Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image


Related

More news articles & news archive on Scientology


Translate



Advertisements *

What is a cult: Cult Definition
Simple steps to financial health and a good credit score


Elsewhere

Calvary Chapel was founded on the alliance of pastor-teacher, Chuck Smith Jr. and hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee


Scientology:

Tom and James: Scientology is built on nonsense

Herald Sun, Australia
July 2, 2007
Jill Singer
www.news.com.au

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 18605 • Posted: Monday July 2, 2007  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Scientology

Scientology is being talked about again because of certain prominent supporters.

Germany is reluctant to have Scientology’s most famous adherent, Tom Cruise, play one of its country’s greatest heroes.

Valkyrie, the planned film, centres on Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg’s heroic role in attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

The problem for Cruise is that Germany is not fond of his “religion”.

Closer to home, it’s reported that the late Kerry Packer was concerned with his son James’s flirtation with Scientology.

The newly released book Who Killed Channel Nine? details Kerry Packer’s fear that James would destroy Channel 9.

Kerry Packer was right to be concerned about the threat to his beloved television network, but how valid were his concerns with Scientology?

It certainly doesn’t seem to have held back Kate Ceberano, who presents as a delightfully happy and healthy woman.

The truth is that Scientology sends some positive messages, such as warning against drug abuse. But the truth doesn’t end there.

Founded by L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology is built on nonsense from whoa to go.

Hubbard lied about his university qualifications. Thrice married, he posed as an expert on marital success.

In 1964, an inquiry in Victoria found that Scientology presented a grave threat to family and home life.

“As well as causing financial hardship, it engenders dissension, suspicion and mistrust among members of the family,” said the inquiry. “Scientology has caused many family estrangements.”

As for Hubbard, the inquiry said he built a crazy and dangerous edifice based on a smattering of knowledge in various sciences.

Essentially, Scientology is big business masquerading as religion and we all have reason to question it.

L. Ron Hubbard, Charlatan

Hubbard, the man who created Scientology in 1952, has an unusual CV for a religious and spiritual leader. As well as being a writer, he was a congenital liar: quite simply a “charlatan”. That was the view of a High Court judge in 1984, who said Hubbard’s theories were “corrupt, sinister and dangerous“.
- Tom Cruise’s Church of hate tried to destroy me

 

Today marks the beginning of another financial year. Yet again, when the Church of Scientology submits its tax returns, it will gain from a range of tax benefits denied to most Australians.

As a recognised religion, its income is exempt from income tax. Nor does it fork out on payroll tax.

The reasons for this are farcical. In 1983, the High Court of Australia overturned a ruling by the Supreme Court of Victoria that Scientology was a philosophy, not a religion.

In finding Scientology to be a religion, the High Court defined religion as a belief in some supernatural being, thing or principle as well as the acceptance of canons of conduct in order to give effect to that belief.

In other words, any organised group that believes in something supernatural is a religion.

In contrast, if you believe in creatures thought to live on another planet, as do the Raelians, you’re in strife.

In 1998, the Raelians lost their bid for tax-free status because they believed in creatures assumed to be real rather than from another dimension.

The ramifications of all this nonsense are profound.

In 2001, an inquiry into what constitutes a charity relied upon the High Court’s definition of religion.

While this makes legal sense, it doesn’t follow that the Australian Tax Office need assume all religious institutions are necessarily charities, which it does.

The UK, for example, has revoked Scientology’s tax-exempt charitable/religious status. But, according to a report in The Times, changes by the UK Charity Commission may restore Scientology’s charity status, which will increase its annual income of $25 million by 22 per cent.

Pagans, witches and Rastas are also reported to be set to benefit. Madness.

For those of us who object to financially supporting the likes of Scientology, insult is added to injury.

Consider the Athenian school in Sydney that receives federal as well as state funding. Run by the Church of Scientology, it relies on the various crazed scribblings of L. Ron Hubbard to educate children.

(The L, incidentally, is for Lafayette.)

In 1999, the NSW Parliament heard that while NSW financed the Athena school, an FoI request for the school’s curriculum was refused because the school claimed the materials sought “concerned the business affairs of the school and would have an unreasonable adverse effect on those affairs”.

Consumer Alert: Scientology Quackery

“Scientology is evil; its techniques are evil; its practice is a serious threat to the community, medically, morally, and socially; and its adherents are sadly deluded and often mentally ill… (Scientology is) the world’s largest organization of unqualified persons engaged in the practice of dangerous techniques which masquerade as mental therapy.”
- Justice Anderson, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia, quoted atWhat judges have to say about Scientology

Today, you can log on to the school’s website and witness its commitment to quality teaching.

Subjects taught include spelling and something called “mathmatics”.

The various products it flogs include “educational books” such as How to Use a Dictionay.

Yours for $81.50.

The Scientology handbook tells us there is a test for sanity and comparative sanity, which is so simple anyone can apply it.

If you ask someone a question and they answer very quickly it proves they have a fast and sane mind.

And so I ask myself, are taxpayers being ripped off by the Church of Scientology. Fast as the speed of light, I answer: YES!

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more cult news articlemore religion news Categories: Scientology
more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine