I generally agree with what you’re saying. My first post on Cruise was a criticism, and I continue to criticize Scientology. A healthy skepticism is good. I merely meant to point out that most of Cruise’s detractors were not offended or troubled at the silliness of his beliefs, but at the passion and conviction with which he held them.

Muslim terrorists are not dangerous because of their passion, but because of the content of the beliefs with which the passionately adhere.

God Bless

“Since a wise man can be mistaken, and a hundred men, and many nations, yes, and human nature is mistaken for many centuries about this or that, what assurance have we that sometimes it stops being mistaken, and in this century it is not making a mistake?”

Montaigne saw first hand the kind of insanity absolute assurance in inerrant truths leads to, as Protestants and Catholics all over France burned each other at the stake for the sake of preserving their absolute truths. We see it now every day on the news as Muslim men strap bombs to themselves and murder their fellow citizens in the name of the inerrant truth of the Koran.

This, I think, is why the kind of passion Cruise displays when proselytizing frightens people; any one that convinced of their truth is liable to do stupid and dangerous things in its name.