As fulfilling and complete as a religion may make you feel, I still don’t understand the need for it. Do we really need to be pressured with threats and soul extortion by invisible all-powerful entities to be good and decent people? For those religions whose paradigm does not include a boogie-man, why the need for the associated dogma, cryptic symbolism and secret-clubiness?
Case in point: Scientology
Aside from some of its outright kookiness, the philosophy of self-growth makes a good bit of sense and can be applied by virtually anyone outside of the Church.
Other tenets of Scientology, I don’t agree with.
They think all humans are immortal spirits, which they call ‘thetans’, who have forgotten (amnesia?) their true nature. The thetan is a reincarnated soul who once lived on other planets. Thetans need to be rehabilitated with a counselor. These sessions are called audits. A member is not able to proceed with further advancement until they have been fully rehabilitated (brainwashed, programmed, etc…)
Why is there such a human need for all the romanticism about one’s origin? Does every faction have to begin their story with some great tale? And what about the processes (rites, initiations, rituals etc…)of the paradigm? People pay thousands of dollars to climb the proverbial ladder of attainment there. For what? I mean, really, for what??
