What is scientology?

Question

and why does everyone mock Tom Cruise because he believes in it? What is your opinion on this belief (scientology)??

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. See this link for more information: http://www.xenu.net/archive/disk/fairgame.htm

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. (visit this link to read about the uses of hydoxyzine: http://www.drugs.com/mtm/v/vistaril.html )

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. Members who know about Xenu will attempt to deny it or pretend like it doesn’t matter. They are required to sign a contract binding them to silence on the matter. Lower level members don’t know about Xenu & accordingly deny everything because they honestly don’t know.

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

Scientologists like to call scientology an "Applied religious philosophy." Their system basically consists of a process called auditing, which examines you for negative energies and harmful aspects that are in some way impeding your life and or your happiness.

The auditing process (which involves a device called an "e-meter") is done for a fee. A person who has been audited and treated sufficiently is called a "clear."

The higher you go in the program, the more confidential information you learn. There are levels of a designation called an "Operating Thetan" that you reach as you progress through the church.

Scientologists passionately oppose the profession of Psychology. That has a lot to do with the scorn many people have expressed for Tom Cruise. In the summer of 2005, he attacked a former co-star Brooke Shields for submitting to psychological treatments. Given that this happened during the wacky publicity season for "War of the Worlds", that has something to do with why Tom's got such a questionable rep these days.

Answer 3

Scientology is a joke! On the surface the religion looks...ok. But start going deeper and Yipes!

"..the story of Xenu and his Galactic Confederacy. Xenu (sometimes Xemu) is introduced as an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living. The alien souls continue to do this today, causing a variety of physical ill-effects in modern-day humans..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

Answer 4

A religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1955 and characterized by a belief in the power of a person's spirit to clear itself of past painful experiences through self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment.
I think you can only get spiritual fulfillment through God not yourself. We dont have powers but the Holy Spirit does.
My personal opinion is I think Tom is full of himself. He's very self centered.

Answer 5

Scientologists believe that thousands of years ago some alien king or whatever banished some aliens to earth inside of a volcano, the volcano errupted and the sould of these aliens entered into humans. Now to rid our bodies of these aliens, we must pay another scientologist around 350K over time.

I think it might have more merit if it had not been formed by a mediocre sci-fi writer in 50's

Answer 6

It's a freakin" whack-job religion made up from the ramblings of a sick mind. Seriously, alien souls & Zenu? And WHY does it cost so much money to join & get thru the levels? It's also a sham! And it's definately a cult too - they've ruined the lives of people who've tried to leave - just look what they tried to do to the South Park guys!

Answer 7

Here is a good description of Scientology:

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. L. Ron Hubbard researched and made new discoveries about the human spirit. He developed technology from these discoveries to apply to increase spiritual awareness and ability.
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. So it's not possible to fully answer your question on this forum.

As to why Tom Cruise is being targetted for his religion, this is just more of the same kind of joking and degrading that goes on in our society. It's just another form and expression of intolerence. (Just as destructive in my opinion)
In his case it is fuelled by the media who like to try and knock
down the big celebrities. Religion is just one of many targets they use. If it wasn't that they would find something else. He was a Scientologist well before he became a famous celeb. (past 23 or more yeras actually)

As to my opinion..... well I've been one for over 34 years and it works for me.

Answer 8

Scientology is a religious system created by a science fiction novelist. Everything in it is science fiction.

Answer 9

began by way of L. Ron Hubbard as 'self aid technique' referred to as Dianetics (he began out writing SiFi books after which wrote self aid books) ...it right into a grew to become "faith".....many folks (Christians, atheist, agnostics, former participants, ect) say it's the best 'textual content-ebook' illustration of a non-violent Cult (concept a few participants have stated bodily and emotional abuse) the elemental thought is: in the course of your and beyond lives you have had bad reviews that you just can not don't forget, those repressed reviews 'preserve you again'.... by way of particular counseling referred to as "Dianetics" (furnished by way of the CoS. for a nominal rate) you'll be able to 'approach/manage' those unhealthy reviews....as soon as there all sorted, you'll be able to go beyond to a "prime undeniable of life" ....THE END....

Answer 10

if Is it anything related to Crackology then I would say this...

So to answer your unique question there is a Crack god and he commanded them to beam to a nearby Comet, which was flying by earth in close Orbit, and the Crack Master Xenu Told them to smoke crack to ascend to the higher plains of crackdom!!
Hense the Exploding souls were actualy crack pipes that fell from the heavens and those who took the crack pipes became Scientologist. You see its a simple science, it takes allot of Money to buy crack, so every year they celabrate Crackmas with the "annual audit". They need to keep a certain amount of crack in order to complete their training on the dark side of the Crack Force.
Well there you have it.

Merry Crackmas!!!