Religious Tolerance: a philosophical spot light on Tom Cruise?
439587
People judge other people's choices of religion all the time when they choose a different religion. Tolerance relates more to not committing acts of violence (as you point out) than it does embracing others' religions.\n\nI can think of lots of religious practices that I find repugnant, tithing, worshiping the pope, communion, snake handling, holy rolling, etc., but I support people's right to do those things if it makes them happy.\n\nErgo, religious tolerance.
132536
Yes, I think so.  Christians have learned to be "tolerant" of homosexuality, especially if they can imagine a person is actually celebate, whatever their inclination.  But atheism has no such parallel "inactive" position.  As to closet atheists, I think that is a huge number, especially when we include people who get around it by refusing to examine their own beliefs, or even their own definition of the word "believe."  People can recite the creed and go to church and avoid having to answer the question about what they REALLY believe.
973868
HAHAHHA. You're taking that from Jim Carr. I was watching him last night. Funny british guy. It did make me think about how we're all god's children. Will that make Jesus our brother? I'm confused.
1106017
Tom Cruise is a Jew?  I thought he was a wacko Scientology major?
568444
The answer to this is pretty simple, scientology doesn't care about helping people, they only care about their image and making money. Tom Cruise has mental problems and NEEDS psychiatry, but his religion tells him that he can out think these issues, but as his public appearance has shown, that is not the case.\n\nScientology is not a community of caring individuals hoping to make the world a better place, it is a pyramid scheme trying to rid it's members of individuality and hard earned cash.\n\nI fear for Katie Holmes and ESPECIALLY for her baby.
684250
Yep, Scientologist here,\n(It seems that "Liam" whoever he is, has anticipated me, I must have started to annoy him somehow.)\n\nHere is a very brief outline. I hope it answers your question. Let me know.\n\nScientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. This is different from a religious practice. All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, but they also have certain dogma, rituals and observances, and a certain faith or belief is required. There is nothing wrong with this, but Scientology is not that kind of religion. It does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs particularly in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual, which is why you can be a practicing Jew or Atheist,for example and still use and apply the priniciples of Scientology in your life. It does not conflict. If anything it will enhance your understanding of your chosen religious practice.\nAnd it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.\nIt is a non denominational religion . The dictionary definition that applies:\nReligion: The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognises the existence of superhuman power or powers.\n\nThe most basic principle of Scientology is that YOU are your own immortal soul, that this is not a "thing" you HAVE but what YOU actually are.\nThe whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. And thereby his native abilities .\nWhen you do this the sphere and zone of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life, his family ,his friends, his groups and mankind which he is part of.\n\nHow this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. The  developement of the technology is new.\nHe completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights\nto the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable estate., when he died.\n\nHe published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought"\nThere are currently over 8 million Scientologists in more that 150 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 55 years old. \nThe true story of Scientology as a religion goes like this:\n1. A philosopher developes a philosophy about life and death.\n2. People find it interesting.\n3. People find it works.\n4. People pass it along to others.\n5. It grows.
534384
i agree with everything that jerik f said. the film is based on a book of fiction with some reasonable .what if..' theories...and it is a great film, in my opinion - but - everyone is entitled to theirs.....\nand no, Christian people shouldn't oppose it, if anything the film encourages a healthy debate on the subject doesn't it?  and the one thing that Christian people like to do is talk about their religion, don't they?
960182
Of course.  The hope for peace is in each of us, and the means to make it manifest lie within us as well.\n\n\nAs we respect the holy places of others, so will our own holy sites be respected.\n\nAs we honor the presence of Spirit in the religious practices of others, so will the Spirit in our own practices be honored.\n\n\nGiven that many of us cannot see people from another country as fully human, it is perhaps irrational to hope that we can look at others whose religious practices are foreign, and see not sinners but fellow pilgrims...but that is what I strive to do.\n\nRecently I had noticed something within myself that I didn't want - I saw myself beginning to judge all Christians by the  most intolerant, rigid, hate-preaching among those who call themselves "Christian".  I asked the Lord and Lady to help me...to make me aware of my own prejudices, to shine a light on any hidden forms of bigotry or hatred that I may be harboring.\n\nAnd I found myself cleansed and renewed.  And I rededicated myself to speaking peace and acceptance.\n\nI recommend something similar to anyone of any religion or spiritual practice who seeks to re-energize their own spritual life.\n\n\nA heart full of thankfulness, a soul full of love...these leave no room for pettiness, envy, spite, or hatred.  \n\nThe man who says "There is no right way to live" is a fool.  But there is another kind of fool, a more dangerous kind, that says to himself and proclaims to all the world "There is no right way but mine".\n\nBright Blessings to all.
