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Gawker's handy guide to the Internet's War on Scientology

gawker.com — Now that Anonymous has declared war, Gawker gives us a nice break-down on the first wave of the Internet's siege on the "Church"

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  • Autofac, on 01/23/2008, -3/+136Good riddance to these nutbars.
    • IphtashuFitz, on 01/23/2008, -0/+34Unfortunately they haven't been "riddanced" yet. One can only hope it happens sooner rather than later.
    • SuperWinner, on 01/23/2008, -0/+19Just reveal their secrets, thats all that we have to do...
      • xptoast, on 01/23/2008, -1/+6And deprogram the brainwashed to see truth again. Or at least be a clean slate for them to choose their beliefs. Lets hope next time they don't get into a cult.
    • TriZz, on 01/23/2008, -13/+5This isn't going to make them go away. Remember folks, theres no such thing as bad press...essentially, the internet is advertising for Scientology. Don't get me wrong, I think they're weird and their practices are questionable (at best), but they'd go away if you just ignored them.
      • silveravnt, on 01/23/2008, -0/+21I doubt they would go away if we ignore them. We need to warn people about them. The only way they will go away is if they are exposed in court for what they are, a business masquerading as a religion.
      • babar77, on 01/23/2008, -0/+10There is such a thing as bad press: Scamming and Murder. They do both.
      • elvenseven, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7I've always heard of scientology before, I thought it was a religion based on science, not until the Tom Cruise craze. Then I started to know everything about, even the secret life of L.Ron Hubbard lol
    • l0rdx3nu, on 01/23/2008, -0/+15The reason most people get involved in Scientology is for the healing it's supposed to provide. If they knew about Lord Xenu and all the other crazy stuff, they wouldn't get involved in the first place. As long as they are ignored, they will continue to get more members and drain them of their money.
    • llbbl, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Operation Clambake
      http://www.xenu.net/
    • CthulhuDawn, on 01/23/2008, -7/+1From yesterdays raid (NSFW): http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6900/picture3xx ...
      • CthulhuDawn, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1I dunno why you guys are digging me down. I didn't just like copy that picture there, that was really the scientology page for a while.
    • stackered, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2nutbars are yummy. scientology is not delicious.
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1In 4000 years I hope they don't dig up their remains and think we all were like that.
    • prisoner24601, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2So here's a perfectly serious question: Since there is such a massive community of people who know that Scientology is a scam, wouldn't it make sense for us to take practical action by pressing the government to revoke their tax-exempt status?

      Imagine that instead of just thousands of diggs on articles against them, each time one of these comes up as many of us as possible made a quick phone call to whatever department at the IRS (perhaps Commissioner Linda Stiff's office?) to POLITELY but firmly say: "I'm a citizen and I've seen how the so-called Church of Scientology preys on it's members and attacks it's critics. I don't know how the mistake of approving them as tax-exempt ever occurred, but it's time to correct this error. Of course I support the fundamental principle that EVERYONE has the right to believe ANY religion (no matter how absurd) and I'm NOT at all saying that Scientology should be banned. What I'm saying is that EVERY serious religion or philosophy about the nature of life (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism you name it) makes their scriptures or fundamental texts available as part of the public domain. It is a complete travesty that Scientology REFUSES to release their "scriptures" and, quite the contrary, actually SUES and harasses people who review/rebut/excerpt them. I'm a adamant supporter of religious freedom, but there MUST be a requirement for a religion to completely expose it's scriptures into the public domain to be considered a TAX EXEMPT religion. If they want to remain "closed" then that's their choice, but cost must be that we revoke their tax-exempt status. No tax-exemption without transparency." Imagine thousands of phone calls to the IRS, senators, congress, the president, etc. Anyone have a phone number for the IRS commissioner's office? Oh, and be polite people. (In fact, be extra polite since some Scientologist "infiltrators" may well try calling the same places and act rude to make us seem like anti-religious bigots.) NO TAX-EXEMPTION WITHOUT TRANSPARENCY!
      • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+2if it involves lawyers, and it will, then the party that can hire the best lawyer wll probably win.
        If Scientology is truly a serious scientific establishment, then real proof of the existence of thetans should be presented in court.
        if not; refunds are due for every member.
  • IHaveIssues, on 01/23/2008, -2/+99Nice breakdown of the internet forces ganging up on these psychos. Nice promo for Digg too!
    • s810, on 01/23/2008, -3/+2they forgot to mention ebaums and ron paul
    • tman84, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2All Your Thetans Are Belong To Us
  • YojimboJango, on 01/23/2008, -90/+7Can we go back to not caring about these people again? I liked it better when there wasn't 3 stories bashing them on the front page at all times.
    • JoeVet, on 01/23/2008, -3/+65Those three stories may save a life and a family. Don't click on it if you don't want to read it.
      • typicalusername, on 01/23/2008, -43/+5/ sarcasm?

        I seriously hope that you don't honestly believe that. You know what? Cults and nut jobs have being doing things for thousands of years. All of human civilization has their throwbacks. I'm actually with Yojimbo on this one. Who the ***** cares? Let me them be happy with their crazy religion and maybe their space C130 will come and take them away at the end of their days.
        I know a lot of other crackpots involved with wierd ***** all the time. How is this any different than the uber nerds out there who carry swords around to their SCA play matches in the park? Or those clowns who sacrifice all their commitments and real life things for WoW? No difference...
        • unicronband, on 01/23/2008, -2/+35Those ubernerds and WoW addicts aren't bankrupting people, having people killed, denying care to the mentally ill, isolating members, threatening and suing critics...

          These ***** are absolutely balls out dangerous and for the first and only time in my life I publicly applaud Anon for having the man-globes to go up against this frightening organization.
          • typicalusername, on 01/23/2008, -12/+3Okay, I hear your points. However, I have not had any first hand experience with people "having people killed, getting bankrupted, & denying care to the mentally ill". Now, I HAVE heard of the member isolation, threatening of sueing. The only people talking about "having people killed, getting bankrupted, & denying care to the mentally ill", are half ass bloggers and news from not very reputible people. As far as the other 2 points, guess what, all religious organizations do that to people who have left. So, once I see some people I trust and are reputable talk about that, then I'll believe it. Otherwise, it's all internet hearsay, which I'm sick of up to my ***** eyeballs.
          • round427, on 01/23/2008, -0/+10Do some more research. There's a ***** of cases of the church going to extreme lengths to ruin people's lives. Just because you don't personally know people it's happened to doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
        • VAXcat, on 01/23/2008, -3/+21 I can't stand listening to this uninformed anti-Scientologist drivel any longer. As any educated person knows, the aliens use DC-9's, not C-130s. The two planes don't look anything alike! Jeez, the C-130 isn't even a jet plane! It's got propellors! How do you expect that to work in interstellar space?
          • itsthebrod, on 01/23/2008, -8/+1Jets would work in space; propellers would not.
          • typicalusername, on 01/23/2008, -2/+1lol...Sorry for me not knowing their crazy ass religion!
          • sekhui, on 01/23/2008, -1/+2how the hell do you expect a jet engine to work in space? moron.
          • Wartz, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1modify it to pipe liquid oxygen to it.,
          • itsthebrod, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1Ask NASA you ***** idiot. They do it with ever space mission.
    • xptoast, on 01/23/2008, -1/+6Bashing? How about informing on the current progress of the destruction of a terrible cult? Thats better.
    • FyberOptic, on 01/23/2008, -1/+3gb2xenu
    • mach68, on 01/23/2008, -2/+6oh SHUT UP you scientology apologist!
  • michaelphw, on 01/23/2008, -4/+98Scientology deserve this.
    • gthyb, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7This is very similar to how the Klan went from a massive organization to a laughing stock in the 50s after it's secrets and hilarious rituals were revealed every week on the Superman radio broadcast. Freakonomics has an awesome chapter on it.
  • tankexmortis, on 01/23/2008, -50/+11Personally, I'm far more terrified of /b/-tards than I am of scientologists.
    • NeoSporin, on 01/23/2008, -3/+9You don't like /b/ill?
    • YumYumKittyLoaf, on 01/23/2008, -0/+8Why are you scared of them? The only way they'll attack you is if you repeatedly act like a moronic ass, like that one guy that got his myspace raped and had gay pictures put all over it.
      If you are targeted though, I'd invest in some dog-curtains.
      • s810, on 01/23/2008, -2/+6 ...........@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        .......@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        ....@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        .@@@@@@@@/███████`#@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        @@@@@@@,;█████████$@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        .@@@@@@/████████████%*#@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        ..@@@@,./█▀████▄███████,%@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        ....@@@,/██████████████.*&*%@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        ......@@/████████████████g$@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
        .......@/█░░░░░░░██████████`%@@@@@@@@@@@@
        ........,/█░██████░█████████&@@@@@@@@@@@@
        ......./█░██████░██████████`%@@@@@@@@@@
        .....,/█░██████░███████████#$@@@##@@@@/
        ...,/█░░░░░░░░███████████████;`=””=.`;@#*
        .,/████████████████████████████_*”`
        (███████████████████████████;`
        .`,█████████████████████████`
        .......`-,████████████████████/
        .............██████████████████|

