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In a widely reprinted 1990 Los Angeles Times article, Hubbard was quoted (apparently from a lecture given in the 1950s) describing how, after death, a thetan is carried to a "landing station" on Venus, where it is "programmed with lies," put in a capsule, and then "dumped" back on Earth, where it wanders in search of a baby to inhabit. Yet according to Laurie Hamilton, who says she has been a Scientologist since 1968, adherents are "free to accept or discard" such stories so long as they embrace the "methods and practices" of Scientology. One of the church's official Web sites stresses that a belief in past lives is not mandatory dogma but, rather, a personal truth that most Scientologists come to as they go through auditing.

scipio337 wrote:You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me..

The Dude wrote:

scipio337 wrote:You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me..

It's gotta have the right color of polish, though. How are you going to swing that, eh Walter?

scipio337 wrote:You want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me..

Sethbag wrote:Forget about the fuckin toe!

Tarski wrote:Kevin Christiansen on the MAD board thinks that Alma 32 is a Kuhnian prescription for a good scientific determination of truth! Or, rather how one adopts a new (scientific) paradigm called Mormonism.

The Dude wrote:

Sethbag wrote:Forget about the fuckin toe!

Exactly! What about the Plan of Salvation for Scientologists? More or less likely to be accurate and true than the LDS plan?

Tarski wrote:Kevin Christiansen on the MAD board thinks that Alma 32 is a Kuhnian prescription for a good scientific determination of truth! Or, rather how one adopts a new (scientific) paradigm called Mormonism.

Just calling it a "scientific" paradigm doesn't make it scientific. It's no better than naming it SCIENTOLOGY.

The Church of Scientology has made history in the 1990s, and interest in the religion from all corners of the world continues to skyrocket. In 1993, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States acknowledged that the Church of Scientology International and more than 150 related churches and organizations were organized and operated solely for religious and charitable purposes. This made news around the world.

The following year, in February 1994, the Church of Scientology turned 40 years of age and again made headlines throughout the world.

These events, coupled with the continued growth and importance of the Church, drew the interest of millions of people from around the world, including scholars from many countries. They were invited to study the beliefs and practice of Scientology and publish their findings.

The results so far include 60 studies by a roster of distinguished scholars. Each has analyzed Scientology from his own unique perspective, and in some cases compared it to other religions. The common denominator of all the studies is that although its historical and philosophical roots go back 10,000 years, Scientology is thoroughly contemporary. The scholars agree that it is unique among religions, with its precise path to greater happiness and fulfillment for people from all walks of life.

The authors of the studies, from diverse backgrounds and geographic regions, include the world-renowned religion expert Bryan Ronald Wilson, professor emeritus, Oxford University; Lonnie Kliever, Professor, Southern Methodist University; Darroll Bryant, Professor, University of Waterloo, Canada; Michael Sivertsev, professor and special consultant to the President, Russia; Regis Dericquebourg, Professor, University of Lille III in France; Geoffrey Parrinder, scholar of religion, England; Fumio Sawada, Shinto religious scholar, Japan; Per-Arne Berglie, Professor, Stockholm, Sweden; Dario Sabbatucci, Professor of Religion, University of Rome, Italy. And dozens more.

The expertises are presented here:

Religious Toleration & Religious Diversity
Bryan Wilson, Ph.D.
Emeritus Fellow Oxford University.

Scientology: A Way of Spiritual Self-Identification
by Michael A. Sivertsev,
Expert Advisor on International Matters to the Committee of the Russian Federation

The following expertises are available in Portable Document Format (PDF). To view them, install Adobe System, Inc.’,s Acrobat Reader available for download at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html


ENGLISH:

Scientology, Social Science and the Definition of Religion
James A. Beckford, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
University of Warwick
England
(135KB/14 pages)

Scientology: A Comparison with Religions of the East and West
Per-Arne Berglie
Professor, History of Religion
University of Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden
(115KB/16 pages)

Is Scientology a Religion?
Alan W. Black
Associate Professor of Sociology
University of New England
Armidale, New South Wales
Australia
(181KB/15 pages)

Scientology: A New Religion
M. Darrol Bryant, Ph.D.
Professor of Religion and Culture
Renison College, University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
(253KB/6 pages)

Scientology
Régis Dericquebourg
Professor, Sociology of Religion
University of Lille III
Lille, France
(121KB/12 pages)

Scientology: The Marks of Religion
Frank K. Flinn, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor in Religious Studies
Washington University
Saint Louis, Missouri
U.S.A.
(232KB/12 pages)

Scientology and Contemporary Definitions of Religion in the Social Sciences
Alejandro Frigerio, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Cathothic University of Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina
(257KB/16 pages)

Scientology: Its True Nature
Harri Heino
Professor of Theology
University of Tempere
Helsinki, Finland
(204KB/7 pages)

Is Scientology a Religion?
A Report of Research by Dean M. Kelley
Counselor on Religious Liberty
National Counsel of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
(364KB/11 pages)

The Reliability of Apostate Testimony about New Religious Movements
Lonnie D. Kliever, Dr. Phil.
Professor of Religious Studies
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
(203KB/17 pages)

Religious Philosophy, Religion and Church
G.C. Oosthuizen, Th.D.
Professor (Retired), Dept. of Science of Religion
University of Durban-Westville
Natal, South Africa
(199KB/9 pages)

The Religious Nature of Scientology
Geoffrey Parrinder, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Comparative Study of Religions
University of London
England
(192KB/4 pages)

Apostates and New Religious Movements
Bryan Ronald Wilson, Ph.D.
Emeritus Fellow
University of Oxford
England
(142KB/6 pages)

Social Change and New Religious Movements
Bryan Ronald Wilson, Ph.D.
Emeritus Fellow
University of Oxford
England
(142KB/6 pages)

Scientology Its Historical­Morphological Frame
Dario Sabbatucci
Professor of History of Religions
University of Rome
Rome, Italy
(145KB/7 pages)

Scientology A Way of Spiritual Self­Indentification
Michael A. Sivertsev, Ph.D.
Chairman for New Religions
Board of Cooperation with Religious Organisations
Office of the Russian President
(193KB/14 pages)

Scientology and Religion
Christiaan Vonck, Ph. D.
Rector, Faculty for Comparative Study Of Religions
Antwerp, Belgium
(185KB/6 pages)

The Church of Scientology
Juha Pentikainen, Ph.D.
Marja Pentikainen, MSC
Helsinki, Finland
(174KB/12 pages)

The Relationship Between Scientology and Other Religions
Mr. Fumio Sawada
Eighth Holder of the secrets
of Yu­itsu Shinto