92101
I go to a church in Hollywood..there are several actors that attend service there on a regular basis.  NO not all actors are into Scientology...only the nuts like Tom Cruise and Travolta to name a few.  I'm also in the tv/film business and know of many actors that attend Catholic, Non-Denomination, Lutheran, Presbyterian...etc.\n\nThey're just people like you and I.  Some of them are strange and it's definitely gone to their heads, but in my experience the majority of them are good, sane people.
18076
According to what I understand about Scientology (not an immense amount, but enough to have an opinion - ;-)), the Scientologist does not believe that we are ultimately material beings, therefore, anything that is happening to us physically is not really happening, it is an illusion.  So, ANY form of disorder or illness would be an illusion, not just post-partum depression.  The argument, I think, should not be whether or not suffering is an illusion - it doesn't matter, because it certainly FEELS real and because of that alone, should be dealt with.  If there are medications to help us change our "perception" of reality so that it helps us or others, it should be considered as all a part of the "scientological" process (whatever it REALLY is).  If Katie Holmes gets hit by a truck (God forbid), Tom's view of reality will most certainly be affected, whether it is real or not. It would be enlightening to see what Scientologists as outspoken as Mr. Cruise would do in such an earth-shattering situation - would he hold to his beliefs or not??
709135
Scientology is no more odd than the beliefs of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, or any other respected religion you can name, if you stop and think about it. It's a matter of what you're indoctrinated to believe or accept as respectable.\n\n1- Scientology considers the belief in a God or gods as something personal and therefore offers no specific dogma. The nature of the Supreme Being is revealed personally through each individual as s/he becomes more conscious and spiritually aware. There exists a life energy or force (Theta) beyond and within all.\n\n2- There are no particular human incarnations of God, as the universal life force (Theta) is inherent in all. All humans are immortal spiritual beings (thetans) capable of realizing a nearly godlike state through Scientology practices.\n\n3- Origin of Universe and Life: All is manifestation of the universal spirit, which is all that actually exists.\n\n4- After Death: Rebirths continue until one consciously confronts all pre-birth, current-life, and previous-life traumas and realizes one's true nature as a "thetan," immortal spirit--transcending matter, energy, space, and time. Achieving this state enables the spirit to escape the cycle of birth and death--to operate independently of the physical universe and become one with God.\n\n5- Why is there evil? Painful experiences and harmful acts in one's prebirth, current, and past lives become imprinted in the reactive mind and lead to irrational behavior. Departures from rational thought and untrue ideas ("aberrations") can result in wrongdoing.\n\n6- Salvation is achieved through the practices and techniques of Scientology, the ultimate goal of which is to realize one's true nature as an immortal spirit, a thetan. The path to salvation, or enlightenment, includes achieving states of increasingly greater mental awareness--Pre-Clear, Clear, and ultimately Operating Thetan. An Operating Thetan is a spirit who can control matter, energy, space, time, thought, and life. Practitioners ("Auditors") are regarded as ministers and counselors who assist others to achieve self-enlightenment. Auditors help others to identify their prebirth, current, and past-life disturbances, which are obstacles to happiness and spiritual enlightenment.\n\n7- Suffering occurs as part of the spirit's entrapment here in the physical universe. Only when the individual is aware of his spiritual nature can he identify his barriers within the universe and overcome them, rising out of a lower state and into a higher state of happiness and freedom.\n\n8 -Contemporary Issues: Based on the belief that you cannot free yourself spiritually without working to free others, Scientology has founded and supports many organizations for social betterment, particularly in the areas of drug abuse, crime, psychiatric abuse, government abuse of law, human rights, religious freedom, education, and morality. Scientology strongly favors the use of their methodology for spiritual/mental healing over the use of conventional treatment.
668963
i REALLY don't see the problem. people should not just blindly follow a faith but actively question it, otherwise aren't they just sheep??\nThey should neither encourage nor discourage just let people make up their own minds. if the churchgoers are that commited to their religion they are hardly gonna leave it over a movie are they??!!
