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SCIENTOLOGY

SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION
I have often seen confusion arise in the minds of people who hear snippets of the theatrical, artificial media version of Scientology. My own family, friends and acquaintances know me as mostly “normal” and hard working. A little wacky, a little funny, somewhat interesting, but just another guy.
TOLERANCE
What are these people so afraid of? That Jehovah’s Witnesses are personally attacking them by handing them copies of The Watchtower? That a man in a turban is going to change the fabric of the City Council? That Mormons will make them look bad by being too moral? That a Muslim real estate agent is a terrorist? That a Scientologist might poison their minds with The Way to Happiness? The list could go on.
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION
For most of us, our cell phone is a thing of wonder and mystery. We don’t know how it works, we only know it does. Well, it works because engineers figured out the best materials, exact dimensions for components and necessary power, currents, programs, etc.
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION
I have the most awesome kid in the world. I know every parent thinks that, but in my case I have empirical evidence to support the claim. At least once a week someone will approach me. It could be my son’s teacher or another faculty member at his school.
TOLERANCE
For the record, I’ve been a Scientologist for over thirty years, and so far no one in the church has ever inquired about my belief in aliens or insisted—or even recommended—that I “believe.”
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION
Once I began to study Scientology, one of the things that kept me coming back was the people I’ve been privileged to associate with and befriend. After forty plus years, I’ve yet to meet any group of folks with such a combination of drive, intelligence, creativity, insight, wit, intense curiosity and outright quirky, irreverent humor. The bloggers of STAND are among the cream.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
Religion is like marriage: there’s so much to criticize about it, yet people still want to tie the knot. Marriage is designed to fulfill a need: the need for companionship, solace and pleasure in the pursuit of posterity. Clearly, we need it.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
Cultures change slowly. I was born in 1945. When I was growing up in Washington, D.C., discrimination against African Americans, Jews, Catholics, Mormons, Gays, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans and Muslims was not the least bit unusual and was largely accepted. Southern politicians got elected based on who was the loudest and most viciously racist.
MEDIA & ETHICS
The data is fascinating and rather unnerving at the same time. In about an hour’s time, Mr. King created a fake news website, put together a fake news story by re-using a popular one he had seen, created a fake news page on Facebook, created a fake ad promoting the fake news from his fake page, targeted the ad to the groups most likely to salivate over it, specified his budget of about $50.00 and then clicked “place order.”
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
As a 7th grader, I visited the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. The quote in HUGE letters around the inner dome reads: “I have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." When I read it, a chill ran down my spine.