| « Yes We Can | My One Post About Britney Spears » |
pesky'apostrophe: Give 'til it hurts
We all believe in different things, and whether you believe one book or another, well, that’s OK with me. What makes Scientology seem more acceptable to me is that even though they’re out there evangelizing and sucking people into the religion [just like any other religious group, really], they’re not out there trying to get Congress to make Ritalin illegal or deny people psychiatric care, and pharmacists who are Scientologists aren’t refusing to fill orders for anti-depressants or whatever because it violates their religious beliefs.
Leave it to Mac to put things in perspective. She's quite good at that. I think she has a good point that while Scientology has some questionable practices, at least they aren't trying to change laws and the constitution or turn our government into a theocracy. I've never heard of right-wing Scientologists bombing an psychiatry office or launching a terrorist attack. Yes, they've done their share of dubious deeds, but hasn't every religion?
If they had the majority that Christianity does, they'd be trying to change laws, too. 
I've had some interesting comments on that entry - apparently, there have been some instances of Scientologists getting friendly with legislators. Of course, the chances of them getting enough influence to really ban psychiatric care is slim.
Supposedly, the musician Beck is a Scientologist because his parents were, although I have never heard him make any reference or allusion to it. I guess I would describe him as a "casual Scientologist."
I still love the way it was treated in South Park. In "The Return of Chef" the Super Adventure Club attempts to compare his religion to others:
Kyle: Do you realize how retarded that sounds? Connelly: Is it any more retarded than the idea of God sending his son to die for our sins? Is it any more retarded than Buddha sitting beneath a tree for 20 years? Stan: Yeah, it's way, way more retarded.That's what I love about Trey Parker and Matt Stone: they're great at cutting through everybody's bullshit. No matter what your religious beliefs, you've got to admit that there's just no comparing traditional religions to Scientology.
Kyle, just so you know, Beck is far from a casual scientologist. He married Giovanni Ribisi's sister who is a hardcore scientologist and has donated a ton of money to the church. Unlike Tom Cruise, he has a good publicist and doesn't feel the need to be insane. Other low key celebrity scientologists include Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Juliette Lewis, Danny Masterson, and that other Masterson who played Francis on Malcolm in the Middle. 
Achewood: The Great Outdoor Fight by Chris Onstad
Stephen King The Stand: Captain Trips #1 (of 5) by Stephen King, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
XML Feeds
