Scientology's®
Claims
From: Public Relations (publicrelations@scientology.org)
RESPECT THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF OTHERS -
This is one of the many Way to Happiness precepts which is to "Respect
the religious beliefs of others" as written by L. Ron Hubbard:
Tolerance is a good cornerstone on which to build human relationships.
When one views the slaughter and suffering caused by religious intolerance
throughout all the history of man and into modern times, one can see that
intolerance is a very nonsurvival activity.
Religious tolerance does not mean one cannot express his own beliefs. It
does not mean that seeking to undermine or attack the religious beliefs
of another has always been a short road to trouble.
Philosophers since the time of ancient Greece have disputed with one
another about the nature of God, man and the universe. The opinions of
authorities ebb and flow. Just now the philosophies of
"mechanism" and "materialism" - dating as far back
as Egypt and Greece - are the fad: they seek to assert that all is matter
and overlook that, neat as their explanations of evolution may be, they
still do not rule out additional factors that might be at work, that
might be merely using such things as evolution. They are, today, the
"official" philosophies and are even taught in schools. They
have their won zealots who attack the beliefs and religions of others:
the result can be intolerance and contention.
If all the brightest minds since the fifth century B.C. or before have
never been able to agree on the subject of religion or antireligion,
it is an arena of combat between people that one would do well to say
out of.
In this sea of contention, one bright principle has emerged: the right
to believe as one chooses.
"Faith" and "belief" do not necessarily surrender to
logic: they cannot even be declared to be illogical. They can be things
quite apart.
Any advice one might give another on this subject is safest when it
simply asserts the right to believe as one chooses. One is at liberty
to hold up his own beliefs for acceptance. One is at risk when he seeks
to assault the beliefs of others, much more so when he attacks and seeks
to harm others because of their religious convictions.
Man, since the dawn of the species, has taken great consolation and joy
in his religions. Even the "mechanist" and
"materialist" of today sound much like the priests of old as
they spread their dogma.
Men without faith are a pretty sorry lot. They can even be given
something to have faith in. But when they have religious beliefs,
respect them.
The way to happiness can become contentious when one fails to respect
the religious beliefs of others.
For a full view of what "The Way to Happiness" is all about
visit the site at http://wwwthewaytohappiness.org.
And now for the truth
What the Scientology organization is trying to do here is pretend that
they're a religion some how and assert that their
criminal frauds and swindles should
be respected because they're some how religious. In fact, the Scientology
organization tried to argue before a number of judges in Clearwater,
Florida that they had the right to kill one of their own followers named
Lisa McPherson based upon the
provisions of the &quoit;Religious Freedom Restoration Act." Indeed,
Scientology has a long history of claiming relgious persecution when
they're hauled up in front of a judge or otherwise banned for their
endless homicides,
frauds,
and
swindles.
People have the right to believe what they will -- whether it's religion
or otherwise -- however they have other rights, rights which protect
them from criminal acts and frauds. One such right is the right to
know what they're purchasing before they buy it and not get taken in by
a lot of lies in the promotion of the product they're buying. The
Scientology organization does not tell their victims what it is they're
going to be buying and what it is Scientology is really all about. If
the Scientology organization told their prospective victims about Lord
Xenu, invisible murdered space aliens called "Body Thetans,"
and all the rest of what Scientology really believes, few -- if
anybody -- would buy Scientology.
Scientology not only keeps the facts behind what they really believe a
secret from their followers (until years later after the victims has
become brainwashed and broke) but Scientology also doesn't tell their
followers what they're going to be ordered to believe about real
religions.
As an example, Scientology's mad messiah L. Ron Hubbard claimed that
religion is an "implant" -- literally a video movie shown
to people before they're born to implant lies into them to keep them
enslaved while they're alive. Scientology's messiah not only has
his followers believe that religion is an enslavement device, he also
claimed that Christianity and Jesus Christ was an implant -- something
created, he claimed, when a madman discovered something Hubbard called
"R6." At the same time, Scientology lies and claims that
they are some how compatable with all real religions.
Do real religions lie to their followers about what they
believe? Scientology does. It has to in order to sucker followers
in to their Ponzi-like bait-and-switch bunko scam.
Horribly, Scientology doesn't respect followers of their own
"technology." People who employ Scientology's written rituals
and procedures yet don't give money to the criminal organization are
known as Free Zoners and Scientology
refuses to allow them to use L. Ron Hubbard's "scriptures"
freely as part of their "religion." Since by all outward
appearances Scientology seems to be nothing but a financial swindle,
Scientology won't respect Free Zoner's rights or beliefs and won't allow
them to freely disseminate and grow their religion/technology.
Real religions want people to freely disseminate their
scriptures, technology, rituals, and ideologies. Scientology, to
contrast, has violently stomped on Scientologists and Free Zoners who
have publically shared the deeply held written "religious
technologies" of Scientology. They want what they believe to be
hidden not only from the outside world but from their own followers who
have not paid in those big bucks for the dubious privelage of finally
finding out what they're supposed to believe.
If pressed, I might consider the possibility that people have the right
to believe in something that kills them -- provided it's an adult who
is sound of mind and is someone who knows what they're doing. Sadly,
Scientology has killed a number of their own followers -- like
Lisa McPherson who begged,
screamed, and tried to fight her way out of Scientology and yet died
knowing her "friends" had to kill her to "save"
her.
Nobody has to respect the "religious beliefs" of others when
such "beliefs" are criminal acts. In Scientology's case,
judges have consistantly ruled over and over again that Scientology does
not have the religious right to break the law. As one Judge put it,
the First Ammendment doesn't grant everyone immunity from prosecution
otherwise every man would be a law unto himself.
Subject: Respect the religious beliefs of others
Date: 1998/09/23
The name "Scientology"® is trademarked to the "Church" of Scientology. Neither this web page, nor this web site, nor any of the individuals mentioned herein assisting to educate the public about the Scientology organization's "Volunteer Minister" program are members of or representatives of the Scientology organization. Quotes used within this web page and within this web site are used according to the Fair Use laws of the United States.
If you find anything inaccurate or otherwise mistaken on this web page, please send a correction to COSVM at the e-mail address offered below -- with our thanks.
COSVM Web Site