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Question: How do seemingly intelligent people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta believe in a "religion" that is based on the theory that an alien warlord came to earth 75 million years ago with billions of frozen souls, placed them in and around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Those spirits then attached themselves to humans and that is the cause of all of the worlds problems?

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12-16-2016 , 11:47 AM

AdamSchwartz

Shippy McShiperson

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 8,521

How is it any more outrageous than other religions? They're all equally outlandish.

Spaceships, parting seas. talking snakes it's all the same.

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12-16-2016 , 12:17 PM

Detroit187

adept

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 840

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamSchwartz

How is it any more outrageous than other religions? They're all equally outlandish.

Spaceships, parting seas. talking snakes it's all the same.

Touch'e

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12-16-2016 , 01:19 PM

Pokerlogist

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Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 3,302

Equating Scientology with any major religion is a sign of wanton ignorance.

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12-16-2016 , 02:02 PM

dynamite22

journeyman

Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 214

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamSchwartz

How is it any more outrageous than other religions? They're all equally outlandish.

Spaceships, parting seas. talking snakes it's all the same.

Well Mormonism is arguably more outrageous than regular christianity

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12-16-2016 , 03:21 PM

AdamSchwartz

Shippy McShiperson

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 8,521

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Originally Posted by Pokerlogist

Equating Scientology with any major religion is a sign of wanton ignorance.

You spelled "believing in any of them" incorrectly.

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12-16-2016 , 05:06 PM

Zeno

Le Misanthrope

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 22,350

Quote:

Originally Posted by Detroit187

Question: How do seemingly intelligent people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta believe in a "religion" that is based on the theory that an alien warlord came to earth 75 million years ago with billions of frozen souls, placed them in and around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Those spirits then attached themselves to humans and that is the cause of all of the worlds problems?

The adjective intelligent should not be used in conjunction with the name Tom Cruise and/or John Travolta.

Last edited by Zeno; 12-19-2016 at 05:00 PM. Reason: Typo

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12-16-2016 , 10:46 PM

turd dust

enthusiast

Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 85

In fairness, they don't lead with Xenu. They start out by telling people it is compatible with Christianity and that it will help you get over your hangups and problems and succeed at life. You don't have to be stupid to be intrigued by that... just gullible.

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12-17-2016 , 10:58 AM

Detroit187

adept

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 840

I'm finding the A&E docu-series by Leah Remini to be very interesting. Is anyone else watching this? Has anyone seen the HBO documentary Going Clear : Scientology and the prison of belief ?

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12-17-2016 , 11:52 AM

#10

tirtep

journeyman

Join Date: Nov 2016 Posts: 277

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeno

The adjective intelligent should not used in conjunction with the name Tom Cruise and/or John Travolta.

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12-17-2016 , 12:11 PM

#11

Detroit187

adept

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 840

http://tonyortega.org/up-the-bridge-...total-freedom/

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12-17-2016 , 01:57 PM

#12

tame_deuces

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 17,817

You start off slow, provide something plausible, then semi-plausible, you make sure people have something invested (time, effort, friends or even money), then you make it polemic (us vs them), then you present threats - and by that time you can say pretty much anything, because people want it to be true and many will even go the extent of accepting what they know is lies.

It's not unique. Most are guilty of it at some point, though in less outrageous fashions.

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12-17-2016 , 04:44 PM

#13

W0X0F

sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,829

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamSchwartz

How is it any more outrageous than other religions? They're all equally outlandish.

Spaceships, parting seas. talking snakes it's all the same.

^this x1000

I choose Pastafarianism. The Flying Spaghetti Monster watches over me and keeps me safe in his noodly appendages.

R'amen.

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12-18-2016 , 08:00 PM

#14

Inzaghi

journeyman

Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 215

The Christian story, at the time of its origination, would have seemed just as bizarre and unbelievable as Scientology. I think OPs question could be re-worded to:

Why do these bizarre stories, called "religions", surface?

Scientology and Mormonism are very new religions. So the aspects of society that were conducive to religious stories at the birth of Christianity and Islam clearly still exist today.

Is it a bad thing that religion exists? If the answer is "no", we have no problem. If yes, what do we change about society to ensure that these fabricated stories no longer mushroom?

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12-18-2016 , 10:14 PM

#15

Dr. Meh

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Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 3,337

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inzaghi

No it wouldn't. Christianity fulfilled numerous prophecies of the Jews. Prophecies that existed for thousands of years.

Scientology sprung up from the mind of a science fiction writer who said to get rich, start a religion. There was no basis or foundational prophecy fulfilled because it's completely fictional. Christianity is factual.

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12-19-2016 , 02:57 AM

#16

AdamSchwartz

Shippy McShiperson

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 8,521

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Meh

Christianity is factual.

Yes, in the way that facebook news is factual.

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12-19-2016 , 07:58 AM

#17

dynamite22

journeyman

Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 214

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Meh

What do you mean by 'factual'? Is it 'not completely fictional'?

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12-19-2016 , 08:56 AM

#18

Dr. Meh

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Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 3,337

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynamite22

What do you mean by 'factual'? Is it 'not completely fictional'?

No, it's factual. To believers like me, the Bible is not just a holy book but a historical record of events. It has been backed up numerous times by archeological evidence as well as by non-biblical historical accounts.

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12-19-2016 , 11:09 AM

#19

Louis Cyphre

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Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 11,025

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Meh

Examples?

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12-19-2016 , 11:18 AM

#20

Detroit187

adept

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 840

Just to be "clear". I grew up in the late 70's - early 80's. Parents were not religious and neither am I. Raised on a steady diet of punk / hardcore music that denounced a " come buy the good news philosophy". Not saying that religion is bad if it makes a person look inside himself to find the answers to a better self.

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12-19-2016 , 11:27 AM

#21

Detroit187

adept

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 840

Side note: The president of the Church of Scientology International ( Heber Jentzsch )has not been seen in public since 2004 and the wife ( Shelly Misgavige ) of the leader of the Church of Scientology has not been seen since 2007.

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12-19-2016 , 11:48 AM

#22

Inzaghi

journeyman

Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 215

That's probably because they lead lives of such extravagance and elitism that they daren't be seen in the public mixing with mere mortals.

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12-19-2016 , 12:09 PM

#23

Detroit187

adept

Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 840

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inzaghi

That's probably because they lead lives of such extravagance and elitism that they daren't be seen in the public mixing with mere mortals.

The International H.Q. for the "Church" is called Gold Base. 700 acre compound surrounded by fencing with razor wire so no one can get in or out.

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12-19-2016 , 01:24 PM

#24

Dr. Meh

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Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 3,337

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louis Cyphre

Examples?

There are several sites that discuss this. Here's a link to one:

http://www.bethinking.org/is-the-bib...-new-testament

Feel free to Google for others, if you're interested. Fwiw, even Richard Dawkins acknowledged the archeological evidence as being prevalent. He just didn't believe in the divinity aspect.

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12-19-2016 , 03:42 PM

#25

Louis Cyphre

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 11,025

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Meh

I was hoping you could explain this in your own words. I have read about the first dozen examples in your link. None of them were in any way interesting. No one denies that there is archeological evidence that Christians, Romans, boats or graves existed in the 1st century. These aren't remarkable findings.
Proving that King's Cross Station actually exists does not prove that Harry Potter is real. It only proves that the author was aware of King's Cross Station.
The utter lack of (archeological) evidence for important biblical events like Exodus, the flood or a roman census seems far more significant.

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