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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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 Posted - 05/26/2008 : 06:09:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
If someone wants to believe a crazy superstition and worship a cult leader, that is by all means their right, but it shouldn't receive funding from the government.
Wait a minute... churches in the USA get government funding? That's strange - I don't recall our synagogue ever getting government funding (especially when it was in the basement of our house). Seriously?
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Mr Savoir Faire 
"^ Click my name. "
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Posted - 05/26/2008 : 17:06:33
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
If someone wants to believe a crazy superstition and worship a cult leader, that is by all means their right, but it shouldn't receive funding from the government.
Wait a minute... churches in the USA get government funding? That's strange - I don't recall our synagogue ever getting government funding (especially when it was in the basement of our house). Seriously?
yes and no. Scientology is granted tax-exempt status which is in effect government funding. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 05/26/2008 : 17:32:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
If someone wants to believe a crazy superstition and worship a cult leader, that is by all means their right, but it shouldn't receive funding from the government.
Wait a minute... churches in the USA get government funding? That's strange - I don't recall our synagogue ever getting government funding (especially when it was in the basement of our house). Seriously?
yes and no. Scientology is granted tax-exempt status which is in effect government funding.
Oh, I see. But all religions are supposed to be granted tax exemptions. So, no matter what people might think of that particular church and its teachings, not giving it tax-exemption wouldn't really be fair, would it? |
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Mr Savoir Faire
"^ Click my name. "
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Posted - 05/26/2008 : 18:49:49
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
If someone wants to believe a crazy superstition and worship a cult leader, that is by all means their right, but it shouldn't receive funding from the government.
Wait a minute... churches in the USA get government funding? That's strange - I don't recall our synagogue ever getting government funding (especially when it was in the basement of our house). Seriously?
yes and no. Scientology is granted tax-exempt status which is in effect government funding.
Oh, I see. But all religions are supposed to be granted tax exemptions. So, no matter what people might think of that particular church and its teachings, not giving it tax-exemption wouldn't really be fair, would it?
Scientology is a business. while schools, charities, and religions are not commercial, Scientology is. not to mention, Scientology is a cult. |
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RockGolf 
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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Posted - 05/26/2008 : 19:41:32
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
Okay, here's the thing. There are lots of people truly believe that Scientology is a religion. And there are also lots of people who say its a scam.
But surely the same thing can be said of any belief, be it Scientology, Catholicism, atheism or Communism. |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 05/26/2008 : 20:41:43
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quote:
Originally posted by R o � k G 0 1 f
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
Okay, here's the thing. There are lots of people truly believe that Scientology is a religion. And there are also lots of people who say its a scam.
But surely the same thing can be said of any belief, be it Scientology, Catholicism, atheism or Communism.
Atheism is NOT a religion. Nor is it a business. Nor a cult. And certainly not a scam. It's not even a belief system or any of those Dale Carnegie concepts.
Communism is a much-misunderstood economic construct. It is not the opposite of democracy, nor is it a political system. It has never been practiced in any country, even those that pretend to practice it. The closest was probably the Essenes.
I have spoken and you will all bow down before me. Sacrifices will be collected in the Great Hall every other Tuesday; admission by ticket only. This week's film is Some Like it Hot.
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RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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Posted - 05/26/2008 : 22:36:13
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabeThis week's film is Some Like it Hot.
Don't try to force alternative lifestyles on me! "Nobody's perfect" ideed! Disgusting!!!
And please note I intentionally used the word "belief" rather than religion. |
Edited by - RockGolf on 05/26/2008 22:41:08 |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 05/27/2008 : 05:59:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
Scientology is a business. while schools, charities, and religions are not commercial, Scientology is. not to mention, Scientology is a cult.
Well, I hardly accept Wiki as an authority, but I can see part of their point. Still, there are some practices that don't seem all that different from what certain Christian groups have done in the past.
And as for it being a cult - well, I still think that's a matter of opinion. And technically speaking, Christianity started off as a cult too. Think about it!
(But Wiki is right on at least one thing - Israel doesn't accept it as a religion. But that's mostly because prosteletizing is against the law here. And by the way, anyone caught prosteletizing here can and will be deported and not allowed to return, ever.)
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 05/27/2008 : 06:12:01
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quote:
Originally posted by R o � k G 0 1 f
And please note I intentionally used the word "belief" rather than religion.
But a being a "belief" doesn't gain you non-profit status and tax exemption, does it? The question here is should Scientology be considered to be a religion or not. If it is a religion, then it receives protection as one, under the law. I see that in the UK it isn't considered to be legally a religion, but in the USA it is. So, that kid being prosecuted for calling Scientology a cult has a good chance of getting off - because the case is in the UK. (I now see that they dropped the case against the kid. Good thing, too.)
If it had been in the USA, that kid would be looking at some pretty unhappy consequenses.
(Unless they got one of those really cool juries that finds for the prosecution and then makes the kid award them only $1 because that's all their "good name" is worth.)
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Edited by - ChocolateLady on 05/27/2008 06:55:10 |
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Sorry if I'm offending anyone, but ...
