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Originally Posted by MarissaW
1. We have it from the Church's founder that it's a spurious religion he invented specifically for the purpose of making money. Yes I am an atheist and it is my consideration that they are all made up to one extent or another but IIRC all those other religions were not set up to perpetrate fraud.
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I don't think we do have it from the Church's founder, unfortunately.
I'm a big science fiction fan and even like some of Hubbard's shorter fiction, and the "What's the quickest way to become rich? Start a new religion!" bit has never been documented. You can't even get a consensus on when he said it and/or to who.
(Plus, Scientology started as Dianetics--which was a sort of watered-down psychotherapy (Freudian style) with truth-detectors and some past-life stuff thrown in. It didn't begin as a religion. It only became a religion after the psychology folks started saying "Um....if its a therapeutic technique, let's test it.")
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3. Does the CoS actually have any ongoing charitable concerns that derive funds other than those required by their members?
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This is a great point.