Someone explain Scientology to me ...

[NitaX]

Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan both had some comments about what happens if you divorce a Scientologist and how ugly it all gets. I know nothing about these folks and their shenanigans. What's the rundown?

[basilosaurus]

Have you seen the southpark episode? It's actually a really good background on their theology.

For the craziness of the church, read the new yorker article. It's long, but it will probably answer all your questions.

www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright

[NitaX]

I remember the South Park controversy since that's why Hayes quit, but I don't remember the deets from the episode.

[pixy0stix]

www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s09e12-trapped-in-the-closet

[basilosaurus]

www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104274/what-scientologist-actually-believe

It's only 3 minutes. You need to watch.

[NitaX]

Oh Pixy, I love you.
*takes her laptop and curls up in bed to watch South Park*

[basilosaurus]

Lol at the cross posting.

The clip I linked is just the part on what they believe. If you have the time, the whole ep is worth watching.

[pixy0stix]

Jul 9, 2012 22:52:26 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Lol at the cross posting.

The clip I linked is just the part on what they believe. If you have the time, the whole ep is worth watching.

Watch the whole thing!

Then watch a random episode. Then another random episode.

;D

::skips off to watch South Park::

[Deleted]

This is one of the key reasons why Scientology is considered a cult as opposed to a religion, given that Christianity is chockabock full of things that would sound more than hinky to a person who'd never heard of it.

Basically, anyone who doesn't believe full faith in COS can be labeled a suppressive person and should be cut off from your life regardless of what position they held before. Oh, your mom expresses doubts about COS? Suppressive person alert! /ACTIVATE SHUN.

It doesn't help that wrt to celebrity and the entertainment industry, there are a lot of scientologists running around and they can make things very nasty for someone who wants to break away but I don't necessarily have any examples to point to. Nicole Kidman's career would be banging if she hadn't shot her face full of cooking oil or something so clearly they didn't work their wiles on her.

[Deleted]

Pretty simple to explain - a bunch of nonsense packaged as something meaniningful and advertised as if it is something only really pious people can understand. Its used as a way to control people and squeeze a bunch of money out of them for those that invented it, as well as a way to hate on other groups and act superior.

Just like all the others really, only newer, smaller, and more aggressive.

[mimosas]

Jul 9, 2012 22:42:54 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Have you seen the southpark episode? It's actually a really good background on their theology.

For the craziness of the church, read the new yorker article. It's long, but it will probably answer all your questions.

www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright

I just finished this article this morning. It was SO interesting and really comprehensive. Google Shelly Miscavige. She is (was?) the wife of the leader now. They "fell out of favor" and she's been missing since 2007. WTF?? How does that happen? The New Yorker article hinted at more disappearances, but I'm googling more now.

[NitaX]

Mimosas - I want to say that is who Anderson had on his show last night. I only heard bits of the interview since I was trying to get food.

[mimosas]

Jul 10, 2012 9:26:14 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Mimosas - I want to say that is who Anderson had on his show last night. I only heard bits of the interview since I was trying to get food.

Looks like that was a different one - Astra Woodcraft.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2170761/Astra-Woodcrafts-terrifying-ordeal-hands-Scientology.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Literally no one has seen Shelly Miscavige since she pissed her powerful Scientology leader husband off in 2007.

[NitaX]

Hold up - home girl is MISSING??? Or is she just in hiding?

[EloiseWeenie]

Jul 10, 2012 10:14:40 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Hold up - home girl is MISSING??? Or is she just in hiding?

I wish I could remember the article I read, but some believe she is being held at some COS base (if I'm remembering correctly, someone that sorts mail has her put aside and taken to some base). I want to say this came from TC's old handler's blog, but I'm not sure. . . sorry for no link

[debatethis]

Jul 10, 2012 10:23:45 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

Jul 10, 2012 10:14:40 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Hold up - home girl is MISSING??? Or is she just in hiding?

I wish I could remember the article I read, but some believe she is being held at some COS base (if I'm remembering correctly, someone that sorts mail has her put aside and taken to some base). I want to say this came from TC's old handler's blog, but I'm not sure. . . sorry for no link

Yep. She's been "disappeared" for a few years now and she's not the only one who had an altercation with COS and also disappeared.

[chichimi]

Its the study of keeping Tom Cruise relevant, no?

[starlily]

Jul 10, 2012 10:42:13 GMT -5 debatethis said:

Jul 10, 2012 10:23:45 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

I wish I could remember the article I read, but some believe she is being held at some COS base (if I'm remembering correctly, someone that sorts mail has her put aside and taken to some base). I want to say this came from TC's old handler's blog, but I'm not sure. . . sorry for no link

Yep. She's been "disappeared" for a few years now and she's not the only one who had an altercation with COS and also disappeared.

Our local news featured a couple that broke away from COS. They both had been scientologists since they were kids, and went to SeaOrg, but the H fell out of favor, so the church stated pressuring the W to divorce him. She was an assistant to some bigwig (Tom Cruise's best man at one of his weddings). Their story was all kinds of crazy, but at one point, the church forced the H into some sort of "rehab" program which seemed like boot camp, while forcing the wife to live in near isolation at a trailer elsewhere. They were not allowed to have contact or see each other for years. Eventually the H escaped, the W divorced him after still being held in isolation, but the H continued to try to save her. Ultimately he managed to sneak a cell phone to her in a package & she hopped the fence one night as he waited for her. The whole thing sounded like an insane movie plot.

