October 31, 2007
This article highlights a growing trend of Christian ministers turning to Scientology to create some kind of hybrid religion.
Brian and I are fortunate that we were able to pick up the giant book of Scientology and a bunch of books written by L. Ron Hubbard at the university book sale when he was working on his PhD. They are hilarious - they read like bad sci-fi novels and the logic is completely circular. The terminology they use is entirely ambiguous and the basis of the religion(?) is basically to pay your way to the top using the rationale that Scientology will make you more money so you will have more money to give! The most humorous part is that it really seems more like a giant pyramid scheme than a religion. The book is full of glossy pictures and ridiculous non-explanations (we can’t tell you what this level is because it’s secret!) and “laws” which Brian and I were able to tear apart with basic logic.
Having grown up in the Deep South and also having been forced to attend an ultra-conservative Southern Baptist (some members threatened to kill the minister if he hired an interim music minister who was a woman) church for all of my childhood and teen years I can personally attest to the fact that Christianity was completely insidious and had some extremely creepy methods for recruitment and coercion into the faith which I will not get into now. Adding Scientology to Christianity is such a joke - but such an alliance is not surprising. Scientology as an organization has much more money to launch campaigns and it does not seem to have the number of factions that Christianity has - it will be interesting to see just how far Scientology can make its way into the realm of Christianity. Personally, I think I would worry about any religion that touts its celebrity factor as a selling point. Celebrities are stupid and should not be emulated!
I would be interested to hear any thoughts people might have on this subject…
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March 21, 2007
Work is going really well today - my new business cards are ordered, my new logo is ready to go, my new accounting system is online and I’ve figured out a Linux workaround for it, my help wanted ad is in the paper and on Craigslist and it is not even noon yet! I need a laptop asap…
The stock market and our stocks in paticular seem to be heading up! Yay!
While I was on the phone some Jehovah’s Witnesses came to the door AGAIN (I just told these people recently not to come back) and gave me some flyer for a “very important” meeting at the Kingdom Hall in our village.
I have decided to find my birthfamily so I can secure some health related information. I have enlisted the help of a private investigation company that searches for birthparents in Florida. This should be interesting…
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February 13, 2007
While I was making myself some hote tea this morning the door bell rang. I was not expecting anyone but saw that two women were standing at our front door and were staring at me. I answered the door and they opened the screen door (big no-no in my book) and proceeded to tell me how many people have unanswered questions about why bad things happen in this world and then wanted to know my answer for why bad things happen. Had they been offering a cash prize or some kind of free vacation then I would have gladly answered. However, they were offering me the Jehovah’s Witness variety of salvation - you know, the kind that only works for 100,000 people. The Jehovah’s Witnesses must be the most idiotic of all Christian sects - they are basically saying that almost everyone will not get into heaven but you should try anyway. I think they need a new marketing strategy because telling people that they are going to work hard to fail is not a way to win believers. Of course, with me they would have even more problems than just that… At any rate, I asked them if they were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they said yes and I said no thank you and have a nice day.
This incident made me ponder why some of our neighbors have large fences and gates around their properties. I think I know the answer now… We have a Jehovah’s Witness *group* that meets in the village above our house and they don’t want them bringing by literature or dropping by for a faux philosophical discussion about why bad things happen in the world. THIS is one of the reasons I left the South - I can’t stand the people who knock on your door to sell you salvation.
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August 4, 2005
Given that a large number of hits to this site are from Palestinian sources we would like to extend a welcome (unless your intentions are malicious) to you. We are interested in world politics and are very interested to know what the Palestinian views are on various world events. Do feel free to post…
Last night, Brian and I were discussing Catholic communions and how they believe that the bread is really the body of Christ and the wine really is the blood of Christ. I wanted to know what exactly makes them believe this because quite simply they would be cannibals if it was *really* the body and blood of Christ and also Christ had a limited surface area and a limited blood supply. So, Brian suggested that we go into a Catholic chat room and ask someone. We went into one and found a random Catholic girl to ask and she answered that the priests, bishops, etc. are all direct descendents of the Apostles and can turn wine into blood and bread into Jesus flesh. Then she attempted to flirt with Brian. That was humorous. Does anyone else have any thoughts or insight concerning Catholic communion?
I am also reading The Life and Times of Margery Kempe by Louis Collis. It is a rather hilarious true story about Margery Kempe who lived in the 15th century and believed that she was sent by God to be a saint. She had many bouts of insanity, was a neglectful mother of 14 children, and was called a heretic numerous times. I have not yet finished but it is incredibly humorous thus far. It is also one of the reasons why I have a renewed interest in Catholic beliefs and ridiculous rituals.
