Unleash the Vieth: Updated and Amended
Updated: This post originally reproduced a story I came across at another blog, which I now believe is probably a false work of a tabloid. At the very least, I could not verify the veracity of the story, so in conscience I've chosen to remove it. However, I've decided to leave the comments intact. Not as a way to get the "story" in through the back door, but because I hope to leave the door open for a guest commenter, Mr. Greg Churilov. Greg, please come back any time. I don't always blog about controversial stuff (smile), in fact most of the time it's about my family and what's going on in our corner of the world. But occassionally the Word of God can be found on these pages and I invite you to come. Maybe drink and be refreshed. Even better, be inspired to read God's Word for yourself, to find out just who this Jesus - your true Saviour - really is.
The reference to "Vieth" in the post's title is to Gene Edward Vieth. It was at his blog, "Cranach" that I originally came across the story. Vieth's blog was formerly called "Unleash the Vieth", hence the homage. The little blurb below about him is all that survives from this post in it's original form.
**If you're not familiar with Vieth, I encourage you to check out his works. He is the author of The Spirituality of the Cross (and 13 other works), an editor and contributor to World Magazine and an engaging speaker. I had the privelege to hear him speak a few years ago at an evangelism conference that our church hosted.
21 comments:
Amen, there is only one Christ, and his name is not tom cruise, it is Jesus. Thanks for sharing this my dear friend, love you.
I’m writing you to ask for your help. The story you ran today, based on a “report” by one of England’s worst tabloids “The Sun”, is 100% false. It is also harmful, libelous and foments incorrect notions about my religion Scientology so as to cause strife and intolerance. I need your help to set the record straight.
In actual fact, nobody within the Church of Scientology considers themselves to be “Christ-like” – this would be a very inappropriate and arrogant comment and I’m sure you can see how this is being used only to antagonize Christians everywhere.
We Scientologists appreciate Tom Cruise’s efforts as a spokesperson of many of our Church’s initiatives. But he’s just an actor, holds no rank within our Church, and is by NO MEANS a “prophet” – and I am certain he himself would be embarrassed at the thought.
I hope you can help me in setting the record straight. The “Sun” is lying. Please get in touch with the Church’s Media Relations department, at http://www.scientologytoday.org/Contacts/index.htm
Thank you.
Best,
Greg Churilov,
Scientology Parishioners League
PS: By the way, you might remember that, before he dared speak out against Big Pharma, Tom Cruise was a generally well-liked actor. If you think about it, standing on a couch is not *that* big a deal. The fact is that the drug companies have engaged in a whisper campaign of character assassination on this actor. And with good reason: since Cruise spoke out, sales of Ritalin are down 21% in USA, sales of Paxil are now banned in the UK by the UK FDA, and the U.S. FDA requires blackbox labels on all antidepressants. And Big Pharma is mad, their pockets have taken the hit.
Dear Mr. Churilov,
Thank you for your comments.
I will gladly investigate this and if, as you assert, the comments attributed to Scientology leaders about Cruise are in fact false, I will of course remove them from this blog.
As Christians we are commanded to not bear false witness against our neighbour; more, we are to defend and uphold their good reputation. It is certainly not my intention to besmirch Mr. Cruise's reputation; that being said, I am sure that you can appreciate that the assertion that he is being hailed as a "Christ-figure" within the ranks of Scientology is troubling for many Christians.
I would invite you to continue to visit this blog and link to the other blogs in my blogring. It would be my privilege to share the wonderful news that Jesus Christ died and rose for you as well.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
His Servant,
Mrs. Anita V.
Anita, you are such a light! I know that God's face shines upon you! Much love to you today!
Anita - you so rock! Good response! Hang tough!
Anita, I am not an expert, but I do have an opinion on the anonymous comment. I think that someone cut/pasted this comment from another source, but your response was indeed excellent!
umm, sounds like a few key words in your entry tripped a sensor that sent an autoreply. I could be wrong, but the very phrase "the story you ran today" sort of gives that impression, no? If its not an auto, its certainly a form letter.
Sounds like Scientology is hitting its first big public relations problem and is trying to counter. Interesting that no matter how nominal a person's Christianity is (not a problem here - I'm saying out there in general) they still don't want any human comparisons to Christ (think Beatles).
oops, just read Debbie's impression - that could be right too.
I kind of assumed that I tripped their meta filters. The comment was up within a couple of hours of posting it. It does look like a cut and paste job, doesn't it?
I did a quick google on the "Scientology Parishioners League" (it exists) as well as Mr. Churilov. He is an active Scientology apologist. Whether it was actually him that commented, who knows.
The story that I posted is indeed from the UK Sun. I don't have the resources to verify the quotes, so I will amend the post to reflect that. That's only fair.
Quite frankly, I hope I'm not making a bigger issue of this than it actually is. Not like it's the big Scientology smackdown at Ask a Lutheran, lol! The point of the post was not to bash Scientology, but to correct the notion that there is any comparison whatsoever between a Scientology "messiah" and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Dear Anita V.,
I appreciate your kind response.
I respect your religious beliefs and I appreciate that you are good enough a Christian to respect mine.
I can certainly see how this statement WOULD be troubling to Christians. And it is my sincere opinion that such incendiary statements are printed KNOWINGLY, so as to create strife and conflict where none should exist.