        POOLS CLOSED
    • tcsucks, on 01/23/2008, -1/+4Congratulations on being targeted. :noes:
    • yeti22, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4What are /b/-tards?
    • Solarbip, on 01/23/2008, -1/+1we are legion. we don't forgive, or forget.
  • Jakerius, on 01/23/2008, -2/+24I'm disappointed in Nick Douglas. I thought he would actually know what Anonymous is.
    • SRSco, on 01/23/2008, -26/+2Nick Douglas is the worst writer Gawker has ever had. Its no surprise he's getting diggs, since diggers are all idiots.
    • elnerdo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+14Am I the only person who things that Anonymous is extremely fascinating? I find it amazing that something like it exists and operates in the way that it does. There really isn't a leader, and no one person makes any decisions for Anomymous. There's no real structure or organization at all; it just gets things done.
  • sesstreets, on 01/23/2008, -4/+73Does not forgive, does not forget.
    • adamrgolf, on 01/23/2008, -1/+10your name looks an awful lot like 'stress test' mixed up.....

      *runs*
    • anononon, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5Is legion.
    • llamagorama, on 01/23/2008, -0/+6But does get bored quickly.
  • feacesface, on 01/23/2008, -17/+4Anne Archer's gay son is terrifying and pathetic all at the same time.
  • Bamont, on 01/23/2008, -4/+83A little research on Scientology shows just how incredibly f'd up these people are. This entire cult should be burned to the ground.
    • H0tKarl, on 01/23/2008, -8/+2It is kind of nice to have to have a definitive way to id the morons though. I'm all for scientology.
      • duggreen, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3hehe, yeah. Wasn't it F. Zappa who said, "you can identify the enemy by the fishes on their cars"?
        • zeromous, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2right, or the....oh hell I refuse to godwin this thread.
          • duggreen, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1Godwin, ar ar. I like that, thanks!
    • Double0Doug, on 01/23/2008, -0/+9Someone should tell the good reverend Phelps about Scientology. That could get entertaining real quick.
    • jeremyduffy, on 01/23/2008, -0/+15Wrong attitude. Burned to the ground is how the crusades and witch hunts started. On the other hand, South Park had it right: Make it illegal for them to turn a profit and watch the "religion" magically d i s s a p p e a r.....
  • floatingpoints, on 01/23/2008, -39/+9Everyone should do their part and harm a Scientologist.

    If you killed one, I'm PRETTY sure law enforcement would just look the other way. Seriously.
    • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4You're a douchebag. As much as I'd love to see Miscavage meet an untimely death, I'd prefer that it was through natural causes or his own people tearing him to shreds than someone harming one of the Lay that have had their lives destroyed so they don't know any better (and can't function in normal society.)
  • Spelvin, on 01/23/2008, -52/+5Image the crap storm that would happen if the word Scientology was replaced with Christianity or Catholicism?
    Granted I don't believe in any of it, but why bash these people so badly for the things that they want to believe in...What is next telling all the kids there is not Santa Clause or Easter Bunny...
    • JoeVet, on 01/23/2008, -1/+38Are you naive or a scientology member? Nobody cares what they believe. The problem is that they are a cult and destroy people and break apart families and they do it all for money.
    • floatingpoints, on 01/23/2008, -2/+58Because Scientology is a separate beast altogether.

      It's DESIGNED to intentionally leech away your income and ruin your life. It basically revolves around you giving up secrets, and them holding it against you to extort money from you and your family.

      While Christianity is also a completely man-made religion and pretty much all BS, their sole purpose isn't to physically interject itself in your life and leech away your physical possessions. Yeah, Churches may ask for donations, but it's not REQUIRED.

      In Scientology, they'll pretty much do whatever they can to completely ruin your life if you try to leave. They've ruined businesses, drove people to suicide, covered plenty of murders, and essentially held entire families hostage for their personal income.

      So really, comparing it to Christianity or some of the other religions out there is like comparing apples to oranges. This is more or less a LARGE cult which operates under the false disguise of a religion. Think of The Manson Family, or David Koresh on a large and legal scale.
    • Myonosken, on 01/23/2008, -2/+17Because for all the nutters who are in them and follow them, Christian churches aren't inherently evil.
      • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -10/+1Are you sure about that?
        • Myonosken, on 01/23/2008, -1/+11Yes I am. If you spent a few minutes not acting like a 13 year old anarchist, you'd realise that the Bible works as such:

          -New testament is the only valid part, as per Jesus new covenant bit
          - Jesus teaches that there are only two commandments now, therefore, this is the core of the modern church

          "And Jesus answered him, THE FIRST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS IS,
          Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt LOVE THE
          LORD THY GOD with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
          and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And THE SECOND
          is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none
          other commandment greater than these."

          I don't really see anything inherently evil there.
          • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -13/+1Oh, Christ. You suck at theology. Go back in your hole, you Protestant worm!
  • smacksaw, on 01/23/2008, -3/+106There's a fine line between being a person of conscience and being a vigilante, and amazingly 4chan has still not crossed the line into being a vigilante. 4chan, folks.

