What I find interesting with most religions is how they seem to really dislike one another under their facade of acceptance while they compete for our “poor” souls. Each religion out there has the tenant that they are the only TRUE religion so anybody professing anything different is seen as a competitor in this life or the next. What I find equally of interest is that they try to discount each-others beliefs while re-enforcing their own. Scientology is no different in that they are attacked regularly by Catholics and Muslims as being an evil cult which to me sounds no different then a kettle calling a pot black. I fail to see ANY difference between Scientology and other world faiths out there.
Disclaimer
My postings about religion are simply my exploration of this concept within humanity, I am not judging nor bashing of others rights to believe in whatever they wish to believe. I welcome anybody wishing to discuss this with me on my blog, I am open minded enough to explore anything but have no desire to be directed how I should live my life (ei: don’t expect me to convert to your way of thinking). I am sure this is full of inaccuracies, feel free to point them out. My goal in life is to understand others mechanisms regarding what makes them function.
Comparison (however flawed) with other religions
Scientology, unlike other faiths is rather new on the scene, there are actual video and audio recordings from the founder, L. Ron Hubbard himself. They preach acceptance, conditioning and conversion just like, ironically, the other world religions. Where they differ most greatly is that you don’t pray to an all-knowing creator (God) but actually take courses in how to improve yourself beyond ethical reproachment. Instead of intense worship, you focus on intense study. There is no heaven or hell, there aren’t millions of death under their belt in their religions name and there most notably, have a rather more interesting story as to human existence then any other religion complete with aliens and galactic wars. Cult? Nope, it’s just re-incarnation 2.0!
Scientology – The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard (1967) – Part 1
- Scientology means “study of knowingness”, it’s a faith or religion that calls itself a science
- Scientologists study for hours daily, listening to tapes and are tested regularly to make sure all materials are clearly understood and followed to the letter
- Scientologist use an e-meter, which is essentially a lie detector to audit people at confessionals for any type of emotion
- Scientology has a record keeping system that would make even the ancient Romans envious, everything written down and kept for further analysis
- Scientology is about profit, just like most other religions, at least they are honest about their intentions
- to become a “clear”, you must be able to answer 60 questions in L. Ron Hubbard’s own handwriting without showing an ounce of emotion on an e-meter
- ”suppressives” or people who dis Scientology are, in Lr. Ron Hubbard’s own words “Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of Scientologists. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed”.
- R2-45 is the mechanism by which people actively bashing Scientology are persecuted and investigated in order to ruin them
- L. Ron Hubbard comes through as a rather intelligent and charismatic leader
- I like how L. Ron Hubbard clarifies that he has no problem with people who are critical of him but of those who actively try to suppress the rights of others to practice what they want deserve what they get
Scientology – The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard (1967) – Part 2
- L. Ron Hubbard states that he had only two wives in his life but the record states that he had three, what I find interesting about this is… who cares? I fail to see how many wives, children or other details about a person have anything to do with leadership
- L. Ron Hubbard spends a lot of time researching past civilizations, he believes he has lived before during many lives, memories exist within everybody from prior lives
- people sign up in servitude to L. Ron Hubbard for a billion years as part of their training
- -L. Ron Hubbard says that Scientology is a science, not a faith nor belief
- L. Ron Hubbard’s quote stating “the one man in the world who never believes he’s a mad is a madman” couldn’t be any truer
BBC Panorama – Scientology & Me (Part 1 of 3)
- Scientology is gaining acceptance around the world and is trying to become classified as a religion through various movements
- use of a disconnect is used to break all links with individuals, including family members who try to get in the way of the religious growth of Scientologists
- the concentration of this documentary is on making Scientology look like an evil cult, I completely see how Jon Sweeney has slanted his reports already
- Scientology is the study of life and knowledge
- e-meter was designed by L. Ron Hubbard himself
BBC Panorama – Scientology & Me (Part 2 of 3)
- using the word “cult” is heavily frowned upon, they state they are a religion which I don’t understand because their Founder, L. Ron Hubbard stated emphatically that they are not a religion but a science
- Scientology sends in their volunteers after major disasters to help using “touch assists” which is a healing method using hands and touch sort of like a massage but much lighter
- Scientology runs an anti-drug program called “Narconon” using exercise and vitamin supplementation to help people kick their habits
- courses don’t equate worship in British law, hence why it’s acceptance as a religion is stalled
- it becomes quickly evident that Jon Sweeney isn’t very popular with the Scientology
BBC Panorama – Scientology & Me (Part 3 of 3)
- many stars speak highly of the religion
- I find Scientologist rather confrontational regarding Jon Sweeney’s interview, they seem to follow him everywhere, trying to break him down mentally but I also understand where they are coming from, how you would feel if you where Catholic or Muslim and constantly referred to as being part of a cult?
- psychiatry is a pseudo-science according to Scientologists, a view that I actually have come to fully agree with though they take things a little further then I would have
- they completely succeeded in driving Jon Sweeney nuts, if all for a few moments, they achieved their goal in my opinion as a result, discrediting his journalistic indifference
- Scientology takes it’s religion extremely seriously, just like other world faiths
Brainwashing 101
If something works, it’s adopted by others and religion is no different then other types of marketing. They all seem to follow the same principles as those used in brainwashing 101 courses. These are the same techniques used by marketers who tell us you must buy a diamond for marriage, buy new cloths every season and that debts are no big deal in the pursuit of happiness (capitalism). I consider any type of activity whose sole purpose is to change the thinking of another person to be considered brainwashing.
