Comments on: Scientology to get religious law protection in the UK

By: Scientologophobia Watch « Shiraz Socialist

Scientologophobia Watch « Shiraz Socialist — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:35:22 +0000

[...] You may have heard that the Crown Prosecution Service has given the Church of Scientology the same legal protection as other mainstream religions like Christianity and Islam. This means that people who attack, abuse and threaten our faith can be prosecuted under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006. [...]

By: Dr William Harwood

Dr William Harwood — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:19:45 +0000

I can only assume the the person who calls himself an agnostic and buys into the Big Lie that the nonexistence of “God” has not been proven, did not read the comment I posted to the story about a cardinal who misquoted Richard Dawkins.
Claiming that the nonexistence of “God” (as opposed to “gods” as a class)cannot be proven, is no different from claiming that the nonexistence of Lemuel Gulliver, Toad of Toad Hall, or Alice in Wonderland cannot be proven. Each is a character from a fantasy novel that is riddled to the core with statements that are incompatible with known reality. As the most obvious example, all bibles (The Book) state in 14 places that the earth is flat–among 19,000 other falsifiable assertions. Since the only claim of a god revealing its existence comes from such a source, there is, as agnostics recognize, no justifiable reason for taking it seriously. But the deity of the Tanakh, Bible and Koran is credited with qualities that are mutually exclusive (see cited comment), and therefore can no more exist than can a giant midget, a healthy leper, or a sane godworshipper.

By: Stuart W

Stuart W — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:22:57 +0000

Aside from the fact that what is considered ‘threatening’ seems to be open to much interpretation, it sounds as if sites like this are allowed under section 29B (2), providing that ‘dwelling’ extends to private websites – one more thing kept (purposely?) vague.

By: hol

hol — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:18:53 +0000

Holy Crap – I have just read through the [Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006] link here. Barry, the rozzers could have you over a barrel and shut down in a second y’know!

Why the hell the police have not shut down the madrassas’ (who teach muslim boys to hate pig and monkey westerners, jews/christians) is just a massive contradiction.

Screw this UKGOV and all it stands for and your religion too!

By: Barry Duke

Barry Duke — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:57:17 +0000

Valdemar, I’ve just dug out a great quote from American physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics, Steven Weinberg:

“Science should be taught not in order to support religion and not in order to destroy religion. Science should be taught simply ignoring religion.”

By: valdemar

valdemar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:55:29 +0000

Dr Harwood, while science – with its foundations firmly in objective fact and rational scepticism – is certainly not a religion, atheism is surely a ‘faith position’, which is what our gormless and cynical political masters pretend to revere? i.e. I’m an agnostic atheist. Agnostic because obviously I can’t claim to know there’s no god (a rational, mature position) but also atheist because – in a purely emotional sense – I can’t stand the Abrahamic god or the earthly company he supposedly keeps.

By: Dr William Harwood

Dr William Harwood — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:06:21 +0000

As a historian, and therefore a scientist in the sense of “one who utilizes a scientific methodology,” I am offended, insulted, nauseated and outraged when believers in religion try to drag science down to their level by calling science a religion. Since “religion” is the most pejorative, vicious, vile, evil label that can be attached to a belief system, I would be delighted to brand Scientology as a religion. But Scientology is not a religion, any more than Marxism, psychoanalysis (despite obvious parallels) and the Charles Manson cult are religions. A religion is by definition a belief system whose scriptwriters claim to be spokesmen for a nonhuman higher lifeform, or at the very least (in order for Buddhism to qualify as a religion), a philosophy that claims to obey some kind of metaphysical or supernatural higher power or ultimate reality of more-than-human origin.
Despite his chutzpah in passing off a science fiction scenario as a religion, Ron Hubbard made no pretence that he or his mindslaves were obeying the commandments of a higher power. He promoted the cult in which HE was the ultimate power and lawgiver as a religion, simply because the word “religion” was an aphrodisiac for the stupid, the ignorant and the intestinally challenged whom he planned to fleece. And he got away with it. As mindless and semi-literate as they clearly are, some of Hollywood’s most successful actors could not have been fleeced of millions of dollars by any other means than pretending that the scam picking their pockets was a religion. And of course that was Hubbard’s whole point.

By: Buffy

Buffy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:10:58 +0000

Peter Brietbart,

It’s about time we give up and play their game. Fine, yes, Atheism IS a religion as morons keep on proclaiming. As such, we demand special legal rights that do not allow criticism of Atheist dogma.
Discussion and disagreement of Atheist faith should be punishable by legal repercussions and “hate speech” laws.

All hail no-one.

I’m beginning to agree with that. If you can’t beat them, join them and profit.

Then I could also claim “religious persecution” because of the jerks who won’t let me marry. My religion doesn’t prohibit same-sex marriage, so therefore my religious rights are being denied by same-sex marriage bans.

By: Stonyground

Stonyground — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:49:21 +0000

I think that this could have its upside too. Traditional religions are just as absurd but at least have the advantage, from a believer’s point of view, of being old and venerable, having stood the test of time and contributed, for good or ill, to our culture. Forcing people to “Respect” the inane nonsense that is Scientology surely calls into question the forced respect the we supposedly must give to established religions and at least some fence-sitters must conclude that they are all rubbish.

By: Dr William Harwood

Dr William Harwood — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:55:10 +0000

According to Scientology’s UK propaganda minister, Scientology is the “chosen religion of millions of people around the world.” In fact the total number of Scientologists worldwide is 50,000. see http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/howmany.htm and http://www.factnet.org/scientology/realstats.htm
As Jon Atack explains in A Piece of Blue Sky, Ron Hubbard informed publisher John Campbell in 1949 that “he would like to start a religion, because that was where the money was.” When he was preparing to do so, he gloated to a co-conspirator, “Let’s sell these people a piece of blue sky.” And to show his utter contempt for the marks gullible enough to take his confidence swindle seriouly, Hubbard named his alien invaders’ home planet ARSLYCUS.
Despite Hubbard’s successful precedent, Ken Lay, Conrad Black and Bernard Madoff did not protect themselves by passing off their billion-dollar swindles as religions. When will they ever learn?