    This is how you get things done. You don't sue people like $cientology does - you educate the masses.
    • meruru, on 01/23/2008, -20/+7Denial of service attacks are educating the masses?
      • WWWoody, on 01/23/2008, -1/+21Anon is just downloading information to help himself. Their site has so many useful images and tips!
        • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7I never knew that Psychiatrists were directly responsible for the Holocaust, thanks CCHR!
    • xptoast, on 01/23/2008, -0/+12..and destroy anything you possibly can of theirs to make them inoperable. Such as taking down their website:)
      • bagelmaster, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5That sign in front of the Church out in LA needs to be taken down too...
  • toasty168, on 01/23/2008, -4/+16nip it in the bud! we already have enough myths to deal with.
  • fixty, on 01/23/2008, -2/+30Xenu's Army Marches! Will Elron's merry band of sparkle elves withstand the SP onslaught? Only time will tell. Muhuhahahah!
    • misterdrumz, on 01/23/2008, -1/+2sounds like the end of a bad 30's radio drama...all it need sis the dramamatic organ
    • postalblowfish7, on 01/23/2008, -1/+1stormpike graveyard?
  • tekano, on 01/23/2008, -3/+42where do I sign up? I hate these self rightous pricks - specially that midget tom cruise fella with the smug grin. Like to wipe the smile off that face for sure
    • minutegold, on 01/23/2008, -1/+25Anonymous is not a real group or organization. It's the faceless mass of the internet. There's no need to sign up with anybody. Just start acting.
      Inform yourself and the people around you about the CoS. And do anything you can think of to make the existence of Scientology and it's members a bit harder.

    • cozb, on 01/23/2008, -14/+0"I hate these self rightous pricks"

      talk about the pot calling the kettle black
    • misterdrumz, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4Yeah, you don't want to give away too much and end up being "fair game" like in that BBC programme, they truely are terrorists in that respect. they hunt you down and defamed you....i can't believe this is allowed to go on. Isn't it against the law like slander or something?!
      • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5If you have countless millions of dollars of lawyers on stafff you can pretty much do whatever you want.
  • karenw, on 01/23/2008, -15/+14LULZ
  • GreatSunJester, on 01/23/2008, -21/+6The fact that Bush is not responsible, Big Oil is not making a profit from them and that Israel is not involved does not make this cult any less evil and deserving of whatever light can be shined upon them. Please, don't let them fall off your radar in favor of a more fashionable target.
  • Loserbait, on 01/23/2008, -4/+38Article broke rules 1 and 2
    • shiftclick, on 01/23/2008, -33/+3If you're referring to fight club... +1!!!!
    • chrisatwork, on 01/23/2008, -4/+15The rules were written by newfags.
      • FyberOptic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+10The rules existed before the term "newfag" did.
        • llamakoolaid, on 01/23/2008, -0/+14everytime 4chan is mentioned on Digg we hafta hear this.

          -sigh-
    • dch111, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1I hope the diggs are maintained at 34 for a reason.
  • SzaszMan, on 01/23/2008, -28/+19[This comment is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Church of Scientology International]
    • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -21/+0This is the lamest of all criticisms. Posting the leaked Tom Cruise was unquestionably copyright infringement.
      • chrisatwork, on 01/23/2008, -0/+9You apparently didn't watch the video.
      • babar77, on 01/23/2008, -0/+9So I guess a criminal organization is allowed to conceal evidence through copyright claims?
        • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -8/+0EVIDENCE???

          What the ***** are you smoking?
          • round427, on 01/23/2008, -1/+8Stop attacking other people. It's clear that the only ***** in this entire comment thread is you, Sabrina. Or should I say.. Jenna Elfman?
      • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -1/+9I'm sorry you are part of the cult. I hope you can get the appropriate help you need someday.
      • blate, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7I'm suprised the scienos can afford a broadband connection with all the money they're spending on thetan points
        • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5I'm surprised she can get on an unfiltered terminal. I think they have to unblock Digg so their agents can spam it like they spam Wikipedia.
          • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+2yeah, there are special agents doing the internet posting. 'normal' minions just don't have the 'discipline' to expose themselves to wider realities.
            i only wonder what they imagine they are doing, having to shore up the cracks constantly.
            it is amazing how an invested interest can turn somebodies thinking on its head.

            oh, and agents; Hubbard's baby formula, the one he 'invented in a previous incarnation in Rome' is BS and if used exclusively leads to the death of children through malnourishment. The 'great man' was only great in his own mind.
    • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+8Copyright has an exemption for excerpts to be used for purposes fo criticism or revue. Which is basically what is being done.
      • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -9/+01. That was not an excerpt.

        2. The video was stolen.

        3. Internet dorks are not fit to criticize or review anything.

        Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to upload my new Paris Hilton video for purposes of criticism and review. I'm a jurnelist!
        • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to upload my new Paris Hilton video for purposes of criticism and review. I'm a jurnelist!"

          L Ron Hubbard was an addict to the end. Scientology did nothing for him.
          • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -6/+0And this has *****-all to do with WHAT?
          • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+6"And this has *****-all to do with WHAT?"

            A hell of a lot more to do with the subject of this thread than whatever seems to be drooling out from your lips.
        • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+3say it with a funny voice too. it becomes less true.
  • snowKFH, on 01/23/2008, -2/+46remember everyone, anon is hackers on steroids. they'll do it for the lulz!
  • Error601, on 01/23/2008, -31/+2A bunch of no-lifers with a stick up their collective asses does not equal "The Internet".
  • SickMonkey, on 01/23/2008, -2/+154A guy I know almost joined. He did all of the personality testing and they roped him in by convincing him that he had serious personality flaws that they could fix. He got to the point where he actually went in for his "audit", but backed out at the last minute when he found out that they wanted him to confess and document every single bad thing he ever did in his life and then sign an acknowledgment which they would keep on file indefinitely. This is what they use to control and blackmail former members who step out of line.
    • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+16"they wanted him to confess and document every single bad thing he ever did in his life and then sign an acknowledgment which they would keep on file indefinitely. "

      To then be uploaded to Clearwater, creepy beyond belief.
      • vsaint, on 01/23/2008, -0/+9It kind of makes me want to do this and make up a bunch of fake *****.
        • whoamarcos, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3well, now I know what I'm doing this weekend
        • wingo123, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5Sounds good, in theory. Friends of mine have tried this a few times, thinking they were hilarious smarty-pantses that could go in there and ***** with them. Every single time it ends up with trying to find the quickest escape route. Apparently the creep factor is higher than you can imagine, and they start getting pretty forceful and *****, not letting you leave, confusing you as to how to get out, locking you in rooms, etc.

          It always ends up being not as fun as one assumes, by all accounts. But good luck.
        • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1don't, seriously.
          my mate had to get his dad to answer the phone and tell them his son was dead when they would not stop calling day after day.
          that was after the first personality test.
  • Falldog, on 01/23/2008, -1/+35I love how Anon is becoming an entity of it's own. For better or worse I don't frequent /b/ enough to be a part of it.
  • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -16/+51Hey, don't get me wrong, Scientology is bat-***** insane. Its members are obviously brainwashed into believing ridiculous things, and apparently sane/clear thinking people can see that.

    I would, however, like to point something out. As freaking ridiculous as Scientology seems to a majority of the population...you do realize this is, more than likely, how all religions started. I'm sure back in the day, scholars and "clear thinking" individuals thought "What the hell is this? He rose from the grave? Get the hell out of here". Scientology, however nuts it may be, is right on par with Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, etc....as far as sanity goes. The only difference is that the latter were formed thousands of years ago and thus they have become "accepted", whereas Scientology is just beginning.