Repetition!
First, begin with repetitive repetition on a continual basis to re-enforce a certain method of thinking. When I saw the video of this, I instantly thought of Madrasas or Sunday Schools the dot this planet.
Servitude
If you are Christian, you must give your soul to God “for eternity”, I believe it’s the same for other faiths but in Scientology, they only keep your soul under servitude for a billion years. I think this is progress… a billion years doesn’t seem so long when compared to eternity!
Sacrifice
Surrounding yourself by like minded individuals and “blocking out” those who don’t share your beliefs and the donation of energy whether in time, money or deeds to the religious organization. Evangelists have tiding where you give a portion of your income to the church, Catholics have the basket they put through the pews and other religions a mix of the two. If you want to be “part of us”, you must prove it in actions as well or words. At least Scientology is straight forward and very clear regarding these expectations with ladders related to donations.
Overly-friendliness: Community of the like minded
I grew up Roman Catholic and I see the same thing among other faiths, this overly-friendliness towards the like minded and possible conversionable. I visited a “born again” Evangelist complex a few years ago and that is when it really struck me… it isn’t just “hi”, it’s the big handshakes, hugs and even kisses. Why does this exist? Well, simply to re-enforce that you have entered a safe place, you have friends. Some people like hugging complete strangers, as for me, handshakes are about as far as I will take things.
Confessionals
Scientologists use e-meters, Catholics the confessional and I am sure there is an equivalent in other religion but what is it’s true purpose? No matter how the religious autocracy wish to characterize it, these are a brilliant method of control in two fundamental ways. First, they help break down the mental barriers which may, at a later period of time, create doubt in the mind and secondly, it keeps people in line. If you told your priest that you did xyz they say, “your sins are now forgiven” what has actually happened? NOTHING but a bonding event at the subconscious level! You told somebody else your deepest secrets which gives you some relief but also helps to keep you in line at a subconscious level.
Humans = EVIL
Humans are all evil, worthless and lost without GOD or some other entity, Scientologists don’t revert to these words, instead, they focus on purity of the mind. Religion is basically the pursuit of perfection, something that cannot EVER be achieved no matter how much training or lives a person spends on this endeavor. Religions all describe humans as being fundamentally flawed and only religious dogma is the way to go to achieve a higher level of being in this life or the next. I find this incredibly interesting as there are far more Catholics, Muslims and other religious persons in prisons and committing crimes out there then Athiests yet, regardless of religion, Athiests are seen as the absolute lowest of the low. It seems that people who believe in themselves, for themselves are so off kilter in not seeing supreme guidance that we are vilified just under the surface of acceptance.
Profit
Scientology is an expensive religion, you have to pay for courses to constantly improve yourself, the books, tapes etc all add up to a pretty penny. Before you bash this, consider that the Pope lives in his own city of incredible splendor just like Evangelists live in their multi-million dollar homes. What’s the difference? None. Religion is truly the most profitable enterprise out there, many governments even allow tax deductions for “donations” to religious organizations.
Death to critics!
This bears repeating, in L. Ron Hubbard’s own words “Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of Scientologists. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed”. Sounds harsh? I don’t think so, considering Catholics wish you to spend eternity in hell under the most inhumane conditions while fundamentalists believe you deserve a beheading for speaking badly about their beliefs. Considering this, Scientology is rather generous to it’s critics as it doesn’t involve death! Christians has their crusades and I am sure Muslims had their equivalents in history, so far, not a hint of this from Scientology. Again, I believe this is progress as far as religions go.
Gays are ok!
Unlike Catholics and many other major religions, Scientology doesn’t seem to discriminate against sexual orientation. If you are gay, you are welcomed with open arms. Again, this is welcome progress in the world of religion.
Charisma of the Leader
After watching quite a bit of video, no matter what you believe about Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard is a rather charismatic leader, I am sure this was as true about Jesus in his time as with other prophets from other religions. He comes across as rather sincere, he obviously believes his way of thinking is the “purest” and wants to expand this organization to touch the hearts of minds of others around the world. Ironically, this is the same mission and method used by other religions around the world.
Is Scientology a Cult or a Religion
If others wish you ill harm on others, then I would consider this a cult but if they simply wish to be left alone to work on themselves while bettering the lives of those around them, who is to judge or make this distinction? As for me, I don’t see them as a cult anymore then other religions out there. They have their beliefs, I have mine… as long as they don’t infringe on my rights, I couldn’t care less about what their followers are doing behind closed doors. What I do find fascinating about the evolution of Scientology is that it gives you a glimpse of how religions form and grow in both influence and power in our world over time. They are the new kid on the block, learning along the way what should and shouldn’t be adopted.
Is Scientology for me?
Although I find their stories far more interesting then those of other prophetic books, I still cannot fathom giving up my inner power, no matter how slight, to another organization, no matter how it’s characterized by preachers and sinners alike. I do agree with some of their teachings and even some of their views but not enough to feel any deep passion to join them. Their equivalent to the Koran or Bible called Dianetics is on my “to-read” list though but unlike these two other books, I can’t find a free copy of this one.
The Bottom Line
Religion is no different then cough medicine, it makes the symptoms of thinking about our collectively mortality go away without solving the underlying problem that we all die eventually.
Buzvia: Church of Scientology Official Web Site, Wikipedia
Mannatech is barking-up the wrong tree, their threats are as empty as their distributor’s promises.
