h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"It concerns a cataclysmic event 76 billion years ago involving a galactic overlord named Xenu who murdered the population of the galaxy by coaxing them to Earth"

The Earth is only about 4.5 biliion years old.

It should read "76 MILLION" years old.

If you are going to report the plots of sci-fiction stories properly you could at least get your facts right!

This is not about what happened, it is about what the Scientologists believe happened. Do you have evidence that they think it was 76 million years ago?

No - the 76 billion years comment is accurate - and confirmed by the Church of Scientology itself. While every sensible scientist thinks that the Earth is about four and a half billion years old, Scientology would have you believe that it is over 76 BILLION years old. The author of the article is just quoting official doctrine.

Not only that, at the time of the so called 'incident' which OT III refers to, the Earth was part of a huge alien empire, and was not called 'Earth' but 'Teegeeack". None of this is disputed by the Church - it's all there to be looked up.

Ha! It's so funny that everyone's pointing the finger at Scientology for absurd beliefs rather than just recognising that religions -have- absurd beliefs!

I mean, what's more absurd: Scientology saying the Earth is 76 Billion years old, or Christian extremists saying it's less than 5000 years old?!

And what about that Jesus guy, walking on water, coming back from the dead?!

Every religion has its myths, because some people need them. But there is more to a religion than its myths too, and I know plenty of Christians who don't believe in most of the bible stories as literal truths but are still Christians.

The difference with Scientology is that you don't have to accept anything that you haven't seen for yourself. There's no official doctrine, no pope breathing down your neck telling you you're going to hell for not believing him.

Scientology is a thoroughly modern religion for a modern audience, just as much as Christianity is an ancient religion for an ancient audience.

Experience changes beliefs.
Thanks to your modern religion, I lost my family,friends, my identity and all my savings / property to find out that at the end I will be able to move things with the power of my mind.
Cool religion!!

Exactly. Scientology, or should I say, $cientology, is all about making money. The costs for receiving 'training' in OT3 (the story about Earth-Teegeeack) costs over 10,000 US dollars.

Christianity may have old beliefs, but they don't ask you to pay thousands of dollars in order to move up some pseudo-gnostic knowledge tree.

As for what you are and are not forced to believe in $cientology, go join the Sea Org and start dissenting, if you want to see just how tolerant they really are!