The “Sun” IS lying. You can see the Church’s official statement here: http://news.bostonherald.com/letters/view.bg?articleid=179702
---
Further...
To Debbie:
My comment was not anonymous. I signed my name and last name.
To Sara:
Sorry, we're not that technological. I'm not an autoresponder and there are no metafilters (that I know of) in place. I'm just volunteer, a devout Scientologist who tries to rectify incorrect, false "news" about my Church.
Lastly, to Anita:
Thanks, I do exist. I prefer "activist" although I will accept "apologist" if you must. I'm also a Volunteer Minister (www.volunteerministers.org), having served in the 9/11 aftermath, in Indonesia after the tsunami and having led a team of over 90 volunteers in Mississippi helping Katrina survivors.
I appreciate your candor and good will.
We Scientologists respect all Faiths and do not seek to position ourselves as an "alternative" to any of them. Scientology is not a Faith, it is an applied religious philosophy to improve oneself and (hopefully) improve the World a bit as well.
I insist, Tom Cruise is NO "messiah" - he's a parishioner with no authority or office within our Church. He just happens to be a high-profile person, that's all.
And I MOST CERTAINLY AGREE with you that there is no comparison between ANY man and the Lamb of God.
With my respect,
Greg
Scientology Parishioners League
Dear New Anonymous Commenter:
I'm sorry, but I had to delete your comment. If you wish to debate Scientology with Mr. Churilov then please do so on your own site. Please understand that while I reject Scientology teaching as being incompatible with Christianity, I can not allow commenters to engage in name calling. Mr. Chrurilov is also one of God's creatures and he deserves to be treated with dignity. I would suggest that a more appropriate action would be to pray for Greg's salvation. I hope you will join me.
Hey Anita....while I can understand the concern for this...I must empathize as well with Greg...because we live in such an 'inflammatory' society. When I heard about this (on Susan Godfrey's blog, no less)...I thought it sounded a bit 'out there' even for Mr. Cruise. I'm pretty skeptical...living in N.Y. does that to ya! As for Sara's mentioning of the Beatles....John Lennon was right. Christ is not popular. His statement that that band was more popular at the time wasn't heretic in nature. It was an accurate observation. A sad one...but accurate. We must remember as well to pray for those to whom much has been given. It is so very difficult for them to understand the Cross and what that means....have a blessed day ;). Eileen @ http://halfwayhome.wordpress.com
Thank you for sharing this my friend. I read about this too and honestly just kind of laughed about it, shared the link on my blog and moved along. There's something non-threatening and non-red-flag-waiving about it even "if" he was named some sort of Messiah. We Christians read our Bibles and know that he doesn't fit the criteria for the end times antichrist anyway. So, I just continue to laugh in the face of these things I suppose.
It's funny...where Brian catches his train in center city Philly there are always Scientologists there with there "fun free stress tests" which of course are designed to get you to go to their church, etc...I want to sit down one day with one of them and witness back to them. If they can sit there and share their "beliefs" I can share the truth with them. Dangerous people they are.
PS...just proves that you never know who is reading your blog! :) Glad that we continue to stand in truth as Jesus Christ is the one true God and Savior of us all. What an interesting world this blogging community is. And what a powerful tool we as Christians have with it.
WOW! Such excitement! Loved your comment:
"Quite frankly, I hope I'm not making a bigger issue of this than it actually is. Not like it's the big Scientology smackdown at Ask a Lutheran, lol! "
I posted this at my site in answer to your comments, but wasn't sure you would see it so I copied it to post here.
"Anita, its no big deal really. As I told the boys, If you were on trial wouldn't you want someone to take it seriously? Things have been much more interesting for you than me. I read about your big 'Scientology smackdown.' I have to wonder what is going on that they would take the comments on an individual blog so seriously."
Have a great day.
grace. speaking evil of no man. living at peace as much as it is up to you. Thanks, Anita, for showing me how it's done in real life.
Titus 3:2
Romans 12:18
Hey Anita, I'm getting scared.....
I received an email today (not from anyone here)correcting me for the name I posted for my TEA CUP. The name is correct, but there is another pattern originating from this one. Imagine that? I knew this, but didn't think it was a big deal until today. Anyway, I made the correction.
Debbie - if I have learned one thing through this experience, it is that (as Sara says) "the world is watching". It's really made me stop and think about what I post here. Is it harming others in some way? Is is unflattering or untrue (if even unintentionally)? I guess I always just assumed that it way just our little family that came here, but evidently not. It raises issues of privacy and safety for me as well. Still working it all out.
Dear Anita:
Stopping by again. (I just did a search on Google for my own name, and this was one of the results.)
I just wanted to add my own views on this "the world is watching" thing.
1) I certainly did not mean to intrude nor instill in anyone here any fears about privacy by adding my comment.
2) It's true, we don't realize how the Web connects us all. In the past I have posted things on my site and received comments from Japan and New Zealand about them (much to my surprise!)
3) I have no idea what Debbie was referring to about her teacup, honestly I don't understand it.
4) One of the great things about the Internet is how we get to communicate with the world. And sometimes, the world communicates back! :-) I strongly recommend embracing this. Anita, you should be happy, it means your blog is making an impact in the world!
Warm regards,
Greg
http://www.liveandgrow.org
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