A new online research group called PseudoScientology is serving up a large helping of spiritual resources and practical information at PseudoScientology.com. "We've seen our web traffic increase wildly in recent days, with visitors checking us out from every continent," said Dr. J.D. Hunter, webmaster and religious studies professor. Built around a Wordpress blog format, the site features a variety of newsworthy posts on its blog page and a growing library of religious essays and other writings. Many of the resources are meant for general comparative religious study, but the site's primary purpose is to use philosophical concepts, as well as Christian theology, to challenge the claims of Scientologist practitioners and provide an open forum for reasonable dialogue.
About the PseudoScientology team: Hunter, with his fellow researchers, has developed an entirely new concept in addressing the questions about Scientology and its "theology." Setting aside the attack methodology of many of Scientology's critics, PseudoScientology endeavors to employ what Hunter humorously calls a "reverse engineered method of Socratic induction" ... an argument forum which presents dialect questions as a basis for common ground: such as "What do you think," or "How do you feel." "We are all still human, after all," says Hunter, "and perhaps more good can realized if we bring about a peaceful dialogue between traditional Christianity and Scientology than if we merely fire our cannons in a persistent broadside attack." "But," he goes on to say, "that doesn't mean we won't address the hard facts about the abuses and questionable activities that the Church of Scientology has been involved in ... if you're the most litigous religious institution in the world, it's likely that there are sinister reasons that may push the criminal envelope." "What we are asking is a demonstration ... some positive sign in answer to our question: Can Scientology really be called 'an unleashing of the incredible power of human potential ... for good?'"
