I have come to the conclusion that I am in desperate need of new friends. I reached this conclusion at 2.43 this afternoon when i was talking to an old friend of mine. I hadn't spoken to her for about a year and a half, we weren't close friends, but close enough to send Christmas cards to and stop in the street for a chat. We were chatting on MSN when she told me that she had been reading up on Scientology and she was interested in learning more, in fact she was considering joining their ranks as a layman (or whatever their lowest rank in their hierarchy is) and wanted to know what i thought about it.
"Surely thou does jest?" I asked.
"Jest I do not dear friend" she replied "I have pondered long on this subject, and as surely as the Autumn leaves must fall upon the earth's rich bosom, I too must fall upon the bosom of the great and true faith!"
"But it is impossible for thee to fall upon any part of that religion let alone said bosom, thou doest study psychology!"
"Fear not my friend, for as the copper and tin mingle to form the stronger bronze, so too shall my psychology mingle with faith, creating a stronger....uhh bronze like religion!"
"Bollocks!" I said.
Then she stopped talking to me, I guess I'm going to have to apologize to her.
The thing that has got me concerned about this is she doesn't have a clue about what she wants to do. She has questions about life and she is turning to religion for answers, but unfortunately she is turning to the wrong religion. Now I might not come across as it, but i am very tolerant of most religions. In fact I have a lot of respect for devoutly pious individuals who maintain their steadfast beliefs despite a constant barrage of ridicule from assholes like me who try to prove them wrong. If she came up to me and said "I want to be a Hindu" I would have given her my statue of Ghanesh, if she said "I want to be Catholic" I would have taken her to mass myself, and if she said "I want to be a Maori" I would have held her hand as they tattooed her face, but i just can't accept Scientology.
Sure there are good things about that religion like not having to pay doctors bill and that spiffy creation story with volcanoes and hydrogen bombs, but there are a lot of bad things about it to, like not being able to go to the doctor when you're dying, the huge amounts of money you have to "donate" to them, and Tom Cruise.

I'm just afraid that she will throw away her dreams of becoming a psychologist to follow this ridiculous cult. I know it's her choice to make and I need to support her with it, no matter my personal feelings on the subject. All good things must come to an end.... including the rational thinking of my friend.