Scientology - religion, philosophy or pile of bollocks. What do YOU think?

Answer 1

It is a CULT. Despite what a few fanatical members may say, it IS a cult. The church harasses & bullies anyone who they deem an "enemy" (basically anyone who has anything negative to say about the "church"). They will RUIN YOUR LIFE if you speak out against them long enough.

The founder is L. Ron Hubbard, the science FICTION writer who once told a friend that the best way to make lots of money is to start your own religion. Though being a very outspoken critic of psychiatric drugs, it was discovered upon Hubbards death that the anti-anxiety drug hydroxyzine (Vistaril) was present in his body, which several of his assistants would later attest was only one of many psychiatric & pain medications Hubbard ingested over the years.

Scientologists believe the evil alien ruler Xenu killed a lot of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by bringing them to earth & blowing them up inside volcanoes. They believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") have attached themselves to us & cause many of our mental & physical ills. Even members of the Church of Scientology who know of Xenu will publicly deny the existence of Xenu & Body Thetans, or attempt to minimize their importance. Scientology has many graduated levels through which one can progress. Many who remain at lower levels in the church are unaware of much of the these doctrines, which mostly begin at Operating Thetan level three, or "OT III". Because the information imparted to members is to be kept secret from others who have not attained that level, the member must publicly deny its existence when asked. OT III recipients must sign a waiver promising never to reveal its secrets before they are given the manila envelope containing the Xenu knowledge.

To rid ourselves of "Body Thetans" & also “engrams” (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind) so that we can become “clear”, we have to go through "auditing" with a member of the “church” who uses an "e-meter" to measure our “reactive mind”...... & we have to pay lots & lots of money for “auditing” (purchased in 12.5-hour blocks, costing anywhere from $750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions) & to take courses on Scientology to advance to higher “levels” in the “church”. The “church” has also taken a very hostile stance towards psychiatry & psychiatric drugs irrespective of the fact that some people require medication to remain adequately functional in everyday life. They deny the reality of chemical imbalance & profound mental disturbance & accordingly do NOTHING to effectively stabilize the dangerously unstable. The “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (with deadly results).

Scientology is undeniably a cult. For more information on what a cult is & what their damaging effects are, please visit the link provided at the bottom of the sources. Just know that Scientology DOES qualify by meeting these 5 criteria:

(1) It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate & retain its members. (2) It forms an elitist totalitarian society. (3) Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable & has charisma. (4) It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds & recruit people. (5) Its wealth does not benefit its members or society.

Answer 2

Scientology is a cult. Scientology is not a religion. To be a Scientologist, you have to pay a lot of money for classes, auditing sessions, books, E-meters, etc.

You can't be a religion if you make people pay money to be a member. In Christianity or any other religion, they ask you for donations, which is entirely different because you don't have to donate money if you don't want to or can't. But if you want to be a member of Scientology, you have to pay money. If you can't afford it, they find any way possible for you to get them the money, whether it be borrowing it from someone, taking out loans, etc, etc, etc. THEY WANT YOUR MONEY.

Scientology was built on wanting to make money. All L. Ron Hubbard wanted to do was make lots of money and be rich. He thought the best way to do that would be to start a religion. L. Ron Hubbard was also an alcoholic and a drug abuser, which Scientology is totally against. But Scientologists don’t know about that. And if they do, they don’t believe it, but it’s true.

Why do you think Scientology treats its celebrity members so well? Because they have tons of money and they're famous. Celebrity Scientologists even have their own celebrity center in Hollywood, California. Scientology thrives on having celebrity members because it gives them good publicity. Sometimes when people see a celebrity that they like is associated with something, they want to go and be apart of that same thing. "Oh look, John Travolta is a Scientologist! Well, if he's a Scientologist, then it must be a good thing! He was in 'Pulp Fiction,' you know!" Completely retarded.

If you're in Scientology, get out now while you can before they take all your money and ruin your life. Actually, if you're already in Scientology, you're pretty much screwed, because if you leave, you'll be labeled a "suppressive person" and everyone else in Scientology (whether it be your family or friends) will no longer speak to you or associate with you.

If you're not in Scientology, then you're safe. Stay away from it! Don't let them brainwash you. Everything you've read about the evil Lord Xenu and the Galactic Confederacy is true and that is what Scientologists really believe. But you don't learn about that stuff until you're at a high level in Scientology and you've already paid a ton of money. And it takes years upon years to get to those high levels.

Oh, and be careful about making fun of Scientology. Scientologists love to harass and publicly humiliate critics of Scientology.

