Scientologists in Fairyhouse Market today

DublinWriter

Couldn't believe it when I saw it today . They've now extended their mission from Middle Abbey Street to the Sunday car-boot sales.

They had a stall in the indoor part of Fairyhouse, under a banner exclaiming 'Free Stress Test'. As I walked by they had some rube holding the probes of an 'emeter' in both hands as they attempted an impromptu audit.

That was seven hours ago, he's probably several hundred Euro lighter by now, but at least an Operating Thethan, Level 3.

kiffer

... I remember many years ago, when I was a teenager, a man came to our house with a homemade emeter type device or rather 2 bits of copper piping hooked up to a multimeter. I don't think he was actually a scientologist but anyway...

He was somewhat confused because I could change the reading seemingly at will...
I thought it was a bit silly because it just measured the basic electrical qualities of your skin/body...

I mean it's not like it's a Voight-Kampff test or anything...

strobe

When I was living in Perth in Australia they use to set up big yellow pavilions in the city centre. No sign of the word Scientology anywhere. One week it would be a drug addiction intervention thing, next week a depression outreach thing etc. Always the same yellow tent, always the same hot girls and creepily friendly guys. Always targeting the most vulnerable people in society. I considered covertly setting it on fire as I passed by more than once. Scumbags.

Orion

I'm on Abbey St a fair bit and they don't seem to try to chugg people anymore there. So now I know where they've gone - to rube central

Galvasean

What is it with them and yellow anyway? They had that yellow articulated truck outside Stephen's Green shopping centre before. Think it was the faux stress tests.

enfant terrible

strobe wrote: »

When I was living in Perth in Australia they use to set up big yellow pavilions in the city centre. No sign of the word Scientology anywhere. One week it would be a drug addiction intervention thing, next week a depression outreach thing etc. Always the same yellow tent, always the same hot girls and creepily friendly guys. Always targeting the most vulnerable people in society. I considered covertly setting it on fire as I passed by more than once. Scumbags.

Are there any of these hot scientoligist girls in Limerick?

ArtSmart

I think queen Xena or whatever wore yellow. (knickers)
what concerns me more is how they're getting the charity tax free status in most places.


oh to be so enlightened...


Edit:

Xenu, also spelled Xemu, was, according to the founder of Scientology and science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions[4][5] of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs. Official Scientology dogma holds that the essences of these many people remained, and that they form around people in modern times, causing them spiritual harm.[1][6] These events are known within Scientology as "Incident II",[7] and the traumatic memories associated with them as The Wall of Fire or the R6 implant. The narrative of Xenu is part of Scientologist teachings about extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in earthly events, collectively described as space opera by Hubbard. Hubbard detailed the story in Operating Thetan level III (OT III) in 1967, warning that the R6 "implant" (past trauma)[8] was "calculated to kill (by pneumonia etc) I][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic"]sic[/URL][/I anyone who attempts to solve it".[8][9][10]


from wiki.


you couldn't make this stuff up.




oh, wait....


edit 2
actually just read the wiki on hubbard.

crazy funny. incredible.

ArtSmart

enfant terrible wrote: »

Are there any of these hot scientoligist girls in Limerick?

in fairness, all Oz women are hot.

smokingman

Yes, they're nutbags...but it's a perfectly valid religion and I'm expecting their numbers to grow in the next while, what with recession combined with the a la carte catholics angry at their boss and looking for a way to rebel. 'Course we'll just end up with a lot of poor a la carte scientologists then though.....hope they remember to bring their persecution complexs with them :-D

ItsAWindUp

Dangerous, dangerous people.

Paparazzo

I read this a while back, obviously we all know about scientology and there's loads about it online, but this gives an Irish slant on it:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/0319/1224292581794.html

Galvasean

ItsAWindUp wrote: »

Dangerous, dangerous people.

Is Scientology any more ludicrous / dangerous than Catholicism?

optogirl

ArtSmart wrote: »

in fairness, all Oz women are hot.

You sure about that?

mikhail

Galvasean wrote: »

Is Scientology any more ludicrous / dangerous than Catholicism?

Ludicrous, no. Dangerous, yes. When you compare like with like - not medieval witch burnings, not the work of uneducated people in remote parts of Africa, but current practice of comparably sized Christian communities in the first world, yes. The things they've done exceed the worst excesses of Opus Dei or any but the smallest lunatic fringe of Christianity. There's plenty of information on the net, e.g. xenu.net

Wibbs

Galvasean wrote: »

Is Scientology any more ludicrous / dangerous than Catholicism?

