Irony

[ComtesseDeSpair]

So, my gf and I were talking with her very Christian mother about Scientology, and her mother actually said the following lines: "I just don't understand how they can believe in something so ridiculous! I mean, how stupid can they be? They are TOTALLY brainwashed!!"

Um, yeah, kinda like that whole "virgin birth" and "resurrection" stuff, right?

I bit my tongue because, despite her delusions, she is very liberal, open-minded, and kind and I would never disrespect her, but my gf and I cast each other a knowing glance. I just wish there was a way to get through to her and make her see the light on her OWN brainwashing.

[Warpy]

1. My own catchall bromide for such occasions is

"Nothing in this world looks crazier than somebody else's religion."

I have no use for the $cientologists, but it might make her think about other world religions.

[ihavenobias]

3. I like it.

I've shared the same sentiment but never used those words.

[onager]

2. "We all worship the same god..."

That one always makes me

:rofl:

It's usually trotted out by one of the Big Three Abrahamic religions when they are making common case against somebody else. Most likely atheists or other non-believers. Or Off-Brand Religions.

Apparently NONE of them worship the same god, at least when they're among themselves, yukking it up about the beliefs of those other morons.

Having lived in Muslim countries for several years, I've got to hear/read a lot of Islamic theories about that "same god" jive.

To start with, many Muslims regard Xians as polytheists because of the doctrine of the Trinity.

And "real" Scotsmen...er, Muslims...don't think much of the American Black Muslim movement, either. For one reason, the original Black Muslims declared the holy month of Ramadan would always fall in December. That didn't fool anybody. It slides neatly into Xmas and, of course, has the shortest days of the year. Handy when you're fasting from dawn to dusk.

Also, very few Americans can read or recite the Koran in its original classical Arabic. A couple of times here on DU, I've seen people ask if they needed to do that to become a Muslim. Of course, the ecumenicalists in the house assured them they didn't need to bother.

In fact, anyone who can't read, or at least recite, the Koran in Arabic will always be a sort of second-class Muslim. Even residents of Indonesia--the biggest Muslim country in the world--gripe about the arrogance of visiting Arab Muslims over that language issue.

Sadly, the whole idea of "school" in some parts of the Middle East consists of learning the Koran by rote.

And sort of hilariously, a few years ago the Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia got to wondering about the backgrounds of his most visibly religious citizens--the matowa or Religious Police. Those uber-sanctimonious asshats who beat people into the mosques with sticks and terrorize women in Saudi Arabia.

The Minister found that most of his Religious Policemen were, in fact, ex-convicts. They got their sentences reduced because they learned the Koran by rote in prison.

[Strong Atheist]

4. All religions are

cults to me...:shrug: