Scientology vs. Christianity on copyright
Jonathan Kay, writing for the National Post, muses on one of the differences between Scientology and Christianity (and Islam for that matter). He opines that Scientology, through its litigious copyright enforcement, closes off its primary texts in serious contrasts to Christianity, which keeps its Bible free and open. Further, he says that one of the marks of a “bona fide” faith is the freedom to criticize it.
From the article:
[Officials in the Church of Scientology] have also tried to get Google to exclude anti-Scientology websites from its search results, and used hardball legal tactics to harass, bankrupt and intimidate their critics — many of them disaffected former members. In the United States, the Church of Scientology also has been a staunch backer of draconian copyright legislation. If you want to know whether Scientology qualifies as a “religion” on par with other bona fide faiths, try to imagine the Catholic Church or the Saudi royal family charging people tens of thousands of dollars to learn their religious tenets, and suing anyone who dared republish the Koran™ or Bible™ on the internet.
January 22, 2008 at 11:08 am
[...] Paul Sims wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt[Officials in the Church of Scientology] have also tried to get Google to exclude anti-Scientology websites from its search results, and used hardball legal tactics to harass, bankrupt and intimidate their critics — many of them … [...]
January 22, 2008 at 12:48 pm
It can still be a faith and still be genuine, but this is a clear sign of cultic activity. Keeping things secret and demanding exclusivity to doctrines, etc. is a hallmark of cult-like behavior. Although, this does not seem to be a cult in the traditional sense (no real charismatic leader clearly out there in public and governing the organization like Moon and the Unitarians). But the cultic mysteries of the movement are clear evidence that this is a sectarian organization like many Christian and Muslim sects and secret societies organize themselves. Quite similar in content to Heaven’s Gate actually.
January 22, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Drew, thanks for the note! You’re absolutely right, the obsessive focus on secrecy is a pattern for cults. Christian heresies like Gnosticism also had secret teachings and mysterious rites as a part of their behavior.
The more that I write and think about it, Christianity has, along with Judaism and Islam, a serious commitment to doctrines based on open and public Scriptures. This has moral implications for how Christians should approach copyright law, especially in the form of DRM and the DMCA.