I've seen a lot of fellow atheists here claiming that scientology is no more a cult than any other religion, and I've seen more than a few theist complaints about the unfair comparison. Some have shrewdly pointed out that the argument depends on how our definition of the word "cult" differs from that of "religion." The funny thing is, they are traditionally defined in almost exactly the same way. It seems that cults differ from religions not in essence, but only in severity.

Of course, any mainstream religion could be parly cult and partly not. In a sense they're too large to be uniform, and that's why some people on the Fray know some "normal" scientologists. For example, within the Roman Catholic Church, you'll find some parishes are more strict and cult-like than others. Mine was fairly docile, but others re-enact the crucifixion at easter. Yikes!

I also looked around Google and found these "warning signs" about cults from a "Expert Consultant and Intervention Specialist." By these standards, Scientology certainly fits the bill. But one could still reasonably expect to find any of these signs in pockets within any mainstream religion. It's only a question of degrees. Where does that leave us when dealing with mainstream religions? Ever on the lookout, wary of those who would try to control us...

ther is no packaging of our creation, it just is and on going,

no ritual will change that.....creation can't help the process

of continual creation.....infinite JOY