Scientology vs Evangelical Christianity

July 13th, 2008 | by blank89 |

Just about all Scientologists would be insulted to be compared to Evangelicals. The same is true for Evangelicals. But does one really make any more sense than the other? This article will attempt to compare the two very different religions and come to the conclusion that they are at least similar in one way: they don’t make any sense.

Both of them are as logical as this

Rebirth and Immortality

Evangelical Christianity

Evangelicals believe that through the process of “salvation” they can earn immortality in heaven. They will receive “eternal life” in the afterlife if they are “born again” in this life. While this is comforting to mortals, there is no evidence that it is actually true. Through a thought process of circular logic (that eventually leads back to the Bible) Evangelicals can prove this to themselves. They can do this because they want to believe it. While there is a real scientific possibility of life extension, a short cut to eternal life is always easier.

Scientology

Similar to the Hindu ideas of rebirth (except much more violent and with monetary strings attached for the next billion years), Scientologists believe that a soul-like entity (that has existed longer than the universe) can be born in to different bodies and minds. This is no more or less logical than being “born again”. There is no reason to believe that there is any part of the consciousness left after brain death.

Super Powers and Miracles

Evangelical Christianity

Fundamentalist Christians believe that Christ literally performed miracles because he was the son of God. These Biblical references were not metaphors or stories from which to learn universal morals, but they literally happened.

Scientology

On the other hand, Scientologists believe that through the process of “auditing” they can gain super powers including the ability to obtain super-sensory information. There is as little reason to believe that Jesus literally performed impossible miracles as there is that we can gain super powers through the use of a “primitive lie detector”.

Father Figure in the Sky

Evangelical Christianity

This is the mother (or father, if you’re a fundamentalist) of all religious fairy tales. The idea that there is an intelligent entity controlling events down here is absurd. There is no evidence of this except the usual “because” response.

Scientology

Whether it’s Xenu or Xemu, there never a was crazy space dictator who sent his minions to volcanoes and blew them up. It may sound a bit more strange, but it’s just as fictitious. There is no evidence to support either of these claims, one of them is just slightly more comical than the other.

Image Sources:

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster