How to tell the difference between a religion and a cult

[andrewducker]

via jwz

One of the big differences, and a big pointer to Scientology being a massive scam, is that with Christianity you are totally free to go buy a copy of the book containing the complete belief system. I might believe that in its own way Christianity is as silly as Scientology, but I don't have to pay a fortune and work my way up inside the church to find out what those beliefs are. They're open and honest about them, and dedicated to sharing those beliefs with anyone who is interested. If someone is trying to sell you salvation, or telling you that they have the truth, but you can't have it until you've handed over your cash, or until you're ready to handle it, then that person is trying to take you for a ride.

Comments

[birguslatro]

If someone is trying to sell you salvation, or telling you that they have the truth, but you can't have it until you've handed over your cash, or until you're ready to handle it, then that person is trying to take you for a ride.

Isn't that what universities do?

[andrewducker]

Universities tend to have huge wodges of information available to people for as near to free as they can afford. You may have to pay a small amount for library access, but once you have that you can take in anything you like. If you want them to actively teach you, then you have to pay for that, of course.

[birguslatro]

And is there any way to get a diploma without handing over your cash?

Also, there's lots to read at the Scientology site.

But yeah, I think it's more a business than anything, and leaning more towards psychology than a church.

[andrewducker]

A diploma isn't knowledge though. It's a certification that you have attained a certain level of education. And certifying (and educating) people takes time and money.

And yes, it's basically a business. And the reason they profess to hate psychiatry and psychologists is that they use a lot of the same techniques. Just for evil rather than good.

[spacelem]

Scientology uses some pretty heavy brainwashing techniques, and one of the things they tell the victims is that it is dangerous to learn these things too quickly. Of course they aren't willing to discuss it with non-Scientologists, because they think it will be harmful to them.

This belief, while certainly crazy by most peoples' standards, is no less crazy than the belief that we are infected with someone else's sin and that the only way lose that sin and have a happy afterlife is to give it to some guy who is his own father, and whose mother was a virgin*. The only difference is that one group thinks it's important to share that information, the other also wants you to learn it, but thinks there's a proper procedure to do it.

"There's a star man, waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us, but he think he'd blow our minds."

--
* I think almost everything that is actually written about Jesus, and what he has to say, is actually some pretty good advice, and generally very inclusive. Most of the problematic stuff occurs elsewhere.

[drplokta]

For a thousand years or so, Christianity ensured that it's core belief system was not translated into any language that ordinary people understood, so as to make sure that people couldn't interpret it for themselves. Not much difference, really.

[robhu.livejournal.com]

The New Testament was written in Greek by people for whom that was their language, and distributed to those people. The Old Testament was circulated to them as a translation of the Hebrew (the Septuagint). Whatever might have happened afterwards, the intent of the original people involved was that everyone be able to read it.

At some points in history maybe those running the church had other ideas and so on, but surely what's relevant is what the church is like now? Christians and modern day Christianity can't reasonably be blamed for what a Pope might have done a thousand years ago.

Conning people into handing over money and preventing access to the Bible for the common man was exactly why the Reformation occurred.

[Bad username or site: andrewducker' / @ livejournal.com] is referring to Christianity as what there is in the present day - and today the Bible is available to all, and indeed freely given away.

[sttatus-quo.livejournal.com]

I don't think you can blame what happened 1000 years ago, either. I do have to say though, that I'm a firm believer in the saying that people who do not heed the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.

[robhu.livejournal.com]

I agree entirely.

Protestantism is based around the idea that the Bible should be freely and easily available to everyone.

[sttatus-quo.livejournal.com]

I think that you can say that about contemporary Christianity. For a very long time the book containing the belief system was written and produced in a language that only the religious and highly educated could access. People weren't encouraged to know the "entire" book- and to some degree told what to think about the scriptures they read.
Even the renegades like Martin Luther were selective about the parts that they translated.

Scientology *could* evolve over time the same way if it lasts that long- I doubt it will, though.

[robhu.livejournal.com]

That might be true at some points in history, but as you say it's not true now and it wasn't true in the beginning as I just said in my comment above this one :)