    I just wanted to add that. Continue with the downfall of Scientology.
    • voetsjoeba, on 01/23/2008, -7/+27True, but there is one big difference: none of those charge their followers insane amounts of money for salvation.
      • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -8/+18ummm....have you been to Catholic service ever? There is always a price for salvation
        • unicronband, on 01/23/2008, -2/+15A price that doesn't require you to take out a mortgage on your house.
          • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -9/+2Yeah that some serious cash. F'ed up for sure.
            However, being the devil's advocate that I am, what does the cost matter? They are still charging followers for salvation? Anyone else see this as being messed up...as a principle? In my opinion, it does not matter if the costs is $30 or $30,000...its still manipulation of follower's minds. Thus they are all guilty of the same crime.
          • gojcaj, on 01/23/2008, -1/+14pretty sure it does matter. I don't ever remember being forced to give the Church ANY money. So what if maybe every sunday at a catholic mass people donate a single dollar. its a donation, which in a well run church (they still exist), will be used for various things and not the betterment of the pastor's life.
          • bernandoo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+13no "church" charges $25,000 for books that were just written and that you NEED to become OT7. all other churches request money out of the goodness of people's heart, it's NEVER a requirement.

            oh and btw, L Ron set out to create a religion to make money. do your own due diligence.
        • strafefire, on 01/23/2008, -2/+6@unicronband:

          You obviously have never been to a MEGACHURCH!
        • e61iuser, on 01/23/2008, -0/+19Have you? You can go to a Catholic service every day of your life and never plunk down a dime. Trust me. I go every week.
        • HerbSolo, on 01/23/2008, -3/+4@e61iuser: not in Europe you can't. We have to pay taxes to the Catholic Church for being a member (in most EU-Countries), if you don't they sue your ass.
          • spawnfree, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1there's a line in the Koran about how everybody will have to pay the tax.
            its all about the revenue and increasing the victim-base.
            this is how religion was corrupted and it happened to all of them a long time ago. Its just gang warfare with a built-in guilt erasing dogma.
        • e61iuser, on 01/23/2008, -1/+7@HerbSolo: Wow really? I've never heard of that. Could you give me a citation for that please? I want to do research and learn more.
        • HerbSolo, on 01/23/2008, -2/+8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_tax
          • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -2/+4Thanks Herb. I have been looking all morning for information on the tax. I knew it existed I just couldnt find it. Nice grab
        • e61iuser, on 01/23/2008, -0/+11@HerbSolo: Very interesting! Thanks for the increased knowledge. But I noticed that it wasn't a purely Catholic tax. Seems ALL churches of certain EU countries are taxed, whether Christian, Muslim or Jewish.
        • HerbSolo, on 01/23/2008, -1/+2@e61iuser (sorry, i don't see a reply-link to your comment, and i'm still wondering who Moshcrates replied to mine above)
          Not really. The "Old Catholic Church" for example doesn't require you to pay church tax in Austria, but in Germany. Jews and Muslims also don't have to pay in all the church-tax countries.
        • voetsjoeba, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1Yes, but those hardly qualify as insane amounts.
      • elpresidente408, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3Chruch used to charge for indulgences which would wipe away your sins. You would actually be able to stock up on these which you could use to clear yourself of future sins. Although I believe this practice wasn't officially endorsed, and the Church eventually cracked down on this practice.
      • DeFex, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2have you seen the vatican? i dont think all that gold and jewels came from god.
    • HerbSolo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+25The big difference is: you can always quit Christianity, Judaism... without being harassed or "fair gamed" or isolated from your family.
      CoS uses brainwashing methods, tries to isolate it's members from the rest of society, tries to ruin all of it's critics, and denied medical help to seriously ill people, who then died. Of course all major religions have blood on their hands, but that doesn't in any way justify what the CoS does.
      • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -6/+1Maybe I'm not following.
        If you "quit" Christianity...you burn in hell.
        If you "quit" Judaism, in an orthodox family...good luck being invited to family gatherings.

        "Of course all major religions have blood on their hands, but that doesn't in any way justify what the CoS does."
        Absolutely correct. That doesn't justify their scare tactics in anyway...it doesnt mean they are any worse than the "big players" either.
        • HerbSolo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7Well, you don't usually quit Christianity if you believe in it, do you? - So i guess the hell-threat isn't gonna scare people who don't believe in hell.
          And comparing the CoS-Tactics to those of the "big players" tells me you should really read up on scientology. AFAIK jewish families can choose for themselves if they want to have contact to family members who aren't religious, CoS-Members can't. Also the Jewish Orthodox Church doesn't try to ruin its ex-members by calling their friends, co-workers, or employers and "informing" them how bad said person is, it doesn't launch smear-campaigns, it doesn't sue its critics, it doesn't try to keep its scriptures secret by copyright-lawsuits....
          To say, all Churches are evenly bad would be a belittlement of CoS's tactics, also it's just plain wrong.
          • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -4/+1Not on a word for word basis am I comparing the CoS tactics to "big players". CoS tactics are being used in a modern world to control their members/followers. The tactics have changed but they are along the same lines, in my opinion.

            "The Jewish Orthodox Church doesn't try to ruin its ex-members by calling their friends, co-workers, or employers and "informing" them how bad said person is, it doesn't launch smear-campaigns, it doesn't sue its critics, it doesn't try to keep its scriptures secret by copyright-lawsuits...."
            Maybe my sense of history is off...but I am almost positive that Christianity/Catholicism had their "critics" ex-communicated, branded as evil, and in some cases...burned at the freaking stake. "The Crusades" come to mind.

            Obviously, this is an extreme, and far-out, comparision. But my point is...what if these CoS-tactics are just an updated version of the "tactics" that the major religions have been using for years to control their followers.
          • HerbSolo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4I'm well aware of the crusades, witch-hunts... In its beginnings the Catholic Church hunted down and killed people like gnostics who had a slightly different view on Jesus' teachings. So in a way, if you compared the beginnings of Christianity whit the beginnings of Scientology, you'd actually be demonizing Scientology!
            Anyway, if you're comparing CoS to most Christian Churches now, you're playing down the dangers of the CoS, and that's why i don't like such comparisons, they can easily be misunderstood.
        • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -1/+2I agree with HerbSolo, Mainline religion has it's flaws but they are currently the "lesser" evil. Take care of spreading information about Scientology first and move on to the rest later. When you bring this comparison up you only manage to help confuse the uninformed on Scientology.

          And no actually few religions start like Scientology did.. by a third rate sci fi hack to dodge taxes and separate the weak minded from their cash. Most of them are usually a charismatic loonies who truly believe who manage to attract the weak minded. There is a distinct difference.E. Hubbard didn't believe his own *****, wasn't charismatic, and it's so obviously a scam.
          • Moshcrates, on 01/23/2008, -2/+1I am not sure how I am confusing anyone. I am saying Scientology is wrong, with the side clause of Religion being wrong. How is that confusing?

            How can you say that mainline religion is the "lesser evil"? Scientology seems to hurt those who are profoundly ignorant enough to beleive in it...those numbers can't rank even near 1/1000th of the population of the Catholic church. So if some poor schmuck believes in Hubbard's word that is in some way "more threatening" to you than:
            - millions of Baptist/Christian/"insert religious sect here" growing up believing that gay marriage is a sin, jesus was white (and im sorry to say but that harkens to a third reich call of white supremacy), abortion clinics should be BOMBED
            -11year old children in the gaza strip should grow up with absolute hatred of a another people just..because
            -inhabitants of the Sudan/Sierra Leone/"insert african nation here" should just deal with being slaughtered because of their culture/religious belief

            Im sorry...but these things...that are all problems with one common factor, "mainline religion"........seem MUCH more serious than the insane rantings of a Scientologist
          • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2"I am not sure how I am confusing anyone. I am saying Scientology is wrong, with the side clause of Religion being wrong. How is that confusing?"

