admittedly, the spaceman stuff is going to be second-hand, but, as reported, their teaching includes that a bunch of people were blown up in volcanoes and their spirits now cling to the living.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I am not defending them. But they look like at least a pseudo-religious cult, and not a purely secular one to me.
“Is Tom Cruise the anti-Christ or what?”
… has anybody tried to shave his scalp yet? The ‘telling’ mark of the beast ought to be there…
Whatever about being the antichrist, he’s not a witch. When he was squirted with water recently, he didn’t melt, and if I know anything after watching the Wizard of Oz … What were we talking about???
I am a practicing Witch… I bear no mark, I am not anti- Christian and I do not melt when wet. However, when my beautiful bride of 18 years steps out of the shower… I do.
Joseph, what a lovely thing to say. 18 years and still in love.
I was married 24 years in May, and my hubby and I still feel that way about each other, too.
M
That alone should qualify it for standing among the world’s great religions.
Thank you WD. My wife (She Who Must Be Obeyed) is the very center of my universe. 18 years passed very quickly, which is a shame as I would have preferred it to linger far longer. 
… sorry for the hijack… 
Many people have died for their Faith. If somebody holds a gun/sword to you head and says recant your beliefs and you take the bullet, you are hardly weak! This “religion is a crutch” argument, often used by those without faith, is one of the weakest, most poorly considered, lazy, un-rational arguments I’ve ever heard in my life.
I recently met a lady who came to my church many years ago, but left because she didn’t wish to pursue her beliefs. I asked her how she was and she said great. Now she wasn’t trying to put her faith into practice, her life was much easier - I knew exactly what she meant. She was now free to think whatever she wanted to, without answer to anybody. I am not, but it’s a constraint I consciously chose to live by. Its not weak, its a huge challenge! My faith constantly challenges the way I think and causes me to exercise my mind on subjects I otherwise wouldn’t consider. It constantly challenges how I think about other people and what I do about their suffering. And yet, if I reach out to those who are less fortunate than me in other countries, I’m an imperialist bully imposing my beliefs on others. Ask the Guyanese lady whose children’s education is paid for by my church (her husband died of what in this country is an easily curable ailment) if she feels imposed upon.
Its people who dismiss others beliefs with tired, ill considered, second hand clichés and put-downs (masquerading as rational arguments) that are truly weak of mind. They use these lazy arguments to avoid having their own comfortable belief system challenged.
You’re married to an 18 year-old?!! oooh you lucky b… !
Yessir! And she doesn’t much care for Tom Cruise either. 
I stand by my statement. There are cults that are inherently predatory and take advantage of the weaknesses of followers and Scientology is one of them. Maybe they could be better characterised as parasitic, i.e., one group or individual benefitting at the expense of the other’s vitality.
As I have said before, I am an atheist. However, I do recognize an intangible quality of humanity which is commonly called spirituality. Perhaps it is rooted in a need to be part of something larger than the individual. (If the good Dr. Wisely is perusing this thread, I’m sure he could enrich the discussion on this point.) Religion is one way of answering that need. At its best, it channels spiritual needs into building and supporting the community, enabling individuals to become saints, heros, great spirits. At its worst, it is just as parasitic and life-sapping as any cult, profiting from that need like a pusher from a junkie.
And I would suggest that any church that has been around long enough has produced examples of both.
There. Once again, I have come down firmly and unambiguously on the fence. (I don’t hurt myself because I know the Secret of the Philosopher’s Cup.)
Roger
I would argue that she is not thinking (if she said it was easier). I have seen religion used in the same way. Follow the dogma and justify what you want to do because someone else told you what to think.
Much like the legal system, people can follow the letter of the law rather than thinking about the reason for the law in the first place.
Yep, it always amazes me how people say a thing like the enemy is stupid. This lets people let their guard down. When presented with ideas from the opposing camp, if they are at all well thought out, it shows that they might be intelligent, and causes doubt about other “Truths” they have been told. Learning the mindset of another person (rather than dismissing them as beneath you)can help a person change for the better, but again that involves thinking.
I agree, Walden. I don’t think of the anti-Christ as a single Pope, political figure, or politician like many people do. There seem to be lots of anti-Christs walking around.
Now you just leave C&F out of this. 
Cults almost always have a single person who is the “leader.” Is this Dale?
No. I know for a fact that Dale is married. 