Max: Scientology Touches My Bad Place
Tom Cruise is full-on bugnuts.
Jerry O'Connell is awesome.
Jerry O'Connell is awesome.
posted by Max Dobberstein at 1/23/2008 05:28:00 PM
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
posted by Max Dobberstein at 1/23/2008 05:28:00 PM
6 Comments:
I started "Dianetics" twelve or so years ago. At the time, in my own personal head space, I was trying to shake off the remains of being brought up Catholic. So, anything else that felt religious or cult-ish, I pretty much rejected out-of-hand.
I also rejected it and the Scientology movement because "Dianetics" was written by L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard was a sci-fi writer, and in my opinion, not a very good one. What answers to life's questions would an over educated sci-fi writer have?
I don't know, I never got beyond the first chapter.
As I have gotten older, I have begun to yearn. I yearn to know the answers. Sure, as a younger man, I asked the BIG questions. But, I don't think I wanted the answers. I was too busy being angry that the Universe was unfair. If someone had handed me the book with the answers in it - I probably would have laughed and handed it back.
But, I think now I am ready for the answers. I'm tired of not knowing. Isn't it better to know? I think so.
Are the Scientologists onto something? I don't know. Yes, Tom Cruise comes off as insane - but, some of the things he says, well, they inspire me.
Who knows? Maybe I'll buy the book and in a year or so, I'll be a newly brainwashed cultist.
Do yourself a favor. Before you go looking for a cult to commit suicide with, read some Sartre. Read a lot of science books. Read Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Language Deceives You by Deborah J. Bennett.
Maybe you'll find that you can answer those questions without having your brain turned to sludge by people who never learned to think.
Excuse me, Mr. Liberal McOpenmind? Have you read any of their books? How can we judge them before we give them a chance?
I suggested you read up on science, logic and philosophy. How does that make me close minded?
"Before you go looking for a cult to commit suicide with ..."
Ummm ... what would you call that?
What Sartre would you suggest? Seriously. I wouldn't know Sartre from Warhol.
I would call that a reference to religion in general.
I find fault with Scientology for it's desire to ban Psychology and Psychiatry. I find fault with Scientology for it's expressed goal to set up a Scientologist theocracy. I find fault with any belief system that refuses to reveal it's full spectrum of belief to anyone who is not seen to be a member of that faith's "upper level." To my knowledge, the only form of suicide advocated by Scientology is intellectual suicide, making it no different than any other religion.
As for Sartre, I would suggest starting with Sartre for Beginners by Donald D. Palmer, then go on to actual Sartre, The Philosophy and Being and Nothingness are the classics. If you are still with me and JP after that, try the Road to Liberty series.
Or I could painfully oversimplify Existentialism by saying that life has no inherent meaning. Rather, meaning is created by each individual when he commits to following his passions.
But what it comes down to is that no answer should be accepted (from me, Sartre, Plato, Elron, whoever) if it does not stand up to the cold light of logic and evidence. It would be a horrible loss if your understandable search for meaning led you to surrender your brain to some meaningless belief system.
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