            Your audience is most likely more then half Christian. So you are basically defending Scientology in their eyes with the comparison. Religion causes many thing, but it's better to take em down one at a time. Instead of interjecting additional rhetoric. I am an atheist so don't take it as personal defense on my part. It's a simple matter of what is most effective. You are working against your own cause by adding information that isn't needed.

            Scientology is greater evil because their small numbers do a great deal of harm already. Letting them grow would be a tragedy.

            PS. Most of the sectarianism violence you outlined is as much to do with history as with religion. The homophobia and xenophobia has found a supporter in many of the mainline religions but it's bases on a premise independent of religion : Things that are different are wrong. Religion is a tool of control and it simply utilizes basic human biases like the bias against that which is different.
          • round427, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3Mosh, it appears that your intentions are good but.. you simply don't know enough about the COS to come across as informed. I used to think like you until I did some research into the COS. Most people who think what you do just aren't informed enough about it. I won't actually debate each point you made, because I and others have done it in previous threads. Look into fair game, suppressed persons, and the like. There are also excellent stories from survivors of the cult on www.xenu.net.

            P.S. Most people here are atheist.
      • joshuabowers, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2That's not necessarily true for the third Abrahamic religion: Apostasy is punishable by death in Islam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam
    • lcarsdeveloper, on 01/23/2008, -0/+16As much as I agree with you, I should point out that Scientology is not a religion, it's an "alternative to psychology". The fact that it's called the "Church of Scientology" has nothing to do with it. At least, that's what they keep saying...
      I shudder to think of a world where Scientology is considered normal. Imagine going to court and swearing an oath on a copy of "Dianetics"..."Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Xenu?".
      • mOdQuArK, on 01/23/2008, -0/+8No, in the initial stages of indoctrination they portray themselves as an "alternative to psychology", but the final stages really are a full-blown conversion to the "Church of Scientology" (which is immensely helped by the brainwashing cult activities applied to members during the "psychology" phase). There are some statements floating around supposedly quoting L. Ron Hubbard describing how he was deliberately creating a Church so he could exploit gullible people and live tax free.
    • bagelmaster, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2I still say that about most religions. Yes, I like to consider myself sane.
    • qbyte, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2There has been a paradigm change between the early days of Christianity and today. If a man came out today and claimed the things that Jesus claimed, he would be treated as a nut and his religion would suffer the same fate as these people.

      Religion helped create civilization. It's ironic that it is religion that is civilizations biggest threat today.
    • atron3030, on 01/23/2008, -0/+0Moshcrates,
      The religions you mentioned were founded on texts that documented real live people and real historical locations on our planet. There is a bit of legitimacy to that. A bit more legitimacy than the texts Scientology was founded on....
      • JCPahl, on 01/23/2008, -1/+1False. There is no legitimate historical evidence whatsoever that Jesus actually existed.
    • CanceledCzech, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1I never said that those religions weren't insane, too. And catholicism did charge for salvation back in the 1600's, I think, and maybe even before that. It's why Martin Luther started the whole protestant thing.
  • amida, on 01/23/2008, -0/+35Gawker should have included the video that was posted here the other day featuring Scientologists following a guy and yelling "What are your crimes?" That video is creepy.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPol_m8wm8Y
    • dn11, on 01/23/2008, -2/+7that video has been around for a long time
      • amida, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4SP,are you enturbulating me? WHAT CRIMES HAVE YOU COMMITTED?!
        Seriously, though, the point is the spreading of such videos through YouTube (and Digg comments, etc.), not when the video was created (and it seems to be from around 2000.) This Scientology stuff on Digg pointed me to YouTube's collection of disturbing Scientology videos. Seeing those will influence how people will think of Scientology.
        • dn11, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3it's a very good video I think everyone should see it, but I would be surprised if many around here haven't seen it.
    • pp51doodoo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4Mark Summers?!!
  • cozb, on 01/23/2008, -37/+1
    I'm starting to think diggers are some how jealous of Scientology and there followers...
    • FyberOptic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1Xenu would be proud
    • spawnfree, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2yeah, it couldn't be anything else.
      good luck believing the dream, and being a poor slave for ever.
  • riggs32, on 01/23/2008, -3/+12in the beginning of the first video it says "we are legion". I've heard that before but i cant remember what its a reference to, anyone know?
    • WWWoody, on 01/23/2008, -5/+9Ebaumsworld
    • thatonekid393, on 01/23/2008, -5/+4The Spartans of 300.
      • MacSuxWindozSux, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2A Legion consists of 5000 people.
    • Papajohn56, on 01/23/2008, -3/+6ebaumsworld
    • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -1/+34Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

      "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many."

      http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&ch ...
    • fdisc0, on 01/23/2008, -0/+13In the bible, Jesus wonders upon a man possessed by demons. Jesus asks this man for his name. The possessed man replies, we are legion. for we are many.
      • bagelmaster, on 01/23/2008, -1/+5Probably the only epic part of the bible...
    • dok333, on 01/23/2008, -0/+13then Jesus casts the demons out of the man and into some nearby pigs, which then kill themselves by jumping off of a cliff
      I think that's how it goes
      pigs + demons = lemmings
      • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1pigs=bad. AHA
        lions are good though, isnt there one passage where Jesus offers himself to a hungry lion. Would have been a real short book if it had taken his offer.
    • lordTalus, on 01/23/2008, -3/+14Jesus had a sense of humor....what they don't mention is the bet jesus made right before he cast out the demons.

      "See those pigs over there? I bet I came make them jump off the cliff with out even touching them"
    • barnett25, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1In the miniseries "Storm of the Century".
      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135659/
    • Ramble, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1It's in Red Dwarf too.
    • bartc78, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1It was also in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
    • Biohazard6601, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1We are anonymous. we are legion. we do not forgive. we do not forget.
  • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -14/+0Can you imagine Gawker EVER--under any circumstances--criticizing Digg users?
  • kissykiana, on 01/23/2008, -17/+18I am not religious at all, but this comparison of Scientology vs Catholicism and other real established religions is nuts. First of all Catholicism, Buddhism, and many other religions have been around for hundreds of years! Scientology, since the 60's I think. Also Scientology you are following a guy who wrote science fiction novels for his livelihood, how sad is that? Scientology is by no means a religion, maybe if someone in the government had a set of balls they would pull their religious status.
    • gojcaj, on 01/23/2008, -4/+8Don't see why you're being dugg down already as your comment is truthful...
    • bernandoo, on 01/23/2008, -1/+16Europe has never recognized them.. I don't understand how the US does.
      • KlogereEndGrim, on 01/23/2008, -8/+3Europe is not a country, mother *****!

        They have different laws, some recognize them, some dont.

        Again, EUROPE IS NOT A COUNTRY!!!!!!
        • bernandoo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+6I'm not an idiot, r-tard. What I mean is no country in Europe has recognized them. Belgium is investigating the whole cult, and the rest of the COUNTRIES have refused to give the cult tax-exempt status.

