Scientology: Great Name for a Bad Religion

Its really too bad that the name Scientology is taken already. I wonder if I could sue them to give it up on account of it being false advertising and being more applicable to my religion than theirs?

Probably not.

I was just wondering because it's really quite a strange religion, if it's a religion at all, and while Bayesian believer is very precise in its meaning, the name Scientology lets you know you are dealing with someone that puts science first in their philosophy of the cosmos. At least, the name should mean that. So lets deal with these two points one at a time shall we?

'Science'

The first thing to realize about Scientology is that the 'science' stands for 'science fiction'. And I'm not even exagerating that.

Is Scientology a Religion?
Obviously a Bb has to be very careful about denouncing anyone's beliefs. The whole idea is to encourage diversity of belief and accept many different paths to the truth about existence. So I won't say Scientology is a cult or that its a completely invalid religious faith. The Bb philosophy tries to accept many paths to truth. Very many. That doesn't mean just any arbitrary path will do. The fact that Scientology has so many adherents argues more strongly than I can refute that there is something worthwhile there. Tom Cruise may be crazy, but Wil Smith, him I can respect, so I'm open.

In favour of being critical of Scientology there is the fact that after respect for other faiths, the other essential quality of a Bayesian believer should be that critical thinking and criticism are essential parts their faith. That is, just like a scientific theory, any religion that is unwilling or unable to stand up to intense analysis and criticism should be tossed aside. At the very least the concepts in that religion that are inconsistent or irrelevant should be pruned away to more clearly see the spiritual core underneath.

For each Bayesian believer these portions to be pruned will be different. For myself, as a Catholic, there are inumerable things that had to be cast away, or at least reinterpretted, in order to gain a semblance of order. My fear with Scientology is that their may be so much to prune away that there is nothing left in the end. But I could easily be wrong about that, only a believer in Scientology could determine that.

Now I haven't thoroughly researched a scathing analysis of Scientology and its problems but here are some tidbits I've gathered that Scientologists who may think their Bayesian Scientologists (see how awkward that sounds?) should consider:

1. The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard was a science fiction writer. Now I wouldn't claim that science fiction writers shouldn't start religions. If Issac Asimov of Dan Simmons had started one I'd probably join but there is evidence that Mr. Hubbard actually created the idea of the religion as a lark. He apparently made a bet with another SF writer about being able to start one. Then it took off so well he got carried up in it and maybe even believed it.
   
   Frankly, it doesn't matter, if the great prophet of any religion is wise then the religion can be just as useful. But its something to be skeptical about.
2. They sue everyone! I mean the Catholic Church is litigious but its usually defensive not offensive. They forced the federal government to give them tax exempt status as a religion and then demand huge fees for membership from their believers.
   
   What makes the world go round? Money, money, money money money....
3. They have some very strange quasi-science beliefs about psychology and healing your mind. It involves undetected energies and other dimensions I think. But hey, I believe in a soul and instant purging of sins when I say I'm sorry. Then again, I don't try to claim any scientific evidence for the sins being purged, sins aren't detectable. (At least I hope not!)

This is getting rambly. What started me off thinking about Scientology again was Anonymous and their protest against it. Its a very interesting new form of random, social protest. Look it up. google://anonymous+scientology should do it.

Great Quotes

Everyone knows what Jesus taught, except for Christians.

- Mahatma Gandhi

On Fasting

Today marks the beginning of Lent, this is the closest thing Christians get to fasting.  For Catholics, no meat is allowed today, Ash Wednesday or on Good Friday two days before Easter. The entire forty days of Lent are also a time of 'fasting' where something is generally given up in your life.  The goal is to improve yourself through sacrifice, through fasting.  Many other world religions perform fasting, most much more intense than the requirements of Lent.  Muslims cannot eat at all while the sun is up during the whole month of Ramadan. Many Buddhists are not meant to eat on the first and fifteenth day of each month.  And people have been fasting for probably as long as people have been eating.

Fine, so the question is why? And does fasting have any relevance for modern believers who value reason and science as central concepts in their religious view of the universe.  Does a Bayesian believer fast? 

The answer of course is "they can if they want to". But does it make any sense?

Fasting is often performed as a symbol of sacrifice and love for God.  It may be meant to show God that the believer is so committed to their faith that they are willing to go against one of the most basic drives of their body - hunger.

Think about the significance of this act in ancient times when food was scarce and there were no supermarkets to bring you food out of season from around the world.  To refrain from eating weakens you, opens you up to danger and disease.  But they did it anyways, because they felt that in some ways being hungry actually made them stronger.  Recent scientific studies would tend to agree with this ancient wisdom at least in some ways. 

Studies have shown the long held suspicion that hunger brings greater alertness and improves memory.  Other studies have also shown that hunger can lead to an  extended lifespan, at least in mice.  Ancient people didn't really have much issue with being overweight but perhaps they gathered circumstantial evidence over time that periods of hunger raised awareness, improved learning and memory and tended to lead to longer life.

Fasting is also often described as cleansing for the soul.  By resisting the desire of our body to eat we are asserting control of our mind over our body and pushing away the raw, insatiable hunger of our bodies bred by evolution to eat whenever the opportunity arises, lest the chance does not come again for a long time.  This is a psychologically powerful act, to overcome your bodies wishes and impose something on it that you know is good for it.  Exercising has a similar effect to this.  We are forcing our body to exercise or eat less, knowing that it will make it stronger.  But the body resists with pain, aches and the will must overcome it.  When we succeed and run that marathon or complete that fast we feel accomplished.  We feel stronger.

So perhaps the ancients weren't crazy to fast.  These are all good reasons to fast right here, today, given everything we know about ourselves.  We don't have to fast because God said its a sin to eat meat on fridays or during ramadan.  We can fast because its good to challenge ourselves.  To focus the division between body and mind and show body who's in charge in the body-mind relationship. 

Now a reasonable believer should find it odd that God, creator of the heavens and the earth and Master of the universe should care that we do not eat meat on fridays or do not eat while the sun is up during a particular month.  

A Meditation

You come from a place, do not deny your history.

   The beginning of your path is always the beginning.

You see the way the world is, do not deny the truth of your senses.

   Take in what the world is telling you.

Be aware that you can only see through your own eyes.

   The prism of your bias is constant and awareness of that bias does not diminish it.

Ponder your place in the world, in history, in the cosmos.

   What part of All That Is can you see from the tiny mound of sand that is your home?

Ponder this until you find perspective and humility.

Then go out and act.