I am an atheist, and from my nickname, you may deduce that my parents were missionaries. It is a relatively small, fundamentalist denomination.

I’m not one to try to convince you to become an atheist or agnostic (I was one for 40 years). It’s your decision My reasoning for leaving Christianity started with my not feeling in tune with what I was being taught, and then discovering the problems with fundamentalism by reading secular history and learning science.

One of the things that I took from $cientology is the way that they elevated LRH in their history, making him smarter and more powerful as time went on. I now believe that the same thing was done with Jesus. The different gospels and other writings that have come to light, to me, show that the attitude towards proof was vastly different two millenia ago. My reasoning is that it was similar to accepting urban legends as true.

I’m not saying that the bible is false, but that it is composed of myths. Myths aren’t untrue, but are just stories told to illustrate a point. The bible was written for, originally bronze age, then iron age, people. There are many human stories that are still valid for today’s world, but there are also ones that have no relevance.

I discovered that the Gospels were written well after the Epistles that Paul wrote, and are the result of oral history. Most of what hell is comes from Dante, and the Jews don’t have hell.

Catholicism has some advantages over Protestantism, and vice versa. Both have engaged in ethnic cleansing against the other, as well as other religions. During the latter Crusades, the Roman Catholics attacked the Eastern Orthodox Christians.

In history, the aggrieved party always well remembers the slights and attacks, and murders by others. The Jews and Muslims remember the Inquisition, the Armenians remember the Turks killing many of them. The Jews remember the Holocaust.

Both Protestants and Catholics in general do not prohibit their flock from reading or listening to someone who expresses a different view. A cult prohibits looking or hearing opposing views. When I was a fundamentalist, opposing views were cast in a light that were unfavorable, but I wasn’t prohibited from looking. I was steeped in dogma, however.

Looking at Lofton’s 8 criteria (I’m just listing the criteria. You need to read his full explanations), they don’t really apply to most Christianity, although there are parts that do apply to a degree.
(1) Milieu Control.
(2) Mystical Manipulation.
(3) Demand for Purity.
(4) Confession. (This is public confession).
(5) Sacred Science.
(6) Loading the Language.
(7) Doctrine over person.
(8) Dispensing of existence.

I’m just figuring Discus out, so sorry for the late reply. I was brought up in a non-denominational Protestant church, and later in life converted to Catholicism. Since hearing about Scientology (through the A&E show) and obsessively watching and reading everything I could … I found it really disheartening that most everything that could be attributed to a “Cult” (Googling Scientology will lead you to Mormonism and Jehovah Witness) could also be found somewhere in the history of Catholicism or Christianity. I was agnostic from 16 through college. I think I may need to go back there.

I really do think it is imperative to underlineyet again, ‘internal vs external effects aside, that Davey’s did not usurp Hubbardism for his own ends’. His And Hubbard’s ends are identical: Rip’off as many people as possible, build a slave work-force and ruthlessly destroy anyone who refuses to tell him how god-like, unique and wonderful her is.

Oh, and avoid Taxes.

This only difference I can see is Hubbard was bit more creative and inconsistent, whilst Davey’s has his Napolean Commlex down to the point where he can just call it NC (or.. TC..)

Only two substantive differences besides that:

Hubbard tried to avoid Taxes, DM succeeded.

Davey’s wants to feel tall, and Hubbard wanted people to pretend he didn’t have that pulsing, pustulent, sentiment sebaceous Cyst on his head.

All L’il Davey’s did is (like only Hubbard and Charles Manson before him) recognize this lunacy for what it truly is: A CONTROL MECHANISM.
Then when that nasty, smelly, vindictive and deluded Fatso in the wcollodore cap started nodding off, DM took the wheel.

The destination is still the same : keep’the scam going, grinding upon lives for fun, money and fuel, and make sure his back little heart stops beating before the whole pyramid realizes it is offer than him and the point is right up his ass.

What is with these Scilon monikers?

As soon as the woman who leaked the NSA documents (because, you know, Bad Monkey!), “Reality Winner” (I seriously light actually have an infarctus or an orgasm if her middle name was “Show”, 0r she turned out to be TV!), I said, with a name like that, she has to have at least gone ‘clear’.

I’ll call as soon as I get home. Nee bonked her head on the playground so I’m at school then off to urgent care (she’s fine, they’re just extra careful w/head injuries) so I’ll call the moment I get home. Hope everything’s ok, lovely! 😘

Call me Jen. I need to talk.

Yes and order from Amazon 🙂

Joy. Youtube has some episodes.