I don't find it that odd that this sort of thing is happening. The pressure on Scientology is intensifying, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a whole bunch more defections before 2008 is over.
Most Americans know who Jason Beghe is. I wasn't sure until I looked at the movies and TV shows he's been in...then I knew I'd seen him dozens of times. Jason used to be a Scientologist. No, not your run-of-the-mill Scientologist...he was an OT VII.
Some people never learn. The point of the gospel is to share it. Some churches never quite get around to helping people share their faith...so they completely miss the point. Here's another example of someone missing the point:
Doesn't the Discovery Channel have a proofreader? I spent a few minutes reading an article there today, titled Ancient Humor: Raunch, Riddles and Religion (no longer available). I found it interesting, for the most part.
Christopher and Peter Hitchens are brothers. One is an atheist, and the other is a Christian. Both are are insightful writers who are unafraid to express their points of view. These are the first two of 9,632 video clips of the debate. I'm joking, but only a little.
In the news: the church of Scientology has begun to make their move. Some of their most sensitive documents have been leaked by Wikileaks, a website devoted to transparency in the pursuit of justice.
The search phrase that caught my eye today was bacteria phages vs morality. Odd, yes. Most would have no idea why anyone would search for such a phrase. It's at the heart of a serious theological discussion. Fortunately for you, I've recorded a very funny version of this discussion here at GodWords.
There's a hot new video making the rounds. It's called Richard Dawkins - Beware the Believers, and it's very clever. It's so clever, in fact, that most people haven't been able to figure out whether it's poking fun at Darwinist materialists or Biblical creationists.
I'm guessing that most of you don't know anything about this group. They're not a huge group by any stretch...they have just over 200 churches ("centers") worldwide. They don't formally track membership, but estimates range from 100,000 to 200,000.
OT stands for Operating Thetan. According to Scientologists, that's a level of spiritual being where one has "knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time." Confused? You should be.
According to the Roman Catholic church, there are two types of sins:
Venial sins, which are relatively minor, and Capital (or Mortal) sins, which put one in danger of eternal damnation. The traditionally-held Seven Deadly Sins are, in order of seriousness:
Some of you remember Chris Sligh's time on American Idol. Actually, a whole bunch you probably remember it. It is, after all, the biggest thing on TV. If you're not familiar with Chris, you can see his audition video below. After placing 10th on the show, Chris carried on.
