Their dismissal of psychiatry. Their appreciation of authors. The Scien bit. Their tempting mysterious secretive hierarchy.

Psychiatry is a necessary field of study, though our understanding and application of it is far from ideal. That will only improve if it is continued, and what is the better alternative, no recognition of mental illnesses short of lock-em-up cases?

You think their dismissal of psychiatry is a good bit, KIR? Read up a bit more on Scientology is my advice. They teach that everything that happens to a person is their own fault, including mental illness. Read up on the suicides and countless traumas suffered by members who clearly needed help, but knew that if they sought it, they would be labelled SPs and turned out onto the streets, or if you're Sea Org, sent to the Hole.

zulumoose wrote:Psychiatry is a necessary field of study, though our understanding and application of it is far from ideal. That will only improve if it is continued, and what is the better alternative, no recognition of mental illnesses short of lock-em-up cases?

You may of heard of the phenomena of talk therapies zulumoose

Fallible wrote:You think their dismissal of psychiatry is a good bit, KIR?

Yup.

Fallible wrote:Read up a bit more on Scientology is my advice. They teach that everything that happens to a person is their own fault, including mental illness. Read up on the suicides and countless traumas suffered by members who clearly needed help, but knew that if they sought it, they would be labelled SPs and turned out onto the streets, or if you're Sea Org, sent to the Hole.

If you want to start a thread called "The bad bits of Scientology from atheists' perspectives" be my guest.

No, I'm fine refuting your claims in the thread they're made, thanks. Your mental illness is your fault, according to them, and you'd have been declared many years ago, left to struggle with schizophrenia and psychosis on your own.

I don't see anything good about Scientology. It's a totalitarian, money-grubbing cult based on sci-fi hackwork. The opposition to psychiatry might be related to how there's nothing mentally healthy about Scientology, from the batshit ideas they indoctrinate their captives into, to the effect that this cult has on the lives of its victims.

Why must we keep re-running The "good bits of [insert cult or superstitious ideology] from atheists' perspectives" thread, anyway?

“good bits of heroin from former addicts' perspectives”

Go!

Matthew Shute wrote:I don't see anything good about Scientology. It's a totalitarian, money-grubbing cult based on sci-fi hackwork. The opposition to psychiatry might be related to how there's nothing mentally healthy about Scientology, from the batshit ideas they indoctrinate their captives into, to the effect that this cult has on the lives of its victims.

Why must we keep re-running The "good bits of [insert cult or superstitious ideology] from atheists' perspectives" thread, anyway?

L. Ron Hubbard submitted his theory on mental health and illness (Dianetics) to the AMA. A supporter of his submitted a favourable article to the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Psychiatry, both of which rejected it. The simplest explanation for the continued opposition to psychiatry is just another example of Hubbard's/Miscavige's blind followers witlessly adhering to whatever they're told to. On this occasion it's pursuing a matter of decades-old sour grapes which has become an unquestioned tenet of the cult.

Keep It Real wrote:Their tempting mysterious secretive hierarchy.

felltoearth wrote:“good bits of heroin from former addicts' perspectives”

Hey, KIR, we can play this game all over the fucking map. Good bits in National Socialism: Trains run on time. You take it from there.

I'm not sure what this tempting hierarchy is supposed to be. Miscavige went through the place like a dose of salts after Hubbard carked it, and now the hierarchy is David Miscavige, and then everybody else.

Keep It Real wrote:
Their dismissal of psychiatry

Their tempting mysterious secretive hierarchy

A belief system founded by a science fiction writer which dismisses a branch of science is not good

Strange though how they employ very effective psychological techniques against former members

And what exactly is good about the secretive hierarchy of Scientology

Do you have any idea at all how content free your contributions are

Keep It Real wrote:Their dismissal of psychiatry. Their appreciation of authors. The Scien bit. Their tempting mysterious secretive hierarchy.

While I don't think dismissal of psychiatry is one of the good bits, and I think Scientology ruins lives because of how they apply the Technology, there are many useful ideas which Hubbard packaged in an interesting way.

And while you didn't ask for it, here's a theists perspective on some of the good bits.

The notion of how the past influences our future, including the past before we were born, is a good thing to understand, and try to deal with.

The notion of how important data is to a line of reasoning. It's like:



Some communication techniques that are useful.

The notion of how myth can help us access our unconscious and help us understand ourselves better. Their ideas about Thetan's, etc. can be useful metaphors. And I particularly like how ridiculous Hubbard made the mythology because it seems to me that would make it easy to toss aside once one got far enough on the Bridge to not need that sort of construct anymore.

Some practice techniques that can help give more self control.

I could say more but I'm not sure how interested you really are in scientology. I wouldn't recommend it as something that could help your situation. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, the bad of getting involved in that system is far outweighed by the good. One need only hear the testimony of the many people who had large chunks of their lives ruined by this group to acquire all the data you need to understand why one should not trust these people.

Actually the ridiculous men from outer space getting blown up inside volcanoes spiel is only revealed once one reaches the higher OT levels. They're scared they won't get people interested if they make it clear from the off. In the early stages, Scientology is advertised as pretty run of the mill self-help 'modules'. Only when they have you on the hook for $$$$$s do they pull out the big loony guns. You can search for videos of ex-members explaining the shock of having the lore revealed to them when they reached the requisite OT level.

It weeds out the especially gullible celebrities.

Ok, next thread: good bits of getting a colostomy from the atheist perspective. Wait for it...go!

Remember it is the CHURCH of scientology. Nuff said.

I'm gutted it loos like I'm off.

But who will start all the stupid threads about nothing?

Fallible wrote:Actually the ridiculous men from outer space getting blown up inside volcanoes spiel is only revealed once one reaches the higher OT levels.

OT-3, not so higher.

They're scared they won't get people interested if they make it clear from the off. In the early stages, Scientology is advertised as pretty run of the mill self-help 'modules'. Only when they have you on the hook for $$$$$s do they pull out the big loony guns. You can search for videos of ex-members explaining the shock of having the lore revealed to them when they reached the requisite OT level.

You can drink the tech for free here.

You can even get OT-VIII free online, or at least you could a while back. You're supposed to take that course onboard a special Scientology ship but I found that it works just as well if you take in in the bathtub.