Denialism

A challenge for Scientologists

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by

MarkH
in

Based on earlier posts, it’s pretty clear that I feel that Scientology is a dangerous and bizarre cult. The responses to the post included some apologetics for the CoS and their stance on psychiatry.

As is typical in these situations, the commenters simply refused to answer any substantive questions and fell back on such arguments as “prove that Scientology believes X”, when of course all we have to work with are leaked documents, as the “church” is quite secretive.

So here is my challenge:

Scientologists—please debunk my false beliefs about your religion. Since you abhor psychiatry, please explain the theories behind your treatment of mental illness.

I’ll wait….

Comments

  1. Tye

    I think you may be waiting for a long while…

    Reply
  2. Rev. BigDumbChimp

    *crickets

    Reply
  3. Suricou Raven

    Im waiting too. I want to see the elusive tumbleweed – we dont have any in this country, so I have never seen it up close.

    Reply
  4. Scote

    Silly Suppressive Person. Scientologists don’t have to condescend to talk to your engram infested self, it might affect their state of “Clear” and endanger the super human abilities that being in a state Clear offers.

    Well, that and Scientologists are supposed to install church supplied censor ware on their computers that blocks websites critical of Scientolgoy–yes, really–so many Scientologists may never see your blog.

    Reply
  5. Reginald Selkirk

    Well duh – if the Scientologists answered your questions, they could be guilty of violating the intellectual poverty rights of the CoS.

    Reply
  6. Gerardo Camilo

    The best evidence is that no Scientologist has ever suffered of any kind of mental illness.

    Reply
  7. Navigator Neal

    “Scientology is a dangerous and bizarre cult”
    No more so than any other religion. Much less so really.

    Isn’t there a more worthy topic to discuss than yet another cult-religion-irrational-belief-system that just so happens isn’t yet another Abrahamic offshoot so that’s why it’s more culturally acceptable to criticize.

    Scientology just doesn’t make my list of things to give a shit about.

    Or is this an April Fools’ joke?

    Reply
  8. J. J. Ramsey

    You’re an agent of Xenu, aren’t you? 🙂

    Reply
  9. scote

    “Scientology is a dangerous and bizarre cult”
    No more so than any other religion. Much less so really.
    Posted by: Navigator Neal

    Really? Name another well funded, highly litigious religion who actively lobbies to destroy evidence based psychiatric medicine using astroturf groups, lobbyists, lawyers and even top (arguably) celebrities on television? (Because, natch, only that religion can treat psychiatric illness.) I’ll wait here with Pal while you get back to us…

    Reply
  10. scote

    “The best evidence is that no Scientologist has ever suffered of any kind of mental illness.

    Posted by: Gerardo Camilo ”

    I believe it worked especially well for L. Ron Hubbard who completely avoided any paranoid delusions by using the Scientology technology. (BTW, how can it be a religion if it is “technology based?”) However, some silly people seem to think that Tom Cruise is mentally unbalanced. Only an SP like Jonathan Coulton (who’s song “Tom Cruise Crazy” can be freely listened to at http://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/downloads ) could say that.

    Reply
  11. Anonymous

    Um…i stated my opinion that it is a bizarre and dangerous cult…to say that there exist other such entities is a non sequitur.

    Scientology claims that the current scientific approach to one branch of medicine—psychiatry—is fatally flawed and that they have an alternative.

    Cough it up already.

    Reply
  12. PalMD

    Crap…the above comment by Anon is mine.

    Reply
  13. Blind Watchmaker

    The secret to Mental Illness : Give up your money, get placebo skin impedence readings. Continue this process, then get a bad science fiction novel to read (unless you run out of money). Suddenly, your old problems won’t seem as bad as your new problems. You are then “cleared” (and broke).

    Reply
  14. Art

    I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting. Unless you feel you look exceptionally good in blue.

    Reply
  15. Randy

    Hey, Tom Cruise already answered you thats why the scientologists haven’t responded.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc_wjp262RY

    Reply
  16. curious

    Don’t care for scientology, but I find the lack of skepticism people have for a type of doctor who doesn’t have an objective test to diagnose a person’s illness with.
    If your looking for scientology video that tackles this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0rA993Z6s0

    This is not to say that psychiatry has not show results:
    http://blog.ted.com/2007/10/sherwin_nuland.php

    While psychiatry has managed to produce results: in general, they do not seem to be much better then a medicine man.

    Reply
  17. PalMD

    Data?

    Reply
  18. curious

    What objective data is there that psychiatry works?

    Reply
  19. PalMD

    There you go again…there is an entire literature devoted to various psychiatric interventions.

    Since you are the doubter, why don’t you give an alternative?

    Reply
  20. dan

    curio, take a look at the NIMH study investigating the effectiveness of Beck’s Cognitive Therapy, compared to placebo and SSRIs.

    Now, how’s about the double-blind multi-site placebo-controlled evidence that $cientology is just as effective?

    Reply
  21. curious

    PalMD,
    Not necessarily offering an alternative… I’m suggesting that psychiatry deserves a healthy dose of skepticism as a medical science since there is so little objective data. Also, the amount of literature available on a given subject does not make it any more valid… look at all the stuff on Christianity and the Bible.

    I also don’t feel that it is my duty as a skeptic to provide an alternative to given medical practice. To help you get an indication of where I’m “coming from” let me give you some background. As a child my parents sent me to several different therapist and psychiatrist to help me do better in school… each one of them was provided the same in formation, each one of them gave a similar interview, each one of them gave me a different diagnosis. Each one of them prescribed a different drug or set of drugs. All of the non mental health doctors I have seen seem to agree on all my non mental health issues and the treatments needed for all of my other ailments.

    Reply
  22. Curious

    dan,
    I defiantly don’t believe in Scientology either. Scientology and Psychiatry both have secrets that cost you lots of money to obtain legally. Don’t believe me? Try to get a copy of the real ink blot test or standard mental test.

    I’ll have to read up on Beck’s Cognitive Therapy and the studies therein. I’m definitely curious about what they came up with as a “placebo” for psychotherapy

    A quick glance at the Wikipedia article on Cognitive therapy suggests that depression is derived from a thought process that is biased towards negative interpretations, not a chemical imbalance or a diseased mind…
    Treatment: show a depressed person what they are doing and how to work around it…

    Given the breadth of what mental health professionals are given the power to do with people they feel are a threat to selves are others… and the dangers of the drugs they prescribe to people for often benign behavior patters… cognitive therapy even if it can be proven to be beneficial does not diminish my skepticisms of some of the more visible aspects of psychiatry. Just as I doubt that if the Scientology communications/study classes are scientifically proven to be helpful that your feelings about Scientology would noticeably different then they are now.

    Reply

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