I'd say yes it is G. This is a common refrain concerning modern cults, but to my mind a lazy one philosophically. All non verifiable belief systems have the potential to be crazy arsed dangerous nut magnets and have explored that potential throughout history, but IMHO there are scales. Even within belief systems. So a Sufi Muslim is an asses roar away from the craziness and danger found within Wahhabi islam. Even over time. Given a choice between engaging with a 10 century Muslim or a Christian from the same time period, I'll take the Arab lad thanks. An even better example would be Buddhism* which would be at a considerable distance from scientology on the crazy scale. You could replace Buddhism in that sentence with Quakerism and or (on the christian side) Unitarianism to similar effect. I would be defo of the belief that Unitarianism is "safer" than Catholicism and defo safer than the more right wing snake handling Protestant sects out there. Yes "religion baaad m'kay" but some are demonstrably more dangerous to the individual and society than others.

Scientology? I'd say more disastrous for the individual than society. Well they're not, nor unlikely to be big enough to ever effect society on a grander scale, unlike previous belief systems. I've no doubt going by history they would be just as bad society wide as others. Society wise Wahhabism as a political force would be considerably worse for the progress of a culture than Unitarianism might be. With societies any belief system that doesn't possess a church/state divide is well dodgy and one reason why the Islamic world never capitalised on it's early flowering, but Christian world did.













*It's oft repackaged in the western agnostic even atheistic mind as a non religion, but it is at the very least a vaguely agnostic belief system with magical thinking stuff thrown in(rebirth, enlightenment etc). Though for me it's by far the "best" of the belief systems out there(with a few caveats).

ItsAWindUp

Galvasean wrote: »

Is Scientology any more ludicrous / dangerous than Catholicism?

Nope, dangerous is also the adjective I would use towards the Catholic Church. A group or movement of such power and influence that directly discriminates against specific groups of people is an alarming hazard.

Naikon

What the hell is wrong with the scientologists?:eek:

smokingman

Naikon wrote: »

What the hell is wrong with the scientologists?:eek:

Are you one? Would be interesting if we had one on this forum.

Orion

Naikon wrote: »

What the hell is wrong with the scientologists?:eek:

That a question I ask myself too :pac:

CiaranMT

Naikon wrote: »

What the hell is wrong with the scientologists?:eek:

I hope your tongue is firmly lodged in-cheek, Naikon.

Naikon

smokingman wrote: »

Are you one? Would be interesting if we had one on this forum.

Nope. Scientology is a farce of the highest order. I am atheist. Bunch of tools.

Nodin

Naikon wrote: »

What the hell is wrong with the scientologists?:eek:

A very, very long and indepth article, with additional audio and source materials, on the subject and much else.

On August 19, 2009, Tommy Davis, the chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International, received a letter from the film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. “For ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego,” Haggis wrote.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_wright#ixzz1PZkXL3bL

Well worth reading.

strobe

Naikon wrote: »

What the hell is wrong with the scientologists?:eek:

...

ArtSmart

Galvasean wrote: »

Is Scientology any more ludicrous / dangerous than Catholicism?

look, they're very, very different.

one is complete fantasy, the other believes they drink the blood and eat the body of -

actually, forget it.

strobe

ArtSmart wrote: »

look, they're very, very different.

one is complete fantasy, the other believes they drink the blood and eat the body of -

actually, forget it.

I don't give any ****... Whit cheese mother ****er!! Whith Cheese Mother ****er!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ArtSmart

strobe wrote: »

I don't give any ****... Whit cheese mother ****er!! Whith Cheese Mother ****er!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

em...

WTF? that a movie quote or something?

CiaranMT

strobe wrote: »

I don't give any ****... Whit cheese mother ****er!! Whith Cheese Mother ****er!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had a good night then, strobe?

Naikon

strobe wrote: »

...

krudler

Galvasean wrote: »

Is Scientology any more ludicrous / dangerous than Catholicism?

well until we hear reports of Scientologists involved in mass rape and murder over decades along with the industrial imprisonment and abuse of children I'll say no

Pygmalion

krudler wrote: »

well until we hear reports of Scientologists involved in mass rape and murder over decades along with the industrial imprisonment and abuse of children I'll say no

I've heard reports of Scientologists being involved in all of those things...