Find out more about the evils of Scientology here…

http://www.xenu.net

Answer 3

Well... definitely the first two, based on my knowledge of what it actually is :

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy. When I say "applied" I mean you actually use it in your life to change or improve existing conditions. It is a very practical religion.
All religions if you learn about them have a basic philosphy, but they also have certain dogma, rituals and observances, and a certain faith or belief is required. There is nothing wrong with this, but Scientology is not that kind of religion. It does not intrude on anyones faiths of beliefs particularly in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual, which is why you can be a practicing Jew,for example and still use and apply the priniciples of Scientology in your life. It does not conflict. If anything it will enhance your understanding of your chosen religious practice.
You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from using it.
And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.
It is a non denominational religion . The dictionary definition that applies:
Religion: The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognises the existence of superhuman power or powers.

The most basic principle of Scientology is that YOU are your own immortal soul, that this is not a "thing" you HAVE but what YOU actually are.
The whole purpose of Scientology is to increase an individual's understanding and awareness of himself. and lifeAnd thereby his native abilities .
When you do this the sphere and zone of his positive influence increases and moves outward into his life, his family ,his friends, his groups and mankind which he is part of.

How this result is achieved is the "technology" of Scientology, which was developed by L.Ron Hubbard after his extensive research and the discoveries he made, about the human spirit. The basic religious philosophy and knowledge of Scientology is very old, going back 10,000 years at least to the Veda or Vedic Hymns from the East. The developement of the technology is new.
He completed his research before his death in 1986 and left all of his results and copyrights
to the Church of Scientology along with most of his considerable personal estate, when he died.

He published a book in 1951 to communicate the basic principles he discovered called: " Scientology The Fundementals of Thought"
There are currently over 10 million Scientologists in more than 163 countries world wide. However we are a new religion, only 53 years old.
The true story of Scientology as a religion goes like this:
1. A philosopher developes a philosophy about life and death.
2. People find it interesting.
3. People find it works.
4. People pass it along to others.
5. It grows.

This is just an overview.
L. Ron Hubbard explained fully the theology and technologies of Scientology in more than 500,000 pages of writings, including dozens of books and over 2,000 tape-recorded public lectures.
He obviously felt it was well worth sharing. I agree.

Answer 4

All 3 and greater. Celebrities possibly elect to be a area of the church simply by fact obtain reciprocal favours. Church have greater attractiveness with calabrities, and celebritie have some in exchange from the church. yet relatively there additionally yet another subject. diverse people bypass away the church simply by fact not properly working. Asking too plenty funds (not how Ron Hubbard founder written is the spectacular quantity to ask). Forbidden to any people to think of along with his/her thoughts or thoughts. impossible to scientologist of the church to envision in internet approximately Scientology... and further and further. i'm an Indipendent Scientologist and with diverse different student/people we bypass away the church simply by fact working undesirable and so we basically are utilising what Ron written and we are employing the unique philosophy. additionally some significant every person is leaving the church. stable success

Answer 5

A religion where the more you pay the better off you become n'kay then sounds like sense to me ******* morons it a big pile of Bollocks

Answer 6

Well this is my philosophy -

You don't ask to be born.
You can't live unless your born.
You can't die unless you live.
You can't tell people to do either.
But you can stop this vicious circle by - 'not' giving-up all you enjoy, but as in - not bringing more innocent children into the world, who didn't ask to be here. To face the same misery you see each day. Remember when you first realised you would die one day? And your whole family would die today? So why on earth decide to place innocent children in the same un-holy predicament.This is the selfishness in all of us. I think.

Answer 7

I don't personally believe in Scientology but as religions go it's quite harmless. They're not trying to bring about the end of days like some other more popular religions

Answer 8

Back in the 70's, a few friends of mine joined scientology. They became the most obnoxious people to be around. Eventually, they began to realize the errors of their ways. They quit, one by one. Then 2 of them were held, against their will, by the scientology leadership in our town. After being freed, they were warned of harm to their families if they reported the scientologists. None of them reported it, for obvious reasons. All of them quit.
IT'S a CULT .
Thank you and God Bless.

Answer 9

A fun science fiction plot that was warped into a "religion" by a guy who either took his own writing too seriously, or wanted to really prove that people are sheep.

Answer 10

absolute cultish nonsense...the founder was a science fiction writer gone haywire. he was an egotistical maniac and also a pedophile. he denounced anyone who used psychotropic medications, but was taking several himself, and had them in his bloodstream at the time of his death...according to the tox screening upon autopsy. he has children who deny that he is their father, and have changed their names.
the main mission of the church of scientology is to take in as much money as possible and to gain as much notoriety as possible, by way of recruiting celebrities...who never learn the true doctorine and history of the cult.
the following website is maintained by former upper-level scientologists, and ppl who have escaped the cult.....
http://www.xenu.net/
read for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

**wtg zero cool, you did an awesome job of getting the word out...pirate girl gives you a huge hug.