[NitaX]

COS = Crazy Ass Cult.

[heyjude]

The beliefs aren't any weirder than any other religion. What's weird is that people in this day in age of verifiable truths and wide spread knowledge would go along with it. Same goes for Mormonism, IMO.

[Deleted]

Jul 10, 2012 11:29:11 GMT -5 starlily said:

Our local news featured a couple that broke away from COS. They both had been scientologists since they were kids, and went to SeaOrg, but the H fell out of favor, so the church stated pressuring the W to divorce him. She was an assistant to some bigwig (Tom Cruise's best man at one of his weddings). Their story was all kinds of crazy, but at one point, the church forced the H into some sort of "rehab" program which seemed like boot camp, while forcing the wife to live in near isolation at a trailer elsewhere. They were not allowed to have contact or see each other for years. Eventually the H escaped, the W divorced him after still being held in isolation, but the H continued to try to save her. Ultimately he managed to sneak a cell phone to her in a package & she hopped the fence one night as he waited for her. The whole thing sounded like an insane movie plot.

Yup. Juuuuuust like Methodism.

/sarcasm

[heyjude]

Please note that I'm not saying all religions are exactly the same in terms of practice. I'm saying COS belief system isn't any weirder than the belief system of other religions.

[One Girl In All The World]

Jul 10, 2012 11:29:11 GMT -5 starlily said:

Jul 10, 2012 10:42:13 GMT -5 debatethis said:

Yep. She's been "disappeared" for a few years now and she's not the only one who had an altercation with COS and also disappeared.

Our local news featured a couple that broke away from COS. They both had been scientologists since they were kids, and went to SeaOrg, but the H fell out of favor, so the church stated pressuring the W to divorce him. She was an assistant to some bigwig (Tom Cruise's best man at one of his weddings). Their story was all kinds of crazy, but at one point, the church forced the H into some sort of "rehab" program which seemed like boot camp, while forcing the wife to live in near isolation at a trailer elsewhere. They were not allowed to have contact or see each other for years. Eventually the H escaped, the W divorced him after still being held in isolation, but the H continued to try to save her. Ultimately he managed to sneak a cell phone to her in a package & she hopped the fence one night as he waited for her. The whole thing sounded like an insane movie plot.

[caden]

Jul 10, 2012 11:49:12 GMT -5 @habbsies said:

Jul 10, 2012 11:29:11 GMT -5 starlily said:

Our local news featured a couple that broke away from COS. They both had been scientologists since they were kids, and went to SeaOrg, but the H fell out of favor, so the church stated pressuring the W to divorce him. She was an assistant to some bigwig (Tom Cruise's best man at one of his weddings). Their story was all kinds of crazy, but at one point, the church forced the H into some sort of "rehab" program which seemed like boot camp, while forcing the wife to live in near isolation at a trailer elsewhere. They were not allowed to have contact or see each other for years. Eventually the H escaped, the W divorced him after still being held in isolation, but the H continued to try to save her. Ultimately he managed to sneak a cell phone to her in a package & she hopped the fence one night as he waited for her. The whole thing sounded like an insane movie plot.

Yup. Juuuuuust like Methodism.

/sarcasm

LOL, Habs. LOL.

[starlily]

Link to the story:

abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news&id=8730424

[cookiemdough]

Jul 10, 2012 11:49:12 GMT -5 @habbsies said:

Jul 10, 2012 11:29:11 GMT -5 starlily said:

Our local news featured a couple that broke away from COS. They both had been scientologists since they were kids, and went to SeaOrg, but the H fell out of favor, so the church stated pressuring the W to divorce him. She was an assistant to some bigwig (Tom Cruise's best man at one of his weddings). Their story was all kinds of crazy, but at one point, the church forced the H into some sort of "rehab" program which seemed like boot camp, while forcing the wife to live in near isolation at a trailer elsewhere. They were not allowed to have contact or see each other for years. Eventually the H escaped, the W divorced him after still being held in isolation, but the H continued to try to save her. Ultimately he managed to sneak a cell phone to her in a package & she hopped the fence one night as he waited for her. The whole thing sounded like an insane movie plot.

Yup. Juuuuuust like Methodism.

/sarcasm

omg lol!!!

[Deleted]

Habs you know for us atheists, all religions are weird/made up/whatever.
Of course you think Methodism is normal. But honestly for me it's just another religion which is inherently strange.
It's not meant to be an insult, it just is what it is.

Tht being said, I don't know of any missing Methodists the scientologists certainly win as far as keeping dissenters at bay.

[basilosaurus]

There was another article a few years back about the debts regular people incurred. Like 6 figure debts for just a regular non celebrity person. It was insane. I'll try to find it.

[pixy0stix]

Jul 10, 2012 12:51:53 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

But honestly for me it's just another religion which is inherently strange.
It's not meant to be an insult, it just is what it is.

Sort of how I feel like having outside help come in when your baby is 8 weeks?

It's not meant to be an insult, it just is what it is.

[casmgn]

For me the issue is not their belief in Xenu, but rather their actions which make them a bona fide cult.