Bumping into religion
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:26PM For two days in a row, I've come face to face with ideas about religion that challenge my own.
Last night I had a student declare that he wanted to write his next paper against religion because he believed all religion is bad. Now, naturally, he is free to write this paper. The only topics I prohibit in class are ones that I believe will turn out boring papers or do not have any logical, research-based thesis possible. He stated that he didn't understand how anyone could be "for" religion, so I explained that in order to write this paper, it would be necessary to understand that some people find safe comfort in not just their faith, but their religion. Yes, some terrible things are done in the name of religion, and it has been that way for millennia. But, before he left class, he seemed to understand that people also find community, safety, and do a lot of good through their religious affiliation. I'll definitely be interested to see how his paper turns out.
Today I'm in a hotel in Virginia, trying to get some homework done while my boss is at a dinner that I was not required/allowed to attend (which is fine by me). I was reading a schoolbook with the History Channel on in the background when a line in a commercial caught my attention:
"You are not your name."
Well, I have certainly had many thoughts about (i.e. against) that idea, so I was intrigued. I was worried that it was a commercial for the History Channel itself, that I would need to re-evaluate my thoughts on one of my favorite channels.
However, it is not a History Channel commercial.
Yep, Scientology. I was shocked; I don't think I've ever seen a commercial for Scientology before. I wonder if I'm going to start seeing them in NJ now or if this is a regional thing.
I feel like it's hard to know anything substantial about Scientology because so much of what one hears is clearly rumor or seems too outlandish to be true (e.g. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes let Suri wear shoes with heels because in Scientology, children are treated as little adults - can that be true?). What I do know is that I absolutely do not agree with the text of this commercial.
We are our names. We are our pasts. We can be those things AND be hope.
Reader Comments (2)
I started seeing Scientology commercials a couple months ago... They caught my attention but didn't have me signing up to join their church...
"We are our names. We are our pasts. We can be those things AND be hope."
I totally agree. The awe-inspiring thing about God is that He loves us in spite of ourselves!
Anyway yeah, the only things I've really heard about Scientology are through Tom Cruise's escipades, which are ludacrious. I'd be curious to know what they actually believe.