Why is Scientology singled out?

http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/1850125,CST-NWS-stein28.article

28, 2009

BY NEIL STEINBERG Sun-Times Columnist

Opening shot...

A company opens a storefront. Passersby are encouraged to have their stress levels analyzed by a gizmo called an electropsychometer. Based on those results, they are urged to buy books and vitamins.

If the device is bogus -- if it measures nothing -- well, the company might be found guilty of fraud, which is what a French court ruled this week against the Church of Scientology, which uses the electropsychometer in its rituals.

The easy response is to cheer the French court, to focus on the spurious aspects of Scientology.

But I'm not quite so comfortable with that. They claim to be a religion, and when the electropsychometer is stacked up against, oh, transubstantiation or reincarnation of any of the other physical claims of other faiths, it doesn't seem more illusionary than anything else. All faiths have their artifices -- that's why they're faiths. I mean, what real value does Kosher grape juice have over regular?

I'm not going to bat for Scientology -- there is definitely something ominous about it.

But, again, what religion is without malign aspects?

I can't help but wonder if the problem isn't that Scientology is more of a shell game than any other faith, but that it's merely something new.

Transubstantiation, for example, may be just as bogus as reading engrams, but Scientology is especially pernicious because they suck an awful lot of money from their members. Every time you get yourself hooked up to their electronic contraption you have to pay for it. Most mainstream religions only ask for donations (and some can be very insistent), but they don't demand payment of large sums for every ritual.

or maybe they go twice a year. They seem to ignore much of what the Pope says. Heck, many don't even know the name of the current Pope.

Friend of the family got chased across multiple states by them in the eighties; they'd track down his employers and start throwing false stories about him at them in the hopes of getting him fired, etc.

religious cults should be outlawed.

Being gay I have had my full up share of the bullshit served up by the evilgelicals and their kkkin.

Partly because of the monotheist belief that there can be no other gods.

It's a psychotherapy cult that was managed to get tax-exempt status in this country through shady methods. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Cowen/essays/nytimes.html

It is a cult at best. And really a highly sophisticated scam. I dislike the lies of all religions, but claiming that legally speaking the lie of transubstantiation of the host on par with a rigged personality test designed to sell expensive courses seems weak at best.

girlfriend almost as long. All of his family belonged. His gf worked in their offices and discovered somethings concerning money (he didn't tell me what) and they both left Scientology because they really felt they were had. Meanwhile, their family was ordered to turn their back on him, along with business associates. He took a tremendous financial hit.

:)

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On the one hand, I suppose I agree. But there are some that are, say, less obviously harmful. Fundy African churches that call for executing gay people . . . bad. On a scale of 1-10, they get a 1. Unitarian Universalists who, by and large, believe in living at peace with everyone . . . far less bad. Maybe an 8.5.

Scientologists just believe in sucking money from the richest people they can find. Bad - but nobody's dying yet. I give 'em a 6.

They are a freakish cult that tries its level best to inject itself into the halls of power in any society they finds themselves in.

This is one well-known case where a scientology follower was taken from a hospital and held for 17 days. In that time she died of torture and neglect.

http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

So no, they are not just ANY cult, but a really really pernicious group of control freaks. I am glad that the French busted their ass.

...or a scam masquerading as a religion.

Other religions are (hopefully) not trafficking in human labor.

Other religions don't have copyrights on their holy books, you can read them and centuries of expostion on the verses for free in the intertubes.

Other religions don't have policies like fair game and disconnection.

Other religions weren't made up by L.Ron Hubbard who has an interesting history in that he's done nothing he claimed to do, and done a shit load of things he never admitted to his adherents. He was also a crappy sci-fi author.

www.xenu.net also known as Operation Clambake is a great source with lots of primary sources in the form of 'church' documents and Testimony of former members. You'll never think of scientology as a mere bunch of amusing loons again. Google operation Snow White, operation freakout or Lisa MacPherson for more disturbing fun.

don't make you sign a contract promising you won't sue them when you take a class.

Other religions don't bully people into giving up life saving meds and bully these same people into using vitamins and health regimens instead that have no independent verification as to usefulness. Other people don't make their believers cease talking to Friends and family members.

Dear god... I really can't go on. These people ARE CRIMINALS!