Truley

kiffer wrote: »

I could change the reading seemingly at will...

:eek:

It's the leeeeader! *we're not worthy* *we're not worthy*

sorry :pac:

On a more serious note, I've never actually had an opportunity to speak with a real life Scientologist. I would love to hear about more about Scientology from their perspective, to at least understand where they're coming from. It gets such bad PR but it's obviously offering something that attracts people.

If the religion is as popular as they say, there's sure to be a Scientologist poster on Boards? I would love to invite one to this thread!

Wibbs

That's the thing though. Their numbers are widely reported as being bogus. They claim 100's of 1000's even millions, but apparently its more like 10 odd 1000. Of course with so many rich and gullible actors with money...

strobe

strobe wrote: »

I don't give any ****... Whit cheese mother ****er!! Whith Cheese Mother ****er!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jaysus, I'm like a walking Narc Anon advert...

recedite

kiffer wrote: »

He was somewhat confused because I could change the reading seemingly at will...
I thought it was a bit silly because it just measured the basic electrical qualities of your skin/body...
.

Probably measures "dryness" of the skin... but how could you change the readings at will?

PS welcome back to planet earth Strobe

DublinWriter

recedite wrote: »

Probably measures "dryness" of the skin... but how could you change the readings at will?

Because he's probably an O.T. Level III and needs at least €100,000 of courses and auditing to reach O.T. Level IV.

Isn't is obvious, you suppressive?

Lab_Mouse

optogirl wrote: »

You sure about that?

dont tell me i was the only one to fap off to cell block h!!:pac:

on a more serious note,those scientiolgy weirdo's can be dangerous.Bad mouth them enough and they will hound you to death with legal threats,drag you through courts etcThe policy is called fair game

heres the wiki link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_%28Scientology%29

Joe8008

Truley wrote: »

On a more serious note, I've never actually had an opportunity to speak with a real life Scientologist. I would love to hear about more about Scientology from their perspective, to at least understand where they're coming from. It gets such bad PR but it's obviously offering something that attracts people.

If the religion is as popular as they say, there's sure to be a Scientologist poster on Boards? I would love to invite one to this thread!

Well here's what some people who have actually done some Scientology say about it:

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/scientology-in-ron-we-trust-2817769.html

smokingman

Joe8008 wrote: »

Well here's what some people who have actually done some Scientology say about it:

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/scientology-in-ron-we-trust-2817769.html

Haven't had that good a giggle for ages! Cheers!

Galvasean

I was hoping one of them when asked how Scientology has changed their life responded along the lines of,
"It's just awful, help!"

Alas...

Joe8008

Joe8008 wrote: »

Well here's what some people who have actually done some Scientology say about it:

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/scientology-in-ron-we-trust-2817769.html

Joe, do you mind if I ask you whether you're a Scientologist yourself? It's just that your first two posts have concerned themselves with Scientology.

We've always wanted to talk with a Scientologist on this forum...

Littlehorny

Just one serious question......What was their spaceship like?

Joe8008

gvn wrote: »

Joe, do you mind if I ask you whether you're a Scientologist yourself? It's just that your first two posts have concerned themselves with Scientology.

We've always wanted to talk with a Scientologist on this forum...

Well I've done some of their courses, but not in Ireland. Like the guys in that article, what they're saying there would be their true experience of the philosophy. Most people I know who got involved in it have had a positive experience, some do several courses, some just buy a book, people certainly get benefits from it. For others, it's not their cup of tea and that's no problem as I see it. I don't think anyone who isn't getting benefits from it should continue doing it.

Personally, I found their courses pretty good and helpful.

I don't think any organisaton is perfect but I think there are a lot of good aspects about Scientology that don't really get mentioned a lot, especially on forums like this.

Joe8008

Littlehorny wrote: »

Just one serious question......What was their spaceship like?

Yeah spaceship was great... thanks for asking.

Lord Xenu flying it and everything...

You know one thing to understand about people who do the subject is they don't believe anything. The subject is only about what you know, that's what the word itself means. So do I believe in aliens? Er no. Is there an advanced level in Scientology that talks about life originating elsewhere apart from Earth? Probably according to stuff on the internet. Do I believe that? Eh not sure I'll keep an open mind for now thanks.

mikhail

Joe8008 wrote: »

You know one thing to understand about people who do the subject is they don't believe anything. The subject is only about what you know, that's what the word itself means.

