Comfort Beliefs

I just couldn't resist it: the Tom Cruise interview with Diane Sawyer.  I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise or anything, but I couldn't help being sucked into this pop culture moment.  A bit like junk food for the mind, I was unable to turn off the tv.

The interview focused  on Scientology and its role in Tom's life.  Apparently, Tom Cruise has reached "level 7" in Scientology and can now cure people of things like tuberculosis, asthma, and arthritis.  He has converted his fiance Katie Holmes to Scientology, and their future child will be taught in some type of Scientology home-school setup.

I remember skimming through a Scientology book in a bookstore years ago.  In a nutshell, it made no sense.  As I dug deeper, I discovered that the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, started out as a science fiction writer.  At some point, he basically decided to make up his own religion and thus Scientology was born.

I'll just go ahead and say it: Scientology isn't true.  Stated like this it is only my opinion, but any scientific inquiry would prove this.  However, it's really not worth any scientist's time to disprove it, so it will linger on.    

Why does Tom Cruise (or anyone else) believe in such weird things?  I think it comes down to "comfort beliefs", that is, it provides a way for people to feel good about themselves and the world.  Whether the beliefs are true or not is irrelevant: the benefits come from believing.

Michael Shermer wrote a book on this topic, "Why People Believe Weird Things".  I haven't read it, but I have read other books and articles by him, so I assume the content is good.  Shermer is part of the Skeptic Society, a group that debunks all kinds of bogus claims.

I briefly followed the skeptic stuff years ago, but quickly lost interest.  The main reason: it wasn't very much fun.  Yes, there is no scientific evidence to show that people can move things with their minds, that people can predict the future, etc.  But isn't it sometimes fun to believe in things that may not be?  After all, why tell children about Santa Claus only to have the truth come out later?

For sure, I won't be going to see Tom Cruise if I ever have problems with asthma or arthritis.  But if his beliefs give him some measure of happiness, maybe there's no harm in it.  Beliefs can keep us going during times when reality doesn't seem too caring.  And let's face it: sometimes fantasy is better than reality.  The Easter Bunny hasn't visited my house in a couple of decades, but he sure seemed to make Easter more fun when he was here.

Comments

[jhbmw007]

TomKat Bobbleheads on eBay!

[Matt Metzgar]

I won't be buying one.

[ekaj]

did you notice the saga's latest update, that maybe katie is having second thoughts about all of Hubbard's childbirth tenets - so seems Tom might let her take some painkillers and even 'scream' if necessary.