          What would be interesting is to see Scientology's European tax filings and then divide by the number of members to see how much money they suck from each victim.
      • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5The EU is a political union that is more coherent then many countries. Also Co$ is illegal in Australia as well.
      • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2The US does because they have infiltrated the IRS, FBI, own a few politicians here and there, they so graciously allowed themselves to be granted religious status.
    • dn11, on 01/23/2008, -0/+10The age of the "religion" has nothing to do with it. The "cosmic" beliefs of the "religion" has nothing to do with it. The aggressive tactics of destroying all critics, including former members who would even try to raise concern has everything to do with it. One of the key themes of Scientology seems to be training in how to wage psychological warfare against critics of the church - to me that's an obvious sign of an unhealthy and destructive world view.
    • Ovalteen, on 01/23/2008, -0/+17How long it's been around has nothing to do with it. The fact is that I can walk into a mosque, church, synagogue, Hindu or Buddhist temple and:
      - Receive, for free, the teachings of their religion (in some churches I might be asked to make a donation, but in my experiences it's always optional and only if I can afford it).
      - Not have to confide any personal or sensitive information about myself.
      - Be 99% certain that should I leave the organisation, any aforementioned personal information I have provided will not be used to discredit or attempt to humiliate me.
      - Criticize their teachings without lawsuits, creepy people following me around or general harrassment (except for maybe Islam and the Mohammed cartoons thing, that's a bit of a grey area).

      If Scientology is really operating exclusively for man's best interest, I wouldn't need to take out a second mortgage on my home to study their "tech", and they'd be happy for people to spread the good word for the benefit of all (when has the Pope ever sued anyone for posting the Bible online?). We also wouldn't be living in fear of their harrassment campaigns. Go screw yourself LRH.
      • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Their "religious docuemnts" are not copywritten, which should proclude them from ever being called a "religion".
    • secrity, on 01/23/2008, -2/+1Scientology is no more and no less valid than any other religion. How many people have been killed, tortured, or imprisoned at the order of a Pope?
      • mattsantiago1, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2that's very true. but you can't compare a 2,000 year old religion to one that's less than 50 years old and operates more as a cult; christianity has a deeper and much more complex history.

        if you think people are attacking this "religion" only because they don't believe in xenu you need to rexamine this presentation.
      • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1"hey those other organizations did *****, horrible, unjustifiable things in order to support a deeply unfair campaign of theft. So its OK for us too"

        the problem with human civilization being corrupt at the very top is that nobody knows what is truly right anymore.
        protip; it is not greedy selfish behaviour.
    • themoose, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Watch the video in the article. Nobody sane chooses to follow scientology.
    • jasmus, on 01/24/2008, -0/+2From what I've read, Buddhism is not a religion, it's a philosophy.
      • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1even philosophy can be twisted into maintaining a pyramid scheme.
        life in Tibet before the Chinese invaded was just as harsh on the little people as most other countries. the money flowed up to the top.
        The Dali Lama had slaves. I'm sure he was nice to them though, why be mean when you are getting everything your own way?

  • reuscel, on 01/23/2008, -1/+34"We are legion" is from the bible. A man was posessed by demons and when Jesus asked the demon for its name, it said "My name is Legion, for we are many." I remember this from William Peter Blatty's "Legion" which was later made into the not-bad-for-a-sequel "Exorcist 3."

    See, even an avowed atheist reads his bible every now and then. How many religious people can say they've read Christopher Hitchens?
    • lcarsdeveloper, on 01/23/2008, -1/+9Wow, is that really where that came from? I saw it on Red Dwarf (episode "Legion", obviously) but never got the reference. You learn something every day.
    • Ellipsys, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3Truth in the origins. "Legion" is often illustrated in movies, games, and horror stories as a spherical collection of floating bodies all joined together. Not necessarily the same demon as the one in the bible, but the spirit is the same and evolved into a physical representation thereof.
    • anaesthetica, on 01/24/2008, -0/+2Everyone in Western Civilization ought to read the Bible. Not necessarily for religious reasons (although you certainly can if you want) but because so much of our cultural symbolism, idiomatic phrases and metaphor, and fundamental philosophical positions come from this book. Along with Shakespeare's complete works and possibly the Canterbury Tales, you cannot really hope to understand the English language or Western thought without having read (at least, significant portions of) the King James version of the Bible.
  • joebonk, on 01/23/2008, -16/+2just wait until they learn about christianity or islam. anon is gonna be pissed.
    • l0rdx3nu, on 01/23/2008, -2/+3You athiestfags need to shut up. Anon attacks everyone. They attack Christians, Muslims, Athiests, and anyone else who spreads their AIDS on the Internet.
    • Ymeg, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2There is somthing different about Scientology. Sure, they do not have as much deaths on there hands, but that is merely historical. What Scientology does is far different. They are an aggressive force that will attack opposition.
      And l0rdx3nu: his comment in no way suggested he was an atheist.
    • Dumbledorito, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Scientology is one of the few religions that came of age when you could document the founder's statements about how religion is just a means to money and power.

      It's just assumed for a lot of the others, but there's no smoking gun in written form.
  • CheeseburgerBro, on 01/23/2008, -7/+11I am currently writing a publically serialized science-fiction novella which features the Church of Scientology.

    The chapter in which the organization first comes to light is this week's chapter. Read it for free while you can, because CSI may sue me soon:
    http://cheeseburgerbrown.com/stories/The_Secret_Ma ...

    More to come, a new chapter every week. And I promise you my version of CSI is more entertaining than the sad truth about the real deal.
  • Dudeee, on 01/23/2008, -14/+3every religion is a twisted cult. look up john allegro

    I say leave them be, if your not gonna attack some of these other religions.

    and I wouldn't mess with a cult/religion if there as dangerous as you say, at least i wouldn't.
    • InspectorGadget, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4That's because you're a wuss.
  • gambyt13, on 01/23/2008, -1/+18Scientology is one step above organized crime. We should be telling the FBI to use RICO to prosecute its leaders.
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Man would that be huge... Tom Cruise arrested from being involved in organized crime.
  • SpencerMc, on 01/23/2008, -0/+51There was a guy at my high school that made a perfect score on his ACT and damn near it on the SAT. His girlfriend was a scientologist and got him into it. He dropped out of school and didn't go to college. The last time I saw him he was handing out pamphlets in front of Barnes and Nobles. It's a bit unsettling that it isn't only weak minded people that are lured into their fold, but that perfectly intellegent people are succeptable to what seems clearly to be brainwashing.
    • adcat, on 01/23/2008, -9/+4Wait, there are girl scientologists?! Sign me up!
    • lordTalus, on 01/23/2008, -7/+1Was her name Eve?
    • carbonetc, on 01/23/2008, -0/+23Sometimes intelligence without discipline makes a person even more susceptible. Tom Cruise isn't unintelligent (I'll get dugg down for saying that), he's just the type of person who's very easily seduced by ideas and throws himself into them without rigorous examination. Scientology just happened to be the first to really catch his interest, in my opinion.

      It's an understanding of (at least) basic epistemology and logic that really keeps someone safe from this sort of thing.
      • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+12Exactly. More intelligent people are more able to rationalize craziness in a false framework of logic.
      • Cyrus042, on 01/23/2008, -1/+1Illusions of grandeur. :)
    • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+22Intelligence isn't a sign of strength of character. Many intelligent people have many emotional problems. For instance The father of the modern computer Alan Turing committed suicide because the antagonism from society about his homosexuality was just too much. Scientology preys on those who are vulnerable. That is why they were fishing around in new Orleans after katrina or just after 9/11 in new york. They need emotionally unstable people to exploit.
      • Dinner, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3Turing was publicly convicted of being homosexual and put on 'hormone treatments' for it (after playing a not insignificant role in the winning of World War II). I wouldn't describe his suicide as a lack of 'strength of character'.
    • roflcopterdown, on 01/23/2008, -1/+31Something similar happened to me, except it wasn't a girl that got me into it, it was my own stupid choice. I did pretty well in high school until I got involved with Jehovah's Witnesses. My mother, who was already a JW, was thrilled, so that felt pretty good at the time. It made me feel like I was the good son. I got baptized at 16, and they convinced me that any secular pursuit is ultimately doomed. As a result, I wanted to work at Bethel, their print shop in Brooklyn and then go on to become a missionary. After that, I really stopped applying myself to anything else, because I thought the world was just going to end any day anyway. Then, not long before I graduated high school, I got curious and started researching the roots of the Jehovah's Witnesses. I was horrified by what I found so I went to an elder about it and I got in trouble. More research revealed a few skeletons in my own congregation's closet, and that drove me to leave the religion. At first, they used the same kind of smear campaign against me to get me to come back, and when that didn't work, they used my own mother against me to "love bomb" me into coming back. Now I'm free, and trying to get back some of the things I missed out on like an education. Looking back, I never should have opened that door.

