They're both cults started by con men who liked to tell crazy stories as a way to fleece people out of their money. L Ron Hubbard was a failed sci-fi writer who found he could make more money by inventing his own religion. He spent most of his later life on a boat fleeing prosecution for scamming people. Joseph Smith came up with some crazy stories about magic rocks, and the indians really being Jews from Israel or something. He used that make himself mayor of his own town and take multiple (often underage) wives until he was killed by an angry mob for being a douchebag. It seems to me like they're both pretty much the same thing, just from different time periods, and you'd have to be pretty goddamn retarded to believe either one of them. Scientology has Tom Cruise and Mormonism has Glenn Beck. They're two of the biggest nutjobs I can think of, so take your pick I guess. I guess I'd have to go with Scientology being dumber and crazier though. The stuff about Xenu and Thetans is just so out there. You'd have to be touched in the head or high on something to believe it, which I guess is why it's so popular with celebrities. I laughed pretty hard the first time I heard what they believe. That anyone could listen to that with a straight face, let alone believe it is beyond perplexing to me. It seems way more retarded to me than magic rocks and polygamy.
Hmm. That also makes me wonder why christians don't think any of their beliefs are loopy. I mean, someone being resurrected who isn't Commander Shepard? Yet many christians look at other religions (such as ones that are held by African tribes) and scoff. It honestly confuses me that they cannot see that their beliefs are just as crazy.
I'm not religious. I think it's all bullshit to be honest. These two just strike me as being wackier and more obvious scams.
Yeah, I'll pay that. I guess they are wackier now because they are much newer in comparison to the oldies. As such, people have had more to work with and come up with some loopier stuff.
If you honestly believe a supreme being that you can't see or detect in any tangible way created the Earth then you must be at least a little bit insane right? I remember in the Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams said (rather amusingly) that one species believed the universe was sneezed out of the nose of an enormous galactic space goat, is that really more silly than the whole God thing? No.