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Old 11-16-2014, 06:47 AM
 
Location: S. Wales.
50,083 posts, read 20,582,163 times
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Hubbard occupies a position somewhere between Adamski and Joseph Smith. Smith began by telling stories that were more to do with hidden American history than religion. He then produced a book (written in a stylistic mix of James Fennimore Cooper and the Acts of the apostles) that purports to set out a religious history of Americans originating from Judea. He acquired a religion as it were by assembling disciples and making a takeover -bid for the cult of the 'Leatherwood prophet' (as I recall). He then exploited his religion increasingly for his own benefit. Including of course, helping himself to all the women he wanted.

Adamski began with an interest in flying saucers and his initial accounts (1) including close encounters with Venusians became a cult, rather, and it was taking on the character of a 'Space brothers' religion with Adamski as the patriarch preacher.

Hubbard's Thetan thing began as a series of sci fi stories, (kept going and even filmed, I am sure, by Scientology money) and, with an eye to the very profitable psychiatry industry, he linked his Thetan aliens with psychiatry ('Clearing') into a nice little scam called 'Dianetics'. When his efforts to put the whole boiling on a scientific level failed (the scientist -disciple he gave the task could not make it work), he turned it into a religion (which has as the central tenet and Doga, Thou Shalt Not Ask Awkward Questions).The rest is history - adroitly handling a takeover by rebranding Dianetics as 'Scientology' and letting Dianetics wither on the vine) and the sea Orgs when he and his crypto -religion was declared persona non grata everywhere but the USA, which also has recognized the Moonies, for heaven's sake.

It may be a valid point that scientology is a religion for atheists, though in fact its sheer loopiness and oppressive cultishness made it no choice for me, and Buddhism was the option, but the thinking atheist (TM) will surely reject it for the same reason they reject Christianity - not because they don't want to believe in a god, but because they cannot believe in what is batscat crazy.

I think that Ricky Gervaise may have hinted (in his infamous Oscar's speech) that the attraction it has is a recognized religion that does not have an anti -gay dogma.

P.s. I regard scientology as a religion as is Buddhism, since they both have a scientifically and evidentially dubious (and therefore faith -based) belief in an entity or entities (Thetans, Karma) that affects and influences us and can be propitiated or dealt with in ways that benefits us in this or the next life.

P.ps. In this way Astrology, though equally dubious, is not a religion as stars and planets exist. It is the claim to how they affect us that maes it, not a religion, but a a non -science.

(1) I recall that his initial account was first self -published as a sci -fi story, but I may be mis-remembering, there.

Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 11-16-2014 at 07:43 AM..
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