      I've shared my stories with a lot of ex-Scientologists since I left, and found out that Scientology works in the same way the Jehovah's Witnesses do. They exploit weaknesses that everyone has. They'll show you what you think is unconditional love and acceptance, and then you learn too late that there are conditions, and you have to toe the line to get it. A lot of people comply simply because they feel it's the only way they'll be accepted. Cults like Scientology make sure those fears linger because everyone, even the truly intelligent, wants to be loved and accepted. Make it seem like the only way, and they won't care about the price.

      I know I'm reaching into tl;dr territory here, but the bottom line is that Scientology is a predatory organization that preys on the insecurities of its members to get money from them. Some people are more prone to it than others, but anyone can be swept up in this special kind of madness.
      • CalvinLawson, on 01/23/2008, -1/+2Wow, awesome, great information. Thanks for sharing. This comment really reminds me of the behavior in "Jesus Camp".
      • SiNN4R, on 01/23/2008, -2/+3tl;dr
      • fcrow, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a nice life afterall the ***** you went trough.
        Cheers!
    • Ramble, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2I don't think he was stupid, I think he was just trying to get pussy.
      • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1There is easier and cheaper pussy.
    • ronintetsuro, on 01/23/2008, -1/+1booksmart != intelligent
  • Andy.D, on 01/23/2008, -1/+10Scientology has picked the wrong fight, and now it's take down time (a different kind of takedown).
  • kurtwinter, on 01/23/2008, -1/+39The reason Scientology should not be allowed to continue is because of their belief that they don't need to respect the law or society or ethics or morality in fighting their perceived enemy. They are a extremist group, but they have charismatic spokespeople, and ***** of money, so they bought respect. I have been boycotting all Scientology related purchases, such as any and all Tom Cruise movies. If Satan exists, and is alive, he'd be a Scientologist.
    • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -12/+2"The reason Scientology should not be allowed to continue is because of their belief that they don't need to respect the law or society or ethics or morality in fighting their perceived enemy."

      Should Islam, then, also not be allowed to continue, for this same reason?
      • IntelSoap, on 01/23/2008, -2/+5simply, yes
      • zerobackup, on 01/23/2008, -0/+10Sabrina, I have read all of your comments thus far on this story and I must say you are either willfully ignorant, a troll, or a scientologist. Which is it?
        • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -11/+0Uh-huh. What specifics objections do you have to ANY of my comments in this thread?

          You betray YOURSELF as a willfully ignorant troll who's upset that I've crashed his troll party.
          • round427, on 01/23/2008, -1/+7DID YOU RAPE A BABY?!!
          • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -5/+0What, specifically, allows you to behave like this?

            What is the specific trigger?

            If I could identify that trigger, doesn't it then follow that I could cause you to engage in unethical behavior AT MY WHIM?
          • Nekiruhs, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7Walks like a Scientologist, Talks like a Scientologist, must be a Scientologist!
            WHAT ARE YOUR CRIMES?!
          • SabrinaHeaven, on 01/23/2008, -3/+0Change the world "Scientology" to Christianity and you'd be accusing me of being a Christian. Or a Republican. Or a ***** poacher of endangered animals. You people get worked up on these hysterical crusades and label anyone who points out the errors in your thinking.
          • chaosium, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5"Change the world "Scientology" to Christianity and you'd be accusing me of being a Christian. Or a Republican. Or a ***** poacher of endangered animals."

            Except that you're either a Scientologist or the dumbest human alive.
          • absurdist, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3Watch it. They get violent when outed.
          • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+3i hope she breaks her keyboard...
    • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+6Will smith movies as well. Beck. Issac Hayes and a few other Hollywood people should be added to your boycott list. They also have infiltrated government agencies to help them protect their status a s a "religion".
      • Ellipsys, on 01/23/2008, -1/+2I think Will Smith turned them down. I certainly hope he did.
        • kingmanic, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3The tabloids mentioned he gave out "Scientology personality audit coupons" to the crew of I am legend.
        • chaosium, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1He's in and homeschooling his kids with a COS-only curriculum.
      • GhostyBoy, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3Beck....now that is heartbreaking. The others I can do without.
    • secrity, on 01/23/2008, -5/+2"They are a extremist group, but they have charismatic spokespeople, and ***** of money, so they bought respect."

      No more so than fundamentalist Christian Right groups; such as the Family Research Council, American Values, Focus on the Family, Free Congress Foundation, or the American Family Association.
    • init100, on 01/23/2008, -0/+8"If Satan exists, and is alive, he'd be a Scientologist."

      Dugg for this.
      • GhostyBoy, on 01/23/2008, -1/+7I think that is a straight up diss to Satan.
    • Optic7, on 01/24/2008, -0/+2This is a great idea actually. Is there a list somewhere of scientology-related things and people to boycott? We could all promote it and do our part.
      • chaosium, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1Neopets, Earthlink, there really ought to be a list of Hubbard-run companies.
  • SevenTwo, on 01/23/2008, -0/+13Tap Z or R Twice.
  • N00F, on 01/23/2008, -1/+7Why do they display the Christian symbol on their information page?
    http://scientology.org/religion/background-origins ...
    Bunch of hacks if you ask me.
    • mazonrowes777, on 01/23/2008, -0/+6Its not really the Christian Cross, they just use the familiar symbol and mold it to their ideals. They most likely use it to attract people to the cult because it is a familiar symbol; people would be less likely to join the group if their symbol was The alien prince xeeno or whatever his bs name is.
    • FAHQ2, on 01/23/2008, -1/+3The Vatican, and other Christian religions should all sue the scientologists under breaking their trademark, by using the cross symbol, when the scientologists have nothing to do with Christ.
      I am sure that the Vatican alone has way more lawyers and money then the scientologists, and such a fight in the courts would probably bring down this cult for good, by depleting them of all their money which is all they are into anyways.
    • fcrow, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3They use it to look more like a "church".
  • pipskweek, on 01/23/2008, -11/+1I recently watched a full length Google Video on how pharmaceutical corporations use their influence with psychiatric professionals to push their ADD drugs on our children for profit. The video was produced by a group associated with Church of Scientology. I don't know what else they preach but I would look at them with an open mind before i dismiss them as a lunatic cult.
    • elvenseven, on 01/23/2008, -0/+6Then you have to see this:

