Homestar Runner Wiki Forum

Holy bigoted topic batman!

Good grief peoples... So what if scientology is a little "weird", I am postive that the same thing could be said about any number of things you do/believe (religious or not).

To the original poster: Asking a group of people who were brought together by an internet comic probably isn't the best method for getting information. A better bet would be to check out their official site:
http://www.scientology.org/

Or perhaps finding a scientologist in your area and talking with them

To everyone else posting about what a "cult" scientology is, or how crazy people must be to follow it: Who are you to say that it isn't true? What if someone were to start posting about how something you follow was "crazy" and "how you would have to be stupid to follow it". Personally I don't believe in scientology, and I have no desire to start, BUT I am open minded enough to let other users believe what they want to believe.

As for websites like clambake.org
You need to realize that this site is run by people who are not scientologists. They may be telling you the truth, but why should they? They exist to discourage people from following something (namely, scientology). Every bit of information on that site is going to be skewed to that fact.

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I contend that a better idea would be to ask Wikipedia.

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I know exactly how I would feel, Stu... That's why I said I would like to look into it, just to see what the deal is.

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

I think just about any internet resource is going to be flawed. But I do understand why you are pointing people away from the official site. The official site is going to be just as skewed as clambake.org (only this time in the opposite direction).

I was going to post that in my original post, but got a little distracted

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we are rational people who can tell the difference between reality -- or at least plausability -- and fantasy or fiction. i'm not telling anyone what to believe, but Scientology is STUPID and WRONG and it's not bigoted or closed-minded to say so, just like it's not bigoted or closed-minded to say that the moon isn't made of green cheese, just because there are some people who think that it is.

Wikipedia is so awesome, it should have it's own religion.

Though I'm surpsied the U.S. hasn't declared it has nuclear weapons yet, since it's an example of a working "communist" concept

i like Wikipedia too, but there are plenty of articles on there that are lies from beginning to end. just like any other resource, i guess!

How can it not be bigoted... Your example of comparing it to the moon being made of cheese is way off base. We have undeniable proof of what the moon is made of. People have been there, studies have been done. What studies have been done to prove that scientology is wrong? I agree that common sense leans towards it being untrue, but in no way does that prove it is wrong.

I fail to see how that isn't bigoted

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dude... Scientology isnt true, One of my teachers went to College with L Ron Hubbard, and L Ron Bet Him $500 that he could make up a religion based on total BS and get rich and famous for it. in the end, he didnt need the $500, because once he did get big and famous, he didnt come to collect the money.

okay, once again, noone here is gonna belive me.

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Why should I believe you? You are some random Joe on the internet. There is no reason to consider what you are telling me is true.

Come up with some real evidence before you start posting here, dude.

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Dude, at least try to come up with an original story next time.

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I pointed out two reasons that make it a cult, rather than a religion: it charges money for the services other religions offer for free, and it does not reveal its doctrine openly to all prospective members. Real religions aren't out to get your money.

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You know the definition of a cult, right?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cult

I assume you are talking about #1. But check out the rest of the definitions.

As for keeping certain portions of their "religion" private from non-members (or members without as much authority) I am just guessing that many religions do that. (I am sure there are things the Pope knows that no one else does). However, I am not looking for a religious argument (debate)... I just want to see some open mindedness.

(To be completely honest, I wasn't referring to your posts as much as I was referring to the "Scientology is dumb because my mom's college roommate told me so" poster(s))

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it's not bigoted because Scientology is patently ridiculous, and you don't have to do studies to determine that. i'm not telling them what they can and can't believe -- they can believe whatever [omitted] thing they want, but i reserve the right to say that what they believe is stupid and wrong. they can feel free to say the same thing about what i believe. but i shouldn't have to be forced to admit that anything that anyone believes has an equal chance of being true as anything else, because that's just not the case. there are things that i think are plausible but wrong, so i may disagree with them but i still don't fault others for believing. then there are other things that are just absurd, and i see no reason to pretend that they're otherwise. Scientology falls into this latter category.

in fact, nearly every religion excludes the possibility of any religion except itself being correct, and that's not bigotry, it's just logical reasoning.

[Edit by InterruptorJones: Watch yourself.]

Let's go back to the dictionary for this one:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=bigot


I don't see anything in that definition about only applying to things you believe. Regardless of the topic, if you are intolerant of it, then you are being a bigot! Either learn to accept that or live your life completely tolerant of everything!



I would argue that it is bigotry. But people seem to put to much negative emphasis on certain words. It's also prejudicial, but I imagine that you don't like being accused of doing that, do you?

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Cobalt, are you a Scientologist?

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I think his last post makes it abundantly clear that he IS NOT a scientologist...

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

so then this is just a debate as too weather or not you can call Scientology a load of BS? on that mater... yes... yes you can, but scientologists just wont like you.

Take That Tom Cruise!

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Well, how do you know your religion isn't a load of BS? If you really look at it alot of religions are a bit crazy. The question basically boils down to what you want to put your faith into.

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you see... the irony of that is that i know my Religion is total BS, i just follow it...just....just because i can. hrmm.. you knwo.. your right.

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but i'm not intolerant of all those who differ from my own group, religion, race or politics; like i said before, there are plenty of people who hold beliefs that i think are wrong for whatever reason, but they're not implausible beyond comprehension. i don't believe in Buddhism or Islam, for example, but i don't think that they are so impossible that no one in their right mind could believe them. i have my reasons for disbelieving, just like their adherents have their reasons for believing. Scientology isn't like that, though. i'm only intolerant of world-views that are self-evidently ridiculous.

besides which, i am only intolerant towards the idea itself, not the people who hold it. i may think they're gullible or dumb, based on the fact that anyone who believes such a thing must be by definition, but i would never say that they aren't deserving of all the same rights as i am, or anyone else is. i'm intolerant against nonsense, yes. that doesn't make me a bigot, not even to the OED.




it's not prejudicial either, because i haven't prejudged; i've made a judgement based on the evidence at hand and on logical reasoning. i'll grant that it's discriminatory, if you like, in the sense that discrimination entails telling the difference between things that are different. i discriminate against ideas that seem to me to be ludicrious. i think anyone who wouldn't do the same is a fool.[/i][/b]

Here's the basics of Scientology, information from Wikipedia:

L Ron Hubbard founded it about fifty years ago or so, and now it's followed by heaps of people including lots of celebrities. Basic beliefs are that a person's (or "thetan's") immortal mind is reincarnated over and over into different bodies, and that people are basically "good" but become bad because of the various hang-ups and mistakes and such they accumulate, and the object is to get rid of all that stuff through a process called "auditing" (which seems to me to be a lot like a form of counselling) so you can become "Clear". And a step above "Clear" is to be an "Operating Thetan", which is where it all starts to get kinda mystical.

There's also a lot of stuff about the history of the universe which is ridiculously implausible because a lot of stuff that was supposed to have happened - including the "Xenu incident", which has something to do with an alien called Xenu and some volcanoes - supposedly predate the now-known age of the universe. Scientology's also copped a lot of flak with accusations of brainwashing, blackmail, and special treatment for celebrities. These are where the bad reputation comes from.

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