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May 6, 2005
Yesterday and today, we went to day one of the book sale at the OSU library and we bought a number of books, one of which was a giant book on Scientology by Scientologists. We watched westerns and then read parts of the Scientology book… It was like a giant 800 page pamphlet! It had many colorful pictures of smiling people and all these levels of secret stages. So, basically Scientology is a big pyramid scheme and cult all wrapped into one. They have all these bizarre “self-evident truths” which were not at all self-evident (or truth for that matter). Here are a couple:
“The entirety of the subjects of Scientology flow from these basic
truths. No later discoveries fell outside the bounds of truth
described in these logics and axioms.
#1 Knowledge is a whole group or subdivision of a whole group of data or speculations or conclusions on data or methods of gaining data.
#2 A body of knowledge is a body of data aligned or unaligned or methods of gaining data.
#3 Any knowledge which can be sensed measured or experienced by any entity is capable of influencing an entity.
Corrolary: That knowledge which cannot be sensed, measured or experienced by any entity or type of entity cannot influence that entity.
Axiom #1 The source of life is a static of peculiar and particular properties.
Axiom #8 The life static conquers the material universe by learning and applying the physical laws of the physical universe. Symbol: The symbol for the life static in use hereafter is the greek letter theta.
Axiom #11 A life organism is composed of matter and energy in space and time animated by theta. Symbol: living organism or organisms will hereafter be represented by the greek letter lambda.
Axiom #13 Theta operating through lambda converts the forces of the physical universe into forces to conquer the physical universe.
The book lists 194 Axioms, 24 Logics, 30 Factors (#1 Before the beginning was a cause and the entire purpose of the cause was the creation of effect). “
We also got two giant cases of books for only $10…that was before the rabidly rude Russian took all the books with his secret goon police…
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July 3, 2004
From: Doreen (hazeleyez608@yahoo.com)
Has anybody ever told you the real deal about Jesus? Not just that he loves
you and died for your sins, but even more. You obviosly know about Demons and the
Spirit world. Please respond to this and tell me your reasons why you do not believe.
REMOTE_ADDR: 129.24.235.84
The collective IQ of Christianity just dropped…
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May 25, 2004
Doughnut business hurt by low-carb craze…-It would seem that the low carb fad diets are causing problems in the doughnut world. I wonder why the doughnut shops do not cater to the low carb dieters by offering a sausage, cheese, egg, Canadian bacon, and chicken doughnut. Alternatively, they could create a doughnut that is filled with a large amount of saturated fat rather than jelly or whatever it is that they squeeze into the doughnuts. I still do not understand how food that is high in saturated fat, full of calories, and provides no fiber or nutritional value whatsoever is now called health food. I wonder when the low-carb happy meal will make its debut…
More news from Georgia…-A huge fire started at 4 AM this morning and they still do not know why this chemical factory caught on fire. Of course, it does not help things that it happened in an area where people are notoriously stupid. It would seem that all the interesting things in Georgia happen in the most undesirable areas and thus those areas are seen on the news so that all may laugh at the South.
Catholic Churches are Closing…It would seem that many Catholic churches are closing in Boston… I cannot imagine why…
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May 18, 2004
According to Dr. James Dobson, homosexual unions will cause a rise in the number of children born out of wedlock. Can anyone explain this?
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April 20, 2004
Did anyone see this little gem from several days ago? I just came across it on the April 4 post.
“While I agee with you that they should respect your right to privacy, I feel I must remind you that this country you live in is a religious country. Why do you think a lot of the original settlers came here, many for religious freedom. You have every right to not believe in God or to believe in Him. He believes in you and loves you. Have a great day!
Craig[@], 04.14.2004, 5:56 pm ”
Too bad I did not see this until today… I fail to see how a piece of land is religious.
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April 4, 2004
I am getting sick and tired of people *witnessing* for Islam. They are JUST as bad as Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and every other person trying to cram their religion down someone’s throat. Simply because they desire to worship a goddess, gods, God, or supernatural powers does not mean that they have a right to tell me about it when I clearly state that I have no desire to hear about it. It does not give them a right to solicit at my front door when a sign at the front of the neighborhood clearly says NO soliciting. It also does not give them a right to SPAM my inbox. If you want to worship a god, goddess, God, or supernatural power of your choice that is fine but leave me out of it. If you want to keep that to yourself, that is wonderful. Nevertheless, if you cannot obey the laws, stay away from my house or my email box, and feel it is necessary to witness to me, then perhaps you should move to a religious country like Iran. Muslims know why they do not believe in the Christian religion and likewise Christians know why they do not believe in the Muslim religion. Since they understand that, they should be able to wrap their brains around why I do not believe in ANY of them. The South can be such an irritating place to live.