      Tom Cruise vs psychiatry
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc_wjp262RY
      • GhostyBoy, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3It's amazing that anybody listens to this complete douchebag.
    • round427, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5I too believe that pharma companies push drugs onto people who don't otherwise need them for profit. I also believe that Scientologists are insane. So, I don't have to be in a cult to agree with ONE of their beliefs. Their belief in no way legitimizes their organization.
      • CalvinLawson, on 01/23/2008, -1/+1O RLY? Is it their behavior that de-legitimizes them, then? I think organizations SHOULD be judged on their beliefs as well as actions, which is why I criticize Scientology.
    • GreatSunJester, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Except that if L Ron had targetted Dental Hygenists, we would have seen an anti dental hygenist video instead. He choose the psychiatric field because it is a competitor (and can be a cure) for his cult.
      Imagine "Flossinetics: The modern science of dental health"
    • pipskweek, on 01/23/2008, -1/+0I don't care that they believe in Xanu or the holy ghost. I personally would not "join" any "church" no matter what they are preaching. However, I do recognize that some "churches" do useful things like build schools, clinics etc.. If the CCHR; Citizens Committee on Human Rights airs a program exposing the greed behind the epidemic of psychiatric drugs prescribed on children, I am reluctant to dump them into the loony bin basket before I see some concrete evidence that they have a net negative influence on peoples lives. "Our mother Xanu who are in heaven, hallowed be thy breasts.. whatever" If they are fighting corporate devils, they are not your enemy.
      • eryximachus, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Sure, drugs that have been prescribed for 80 years have an obvious net negative effect on children.

        These drugs have been around longer than Tylenol. You're kidding yourself.
    • eryximachus, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2ADHD drugs have almost a century of medical literature backing them up. There is no reason for pharmaceutical companies to do anything special - the patents for these drugs expired decades ago. Anyone, including you, can produce them if you choose.

    • mattsantiago1, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2they are trying to replace the "corporate devils" with their own "services". that's like trying fight the man by using at&t instead of verizon.
    • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+2i really hope that pulling Scientology into the collective conscience will help people see that the machinations of hyper-capitalism, and its never-ending quest for increased profits through the shareholder system, has turned many organizations that should be benevolent into what are essentially cults.
      Heard of 'terminator seeds' that produce sterile crops? you need a new batch of seeds for each year, no more gathering your own seeds from your own crops. Dependence and exploitation means greater profits.
      If this continues then the world will soon resemble India. People need to wake up.
      The cult we are all born into is the financial one; more money, for me, NOW and ***** everyone else. This is the mantra at the back of everyones mind.
  • swak3, on 01/23/2008, -3/+9all scientologists have been brainwashed....tom cruise is a loony toon
  • PFinn, on 01/23/2008, -1/+7all i want to point out is that these people believe in some alien god named Xenu..... coincidentally the person who created this bogus alien god also just happened to be a Science fiction writer
  • duggreen, on 01/23/2008, -11/+3I think Moshcrates (cool nick BTW) has it right in saying that Scientology is no more crazy than other religions, just newer. Unfortunately, it's also 'improved' over other religions in a few key, and yes, distasteful ways. One is the 'working philosophy' concept, which if it actually worked, would not be so bad in itself. In the early days, ERH was interested in improving that working side of it, but internal tensions within the church caused the excommunication of some of Hubbards most intelligent followers, and the development of that side just faltered. The charging of ever increasing amounts of money to attain higher and higher levels of 'clear', or what have you, was also the idea of one of Hubbards followers. People are correct in saying that Hubbard was a half smart science fiction writer, but he did have some very, very intelligent people working next to him up until the mid 50's or so. It was the intelligence, and playfulness of those early, influential friends of Hubbards that made Scientology the daunting organization that it is today. Those early followers didn't believe in space men and such, at least not any more than they did in astrology, zen, taoism or any other thing they were into at the time. They were just having fun in the way that gentle, intelligent people do, and Scientology was the result. As I said, those early followers were way too smart to be tolerated by the half smart majority of the church, and were excommunicated early on. Good for them, because like all true geniouses, they were not enthralled by controlling other peoples minds, and had other interests. Not good for the church, because had they kept those genious followers, the church would truly be a powerful force now.
    • rebotfc, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4 "Make money. Make more money. Make other people make money."
      - L. Ron Hubbard
      and
      "I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is!"

      It was a scam from the start and you are full of *****.
      • duggreen, on 01/23/2008, -1/+3RMFP. I didn't say it wasn't a scam, I just gave additional info about sources of ideas that Hubbard wasn't bright enough to have invented himself.
    • mahdaeng, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1LRH was more than just a science fiction writer. Do some research on his connections with people like Jack Parsons and his involvement in pagan and Satanic rituals. There are a lot of slimy, dark items in his closet.
  • SuperVepr308, on 01/23/2008, -1/+8Go to clambake.org and check out the downloadable version of The Barefaced Messiah. Everything you need to know on ol' L. Ron and his "religion"...

    Ronnie was full of ***** from cradle to grave, folks.
  • anononon, on 01/23/2008, -2/+4How do I hurted Scientology?
  • Lyph5, on 01/23/2008, -8/+2Newfags: Rules 1 and 2.
    • spawnfree, on 01/24/2008, -0/+1personally i would like Scientology to know that it was a bunch of bored kids that got them so angry.
      The good work here is that more people will see that getting closer to Scientology is like hugging a black hole.
  • GonzoAKQJ10, on 01/23/2008, -9/+2Scientology makes some really good points, but anyone with some sort of moral value would make the same points. They throw some spirituality in the mix, but then don't explain where/how they come up with that theory. Like, this is waht I think so this is what I believe. Um... ok. Looks like another religion based on nothing and common sense. Give them money, it makes god happy. By god I mean the person you are generously handing money to for no reason. I guess this religion is no better or worse than any other religion. I mean look at Christians, their whole religion is based on following how Jesus lived. Well, Jesus was jewish. Duhn duhn duhn(dramatic music overtone). Shouldn't all christians then really be jewish? I'm going to have to go with yes. So in short, religions blow.
    • rebotfc, on 01/23/2008, -0/+3No they don't "Make some really good points".
    • sc00bydont, on 01/23/2008, -1/+0That's how they get people hooked, they throw in some good advice that is written in most self-help books. Once they get their claws in you, that is when things get scary.
    • duggreen, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1Whoah, that would be very cool if modern Christians actually tried to follow how Jesus lived, like Jim Casey in 'Grapes Of Wrath'. Sadly, the deification of JC pretty much absolves any one from the responsibility of emulating him directly. Hence, we have megachurches that encourage followers to use their faith to gain more material wealth. JC would definitely NOT have approved!
    • mattsantiago1, on 01/23/2008, -0/+1buried because that comment was uninformed on so many levels.
  • FyberOptic, on 01/23/2008, -6/+22I wish people would stop saying "it's no worse than any other religion", since they obviously are too lazy to do five minutes of research before pronouncing their cool guy "DOWN WITH ALL RELIGION ***** YEAH" attitudes. Saying they should be ignored or that they're the same as any other church is like saying every TV channel sucks and airs the same shows, even if one of them shows like a 24/7 live feed from a slaughterhouse. If you never bothered to turn on the TV, since you're so convinced you already know what's there, you'd never see it.
    • SiNN4R, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4I think some of those comments are stealth scientologist comments. They want to be viewed as a religion even if that means painting all other religions as cults to put themselves on the same level. Scientology is in a league of its own when it comes to the crazy cult like behaviour though.
  • widgetmaker, on 01/23/2008, -1/+19Dugg simply because of Gawker's refusal to take down the video without a fight.
  • apextek, on 01/23/2008, -1/+3if only anonymous was this effective against the bush regime
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