Hurricane Evangelism

by Karoli on August 21, 2006

For all of the slams that I have given and will continue to give Scientology, this is difficult to slam.

I’m mixed. Help is help, no matter whether it comes from the hands of a Scientologist or an atheist. Hands reaching out to help others in need should not be slapped, and surely many of diverse faiths have come together to help victims of the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and other natural disasters.

On the other hand, it bugs me that that it’s being used as an opportunity to recruit people into a cult.

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Scientology, hurricane recovery, evangelism, hurricane katrina

Tagged as: Scientology Scams

drumsnwhistles

Yeah, that's really the dilemma. The legitimate religious organizations that offer aid, assistance and relief and also use those touchpoints as an opportunity for evangelism give what they give without demanding it back later. And that's true of the gamut of religion, from Islam to Judaism to Christianity to Buddhism. There's no entrance fee at the door.

Scientology, on the other hand, is a pure money grab from day one. So on the one hand, they're giving aid and help to those in need, but the price for signing on to the Scientology way of life seems far too high to me.

Donna

I dunno. Mainstream religions do it all the time (using charity/assistance as a recruiting tool).

Then again, I agree with you about these guys.

kmilyun

I think that if I lost everything and needed help that Help is Help.

I always try to put things in perspective with "One God Many Paths". Not that I think that Scientology is a viable path. I noted when back south that some "Evangelists" were actually there to help and lead by example while others where there to use the opportunity to push their beliefs and used it as condition of their offering help.

Defining religion, cults, folklore, and spiritualism, is difficult. When does a belief change into a religion and where is the line drawn that defines the move into full blown cultism? ( is that a word?). Are the Four Corners and the Great Spirit less true than the Jesus of Nazareth? What about the teachings of of Siddhartha Guatama?

My personal belief is that Scientology is a bunch of crap, a cult, and very dangerous.