Why can’t Tom Cruise be more like the guys he pretends to be in movies? True, “Maverick” was no less arrogant than the real-life actor who portrayed him, but at least the cocky pilot and his cause were worth rooting for. SUch is not the case with the Scientology agenda Cruise aligns himself with off-camera.

In his recent interview with MSNBS’s Matt Lauer, the actor and devout Scientologist added himself to the long list of celebrities posing as authorities in areas outside the realm of their expertise. Here, he calls psychiatry a “pseudoscience” and boldly states that “there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance,” while also taking pot shots at people all over the world who suffer from psychiatric disorders or learning disabilities. Though Lauer pummels Cruise in the debate, it’s unclear whether the latter understood the point: that it’s not his place to decide how other people should address their problems.

In myriad ways, religion is superfluous in today’s world. But Scientology is downright scary, as it this recent trend among the pathologically “faithful” to invite their health to deteriorate so as not to piss off a supposedly loving God, as evidenced by the Nigerians suspicion that the polio vaccine was a plot by Americans to alienate Africans from the God, to say nothing of monotheism’s spreading of AIDS through its global crusade against condoms and safe sex. Prayer should supplement a healthy life, not substitute for it.