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I am getting sick and tired of people *witnessing* for Islam. They are JUST as bad as Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and every other person trying to cram their religion down someone’s throat. Simply because they desire to worship a goddess, gods, God, or supernatural powers does not mean that they have a right to tell me about it when I clearly state that I have no desire to hear about it. It does not give them a right to solicit at my front door when a sign at the front of the neighborhood clearly says NO soliciting. It also does not give them a right to SPAM my inbox. If you want to worship a god, goddess, God, or supernatural power of your choice that is fine but leave me out of it. If you want to keep that to yourself, that is wonderful. Nevertheless, if you cannot obey the laws, stay away from my house or my email box, and feel it is necessary to witness to me, then perhaps you should move to a religious country like Iran. Muslims know why they do not believe in the Christian religion and likewise Christians know why they do not believe in the Muslim religion. Since they understand that, they should be able to wrap their brains around why I do not believe in ANY of them. The South can be such an irritating place to live.
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March 19, 2004
Everyone should listen to the debate between Pastor Eric Lounsbery and Ex-Pastor Dan Barker on the topic of Does God Exist? It is about 90 minutes long. Everyone should go to the Infidel Guy’s website to download it. The Infidel Guy is from Atlanta, by the way. Dan Barker wrote a book a few years ago called, “Losing Faith in Faith.”
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February 13, 2004
Hidden nuclear drawings found in Iran
Here is the shock of the day… Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani scientist, admits to supplying nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Now we will wait for a decade to pass so that the UN can decide that we will have to let them kill off every last one of us before we can take action. I wonder how much longer it will be before WW3 is on our hands?
This religious extremism is really getting out of hand. If all religious people were like Unitarian Universalists, I would have no problem with them. Instead, the fundamentalist Christians knock on your door trying to “save you” and dip you in your bathtub, which is followed by a snake handling session and some poison drinking. Then we have the rabid Catholics who witness as well but they just give you books on how you can convert to Catholicism. The fundamentalist Muslims only want to kill you they do not even give you a chance to convert. They prove that the only way to avoid going being locked up in a looney bin is to claim that your religion mandates all these activities. They seem to be somewhat immune from the law as well. Last time I checked, my neighborhood had a sign posted at the front that said, “No Handbills and No Solicitation.” Is witnessing not solicitation? When I tell them to leave and they continue to knock on the door, is that not trespassing and harassment? These people are crazy…
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Hidden nuclear drawings found in Iran
Here is the shock of the day… Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani scientist, admits to supplying nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Now we will wait for a decade to pass so that the UN can decide that we will have to let them kill off every last one of us before we can take action. I wonder how much longer it will be before WW3 is on our hands?
This religious extremism is really getting out of hand. If all religious people were like Unitarian Universalists, I would have no problem with them. Instead, the fundamentalist Christians knock on your door trying to “save you” and dip you in your bathtub, which is followed by a snake handling session and some poison drinking. Then we have the rabid Catholics who witness as well but they just give you books on how you can convert to Catholicism. The fundamentalist Muslims only want to kill you they do not even give you a chance to convert. They prove that the only way to avoid going being locked up in a looney bin is to claim that your religion mandates all these activities. They seem to be somewhat immune from the law as well. Last time I checked, my neighborhood had a sign posted at the front that said, “No Handbills and No Solicitation.” Is witnessing not solicitation? When I tell them to leave and they continue to knock on the door, is that not trespassing and harassment? These people are crazy…
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February 11, 2004
Click here to read the story.
Why on earth should discrimination be legalized? I wonder if they plan to repeal the vote for women and minorities? I am surprised they have not also suggested that minorities be put back into slavery. What is next, stoning gay people to death? Next the government should declare Christianity as the official religion of the US. After that, they should hang anyone who is not a Christian. Now let us all wave our American flags because we love America. Home of the free and the brave… I am not sure *free* or *brave* really fits any longer. Perhaps we should use stupid and cowardly instead?
Also, has anyone heard about the new Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of Christ? Click here to read an article about it.
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