Christ and Xenu walk into a bar…

Posted on August 24, 2008, 12:28 pm, by link, under opinion.

Jesus Cruise
It seems pretty well accepted by non-believers that Scientology is a made-up, fruity cult. You won’t get any arguments here. I mean, that’s what I think it is. But what, exactly, makes it more (or less) of a cult than the more “reputable” Christianity? What makes one a cult and one a religion?

It’s not their ages. Certainly, Christianity is older and more established. But if that’s all it takes to make a religion superior to others, Christians should dump Christ for more senior gods, like Zeus or Ra. Or maybe older gods like The Sun and The Moon.

It’s not their documentation. They’re both based on books of lore written by men. Whether or not those men were guided by the hand of god or divine intervention is something better discussed by those who actually believe what they wrote. But they were written by men, and man is fallible. L. Ron Hubbard is on record as saying he wanted to get rich by starting a religion. That seems to discount his writings. But The Bible has been changed and edited so many times by different factions, whether it be the Catholic Church or Constantine, that it is no longer in the form in which it started. To me, that would make the bible equally flawed and unreliable. And yet, there are people who consider both books to be 100% factual.

Technically, a religion becomes a Cult when its beliefs and practices are found to be unacceptable by the community. By that definition, Christianity is not a Cult. But it sure as hell started out that way. At one time, Christianity was viewed by the public in the way that Scientology is viewed by the public today. People already had their Gods and mythologies. And theirs were much more interesting. Shit, read the Bible and then read a book of Greek Myths. If you can tell me, with a straight face, that the Bible is a more enjoyable read, you’re nuts.

So what, exactly, makes one better than the other? What makes one a cult and one a religion? Will Scientology one day become as Christianity is today, while Jesus goes the way of Thor and Jupiter? Will a better and newer religion make the scene and wipe them both off the face of history? I don’t know. I don’t have the answers. Maybe one of you can enlighten me.

Tags: Bible, christianity, dianetics, religion, Scientology
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346CommentsChrist+and+Xenu+walk+into+a+bar...2008-08-24+17%3A28%3A40link

penitentman says:

August 24, 2008 at 1:20 pm

When I became a Christian a dozen years ago or so, I wasn’t looking for the best religion. I was looking for the most true. The one whose God measured up to the book written about Him.

At a time when I was considering thoughts of suicide, I said a prayer to the “God of the Christian Bible”. Over the course of the following 2 weeks, I felt he answered my profoundly and deeply… more so that I could have imagined. That has made Christianity true for me.

Now I do read the bible regularly to try and understand it more. Christianity calls the bible “God breathed” and a “living document”. I have found that to be true. Words that mean nothing to me one day, rock my world a week or a year later.

Findings like the dead sea scrolls that reveal little actual change in the bible document give me enough faith to trust it as a decent source for learning about God. And measuring what it says against the backdrop of the world I live in. Most of the time it makes sense. Or at least confirms my confusion.

But at the end of the day, that’s just MY experience. I’m sure a Christian Scientist might have a similar story. Obviously, families have been destroyed by people of Christian faith AND C. Sci. followers, and every other religion. And look at faiths like Mormonism, which protestant Christians (like myself) call a cult and yet we share the same bible.

This is a big question, and I certainly haven’t answered it. Well, maybe I have, if only for myself.

- Mike
Ontario Emperor says:

August 25, 2008 at 10:57 am

One working definition of a cult is a group showing total, unswerving devotion to a single leader. If you use this definition, then the Manson Family is a cult, while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not.

One comment, however, on the “changed and edited so many times” point - are you saying that the scriptural passages found in the Dead Sea Scrolls are dramatically different than the scriptural passages in Bibles that are printed today?
linc says:

August 25, 2008 at 4:21 pm

But doesn’t the Church show total unswerving devotion to a single leader? Obeying him in all things, never questioning? I think Jesus fits this bill.

As for the changed and edited point, I was merely referring to the fact that both the Catholic Church and Constantine (among others) altered the bible to fit their needs. If you want to read about the topic in-depth, you should check out Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman.
calinazaret says:

August 25, 2008 at 11:38 pm

I’m a Christian for the hope it gives me. As for whether or not it’s defined as a cult or whether it’s better than Scientology– who cares?

The only reason why Christianity isn’t thought of as a cult is because there are a lot of Christians and they don’t want to be thought of as cultists.
Kelsey says:

August 26, 2008 at 9:41 pm

Basically, I think defining something as a “cult” is something that you can’t really do without running into problems. Certainly at one point, Christianity was considered a cult and Christians were persecuted for their beliefs. Now that it’s a mainstream religion, other religious beliefs outside what we consider to be the norm are defined as “cults”. I’m sure we would probably consider a group who worshiped Jupiter and Apollo in today’s society a cult. But during the height of the Roman Empire, not so much because they were the norm.

So basically, a cult is a group of people who aren’t part of the mainstream in their beliefs or practices. If Scientology became the mainstream, then yes, Christianity could be considered a cult again.
penitentman says:

August 27, 2008 at 8:30 am

I looked up the definitions at dictionary.com just for fun, and I think this is the one we’re referring to when we talk about cults in this context:

“a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.”

I think this both simplifies AND complicates the question. On the one hand, while I believe the God of the Bible to be the one and only true god and all others to be false, I come to that conclusion based on personal experience and faith. On the other hand, because I have access to the Christian Bible, I can look at any church that claims to follow that bible and make perhaps a more supported case that such and such church/religion is a cult (unorthodox, false, extremist).

The argument that persecution and mainstreaming make a designation seems a bit off to me. Christians in China and other parts of the world are murdered every day simply because they are Christian. And try saying “Merry Christmas” in a public school this December and tell me where that gets you.

I think the terms “cult” and “cultist” we’re once meant to refer to any religion and anyone who practiced it devoutly.

To address something linc said:
“But doesn’t the Church show total unswerving devotion to a single leader? Obeying him in all things, never questioning? I think Jesus fits this bill.”

On the one hand, yes. However, the words and teachings of Jesus that we follow are all written down in a book for all to see. That’s not to say that they are always clear or that Christians don’t often take them out of context, but they are there all the same. And the Bible tells us to “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” Not quite the same as unswerving devotion.

Also, I think we might agree that cults pull away from society. Jesus tells us to be in community.

Great conversation so far. (Except for the person who said I am “sincerely stupid”. Although thank you for recognizing my sincerity!)
penitentman says:

August 27, 2008 at 10:49 am

To correct the end of my last comment… I just realized that remark was made on Plurk, not in the comments here. And the exact words were, “Christians are more sincere in their stupidity.”

Honest Ape

Christ and Xenu walk into a bar…

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