The St. Petersburg Times completed a three-part expose on the cult of the Scientology. Good reading, and good information to use with JWs.
St. Petersburg Times Exposes Scientology
by XJW4EVR 5 Replies latest jw friends
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WTWizard
Scientology is a cult with some sound ideas that are executed in a controling way. They exploit people, using the scientifically valid points as bait to draw in smart people. Then their rules and policies trap them. But at least one can investigate those scientific points, cross-reference and experiment, and not join--possibly even creating new value off of their initial work.
Jehovah's Witlesses, on the other hand, has no sound ideas. They take the Bible and "prove" that anyone not actively proclaiming their messages or that is sinning according to their ideas is going to die soon. The rules are just as ensnaring. Yet, there is nothing scientifically accurate, and one cannot create new value from information found in the Showcase Washtowel or the Asleep!.
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Satanus
Cool. Leave it to the russians.
S
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XJW4EVR
Having worked for a company that was owned, mananged and where the majority of the staff were Scientologist, I can tell you that they were far from smart.
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HolyParrot
I love reading the Operation Clambake message boards (I nearly got suckered into it when I was a student 25 years ago), and there's a huge flap about this at the moment, although whether it will lead to any long term change is debateable. Cults have a habit of riding these things out without much net effect.
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XJW4EVR
Interesting link that Cameo D gave me.
http://ce399.typepad.com/weblog/2008/07/wollersheim-v-church-of-scientology-1990-damage-award-25-million.html
60. Also, the court found no distinction between Scientology's policy of "disconnect" and the "shunning" practiced by Jehovah's Witnesses and Mennonites. Where shunning isolates one member of a group from the rest of the members, the disconnect policy isolates the individual from his family outside the group. Since in Wollersheim's case the practice of disconnect was coerced, the court escaped having to conclude whether to follow the law in Paul v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc. of New York, 819 F.2d 875 (1987) (religion cannot be held civilly liable to shunned former member because shunning is constitutionally protected conduct) or Bear v. Reformed Mennonite Church, 341 A.2d 105 (1975) (religion may be civilly liable to shunned former member because shunning must yield to compelling state interest in protecting family relations).