Comments on: Australian politician accused of a ‘fascistic attack’ for savaging ‘criminal’ Scientologists

By: Loopy « A View From The West

Loopy « A View From The West — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:07:30 +0000

[...] Religion , Nonsense , Opinion & Comment Leave a Comment There’s a post on the freethinker about an Australian Senator, Nick Xenophon, who has been laying into those loopy Scientologists and [...]

By: Broga

Broga — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:57:55 +0000

And it seems that Thought for the Day, that redoubt of the boring which may not be questioned, may yet fall. I liked John Humphreys’ view that he wanted secularists there not for religious reasons but to introduce some interest into it.

By: Broga

Broga — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:45:07 +0000

Marcus. That’s the way to go. They have nothing left when they are confronted. As you so rightly say there was a time when to question religion was, by that very fact, to be regarded as morally suspect. But that was never enough. They then had to put the boot in and keep kicking. They try the same tactics today – the bus adverts and the Northern Ireland billboard fracas for example – but with the internet it is now a very different game.

By: dingobully

dingobully — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:57:02 +0000

Dude this guy is so “fair game” by now there is probably a task force of devotees with the sole mission of destroying him and every one of his family members out to third cousin.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:18:24 +0000

If you haven’t seen the Martin Bashir interview with the lovely Scientologist nutter, check it out. As we all know, there was a time not so long ago when anyone who dared question religion, or indeed question the authority of the scoundrels who enjoyed the power that its cruel enforcement brought, would have been persecuted, tortured and murdered. Today, it seems the best these charlatans can do is throw a hissy fit and storm off TV interviews. Come on people, let’s keep at them. They have no answers – so let’s keep asking those horribly uncomfortable question whenever and wherever we can.

By: Robert Stovold

Robert Stovold — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:09:19 +0000

“Scientology is not a religious organisation, it is a criminal organisation”
Do the two things have to be mutually exclusive?

By: William Harwood

William Harwood — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:23:06 +0000

Publisher John Campbell was one of many persons to whom Ron Hubbard confessed that his reason for starting his own religion was because “that’s where the money is.” (Google “Hubbard religion money”)
The cult’s apologists persistently claim that Hubbard’s confession is “taken out of context.” I can understand the current beneficiaries of Hubbard’s organized crime syndicate spouting such fatuous nonsense. They are protecting their bread and butter. But how anyone who cannot see such mindless doublethink as a desperate attempt to defend the indefensible, can claim to have a functioning human brain, is beyond me.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:21:17 +0000

Would that he were saying that, say, the Catholic Church or Islam are criminal organisations. I would have thought that the evidence, both contemporary and historical, is equally as compelling.

By: Broga

Broga — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:01:05 +0000

Senator Xenophon ain’t no alien, Barry. Xenophon is the real deal both in the present and in the far past. The ancient Xenophon was born in 431 B.C.; pupil of Socrates, fought with the Spartans who gave him land and property. And as far as I am concerned his Australian namesake does not disgrace his illustrious predecessor.

By: Stonyground

Stonyground — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:44:08 +0000

I read the article in the link and Marina more or less said what I was thinking. The bleating from the Christians in the comment thread was funny and predictable, they couldn’t quite get their heads around the fact that their religion hadn’t been singled out for criticism but merely held up as an example of an established religion that is just as absurd as Scientology.