I can’t make you see that they’re not same if you don’t see it for yourself.

I think you misunderstand my intentions — I’m not trying to say that the two religions are the same, since theologically they’re quite different (although Scientology has its own messianic overtones).

What I’m suggesting is that Christians, Scientologists, and others examine their beliefs from the perspective of an outsider. At the very least, this would help people better articulate their faith. It might also help religious people lighten up a bit if they understood why some people might see their beliefs as ridiculous.

I’m not naive enough to think that a little objectivity and humor will end all the religious violence and strife in the world. There are usually ethnic and political components to the most vicious religious conflicts, and people in the Third World lack the educational or cultural framework to make these comparisons. If those of us in the privileged First World countries can put an end to our petty squabbles, however, we might be in a better position to mediate the bloody religious and ethnic feuds that have caused so much senseless death.

I suspect that I have a few years on you. I’ve studied the Old and New Testaments for many years, decades. I’ve also read most the pertinent Scientology materials - the OT levels and such.

You’re making some assumptions about my background that may not be valid. I’ve had broad religious exposure over the course of my almost 30 years. I’ve studied the precepts and practices of many faiths and have in-depth knowledge of Christianity in particular (and Judaism, Buddhism, and Neo-Paganism to a somewhat lesser extent). I’ve found spiritual truth in the teachings of most religions I’ve studied, and think they’re all aiming for the same goal: forging a connection between the human and the divine.

And even as fiction they’re not remotely the same as 1950’s sci-fi drivel of L. Ron Hubbard.

I suspect that I have a few years on you. I’ve studied the Old and New Testaments for many years, decades. I’ve also read most the pertinent Scientology materials - the OT levels and such.

I can’t make you see that they’re not same if you don’t see it for yourself. All I can do is encourage you to read, discover, think, and never stop searching.

Peace.

Scientology is literally at war with psychiatry

Kind of like the way some Christians are at war with evolutionary biology?

…having to do with .. and hold onto your hat .. their belief that human ills are due to being covered with clingy, brainwashed space-alien ghosts…

Yep, that sounds pretty kooky. How about the belief that God formed the first man from clay, then breathed life into his nostrils? Or believing that humanity fell from God’s favor because a talking snake tricked a naked lady into eating an apple? As origin myths go, I’d say Scientology and Christianity are about on par for overall zaniness.

It’s easy to point a finger at someone else’s religion and laugh at the silly things they believe in. It’s harder, and more instructive, to find humor in the absurdities of one’s own faith.

It doesn’t belong in the same senetence with Christioanity