Dan Minette wrote:
...
Again, per my last email absolute rubbish. Scientology is a
creed, a UFO cult set up to milk the members of cash. It is a
business, not a religion.
If I could step in here, I think this is part of William's point.
From the outside, it's hard to tell one group that teaches nonsense
and milks its members from another. : )
...
From an empirical point of view, it would be fairly easy to look at
the
operating differences between, say, the Catholic church and
Scientology. Inside or outside of these organizations, a sociologist
could easily point out how they differ. The only problem is if one
has a different set of beliefs, and assume that they are
facts...while other sets are nonsense.
Dan--
I'm still not convinced. The easy way to tell
that Scientology is not a real religion is to
notice that it's devoid of spirituality. But
doing so is not really Sociology, is it?
As for the rest of the differences, they seem
to me to be more differences of degree, rather
than kind. : )
...
William-- You, sir, are trolling.
I don't think he is a troll in the classic sense of not believing
what he writes. It is impossible, of course, for me to prove this,
but his persistence over at least 5 years indicates to me that he
sincerely believes in the evil of certain belief sets that are
inconsistent with his own.
He certainly uses inflammatory language to try
to get a reaction. Doesn't that count as trolling?
Look, I teach at a real school. The phrase "Faith school" already
sounds pretty bad to me, as it indicates that nothing of substance
is taught. Maru.
While I have disdain for this particular use of Jesus'
name....finding it blasphemous, actually.....I'm not sure about how
you make such a separation. For example, are all seminaries "not real
schools?"
Sorry, Dan, I don't see any mention of a certain
Nazarene here. I guess I snipped too much?
My point is that calling seminaries "faith schools"
is already not a nice name for them.
Here's a snippet from a random seminary I found online:
The Master of Divinity (MDiv) is a professional degree designed to
prepare students for pastoral ministry, as well as other ordained and
non-ordained ministries, and offers students the greatest vocational
flexibility. The MDiv is Covenant Seminary's primary and largest
degree program, shaping the overall seminary environment. The
curriculum may be completed in three years, although many students
take four years due to family, church, and job responsibilities.
Available MDiv concentrations include: Biblical Studies; Theology;
Christianity and Contemporary Culture; Christian Education;
Counseling; World Mission; Youth Ministry; or Church Planting,
Growth, and Renewal.
While not my cup of tea, they do seem to have a
range of topics. I imagine there's some meat in
there someplace... A real "faith school" might be one
where a student actually learns very little, possibly just
memorizing holy books, but where their faith is
strengthened.
---David
Not that memorizing holy books is bad per se, but is
it worth college credit? Maru.
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