650706
I think it's because people still think if him as "jock turned actor" and his recent activities show dimensions of character people didn't think he had so they don't like it. Also jealousy over the $$$ he makes could play a factor in this too.\n\nCall me a "Hollywood Skeptic" because I used to work in "the biz" and hated the people in it who can be such self centered bleepholes. Which is why I moved into non-profit and healthcare as at least most people in those fields want to help others. It's also why eventhough I liked what L. Ron Hubbard has to say I hesitated for awhile before becoming a Scientologist.\n\nThat being said I think the furor over the Tom Cruise thing is because most people are unaware of his sizeable non-profit work both with organizations who use Hubbard based methods outside the Church of Scientology, and with other organizations completely outside things Hubbard. FYI L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of the Church of Scientology and the primary force behind it's writings, practises, etc.\n\nWhen Tom Cruise rails against Modern Psychology a lot of people go "this doesn't make sense he's just an loveable jock turned actor." Unfortunately what they are missing are his non-profit background (which he doesn't brag about like some other celebs) and that he's getting the data from various scientists who debate these issues on a regular basis like Thomas Szasz, Fred A. Baughman Jr., Dr. Whitaker, Dr. Mary Ann Block, etc whom Hubbard quotes from and the organization for mental health reform called CCHR that Tom supports believe in. \n\nThey think he is making himself out to be an expert when in fact he is only expressing an opinion based off what he has learned from others in that field. \n\nHere are some of those people:\n\nhttp://www.szasz.com/\nhttp://www.adhdfraud.org/\nhttp://www.blockcenter.com\nhttp://www.drwhitaker.com/\nhttp://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/5294...\n\nI hope this helps.\n\nBTW the Hubbard advice on childbirth doesn't say you can't make any noise at all or take drugs. It just basically says that it's best to avoid these as much as possible during birth if it can be avoided. Silent birth was very fashionable in California the early 1970's and my mom (who is not a Scientologist but a died-in-the wool Roman Catholic) did it because it was thought as the best to be natural.
827583
If Tom Cruise ever gets around to marrying Katie Holmes, the Scientology wedding ceremony will likely be one of those listed in The Background, Ministry, Ceremonies & Sermons of the Scientology Religion, a $200 hard-bound volume published by the Church of Scientology for use by its ministers. (The leatherbound commemorative edition is priced at an unbelievable $2500.) The book contains five versions of the wedding ceremony: Traditional, Informal, Single Ring, Double Ring, and Concise Double Ring. Two of these are reproduced below, for comparison.\nSome interesting points:\n\nThe Traditional ceremony uses painfully stilted language -- a really bad attempt at free verse.\n\nThe groom is always referred to in the Traditional ceremony as a "man", while the bride is referred to in several places as a "girl". Note the brilliant observation that "girls need clothes and food and tender happiness and frills ... perhaps a cat."\n\nNeither ceremony offers much in the way of spiritual content, and there is no mention of any higher power.\n\nThe big spiritual advice offered to the newlyweds in the Double Ring ceremony is, basically, "never go to bed angry". Wow! That's deep!\n\nScientologists believe they are immortal spirits, and the Double Ring makes reference to the circle being an "emblem of permanency", representing "time and space -- which are without ending". The implication of this circle imagery is that the two people are to be joined together forever. But a few lines earlier the proposed bond is more tentative: "your one joint desire in present time is that the love you have created shall remain a reality throughout your future years." Does that mean future years in this lifetime?\n\nThe Traditional ceremony is more blunt: it ends with an acknowledgment that the marriage is over when the participants die. Although Scientologists believe in reincarnation, one's marital obligations are apparently only intended for the current lifetime. After that the individuals are free agents again.
145211
Many people don't see religion as casting all humans as inherently bad.  For some of us, for example, our belief in a higher power incentivizes us to do good even when society would permit us not to.  In my own personal conduct, integrity is the hallmark of everything that I do and say.  I trace that integrity to a belief that at some point in the future I will have to answer for (i.e. justify) my every choice, word, and action.  In other words, even when it appears that no one is observing my conduct, I behave because I believe that Someone is.  It has become fashionable in political circles to mention one's religion, and particularly one's fundamentalism, much in the same vein as one lists other credentials (i.e. education, business experience, and political involvement to date).  I am tremendously skeptical that many if any of our political leaders truly believe the faith they profess.  I am convinced that if more of them anticipated justifying their conduct to a higher power, the world would automatically be better and, for example, the war in Iraq might never have begun under such false pretenses.
235987
Careful...Tom's watching. He's asking people on here how much they know about his movies. He may be randomly cruising the "Celebrity" section and find this question. He'll get his Scientology crew to mess you up! Shh...here he comes...
441360
everyone believes they are right, and also feel that others should believe the same. the problem isn't that there is no tolerance. Take Christianity for example, if you believe and I don't, you go to heaven and I go to hell. on the other hand, for fundamentalist denominations of Islam (some of them) feel that if you believe and I don't, then I will go to hell, but YOU will go to hell if you don't convert me. so that certain aspect doesn't help things....