This is the least comprehensible thing I've read on the internet today, and I glanced at some youtube comments earlier. Full marks for spelling though.

the culture of deference

Did anyone see the article on Irish scientologists in the times at the weekend.

Read through the questions and answers and they all sound exactly the same.

No hard questions were asked.

robindch

Joe8008 wrote: »

[...] there are a lot of good aspects about Scientology that don't really get mentioned a lot, especially on forums like this.

Now's your opportunity.

Joe8008

mikhail wrote: »

This is the least comprehensible thing I've read on the internet today, and I glanced at some youtube comments earlier. Full marks for spelling though.

What don't you understand about it? It's pretty straightforward. Belief is to do with faith and things you can't really prove. Scientology concerns itself with things that you know, things that you can be certain of, anything else you're free to discard.

So like as an example they have these things called "assists" for injuries. You do them till the person receiving it feels good, better etc. You deliver enough of them and you have enough other people saying to you that they feel better and that whatever injury they have is a bit better, then you become pretty certain that the technique works ie you know it works. If you never use it or try it out on someone or just listen to other people blah blahing away on the internet then you're in the area of belief ie you believe the Scientologists have these things that work or you believe that they they have these techniques and you reckon they're a load of crap. But you don't know. See the difference? It's the same with anything in the subject, unless you're certain about it, you should reject it. But if you never do any of it, you won't ever know one way or the other.

Joe8008

the culture of deference wrote: »

Did anyone see the article on Irish scientologists in the times at the weekend.

Read through the questions and answers and they all sound exactly the same.

No hard questions were asked.

There's a link above, it was in the Indo magazine. I thought it was fair enough. Like if you were asking someone who is a Catholic about their faith, would you ask them general questions or would you try and pin them down with questions about obscure things that may or may not have happened in their religion? It was just trying to get some balance into the debate because you rarely get a chance in the media to hear from regular people who use Scientology in their lives and there's plenty of them.

Delirium

Joe8008 wrote: »

What don't you understand about it? It's pretty straightforward. Belief is to do with faith and things you can't really prove. Scientology concerns itself with things that you know, things that you can be certain of, anything else you're free to discard.

So like as an example they have these things called "assists" for injuries. You do them till the person receiving it feels good, better etc. You deliver enough of them and you have enough other people saying to you that they feel better and that whatever injury they have is a bit better, then you become pretty certain that the technique works ie you know it works. If you never use it or try it out on someone or just listen to other people blah blahing away on the internet then you're in the area of belief ie you believe the Scientologists have these things that work or you believe that they they have these techniques and you reckon they're a load of crap. But you don't know. See the difference? It's the same with anything in the subject, unless you're certain about it, you should reject it. But if you never do any of it, you won't ever know one way or the other.

Is "assist" another term for laying on of hands or prayer?

Joe8008

Not really. It's these techniques here:

http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/SH6.HTM

Joe8008

robindch wrote: »

Now's your opportunity.

Well there are a lot of positive things that Scientology contributes to Ireland every day. Here's a few examples:

* Every day you have Irish people doing the Self-Improvement courses and saying that they are getting benefits from them. You can see the courses people are doing here:
http://www.scientology-dublin.org/index.php/courses
In the right-hand margin you can read about the benefits that Irish people say they got from doing a course.

* There's also the one-to-one Scientology services that people get to address specific problems and personal issues they might have. That goes on every day under the radar and never gets mentioned in the media really. But you have Irish people saying they feel helped by the services every day.

* You have Irish Scientologists giving out copies of The Way to Happiness (http://www.twth.org. It’s a booklet that helps people regain dignity and stability in their lives. They’ve given out over 100k of them in Ireland. It’s all paid for by Irish Scientologists and the sole aim is to help people do better from themselves.

* Then there's the anti-drugs campaign http://www.drugfreeworld.org and Irish Scientologists give out those booklets around Dublin. They’re written in a special way that really communicates to drug users and helps them get informed about what they’re doing to their bodies. They don’t judge them or anything, they just inform them of the facts so they can make informed choices about what they are doing

So those are just a few of the positive things that Scientology does every day in Ireland. I don’t think the organisation is perfect but it certainly does a lot of good every day and helps a lot of Irish people according to what they themselves say.