Scientology - Does anyone who isn't rich and famous know anything about it?

Question

I'm just interested to know who knows anything about scientology. Is it all rich and famous people? Is it something to do with belief in Aliens?

Answer 1

Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization claims to be able to help rid members of any & all mental constraints including but not limited to emotional scarring (from this & "past" lives) due to "engrams" (past negative experiences stored in our unconscious mind), psychological disorders & chemical imbalances (the solution is to convince members that these things don't actually exist) & drug dependence (including legally prescribed psychopharmaceuticals which counteract the effects of psychological disorders Scientologists believe to be nonexistent).

The official Scientology organization is composed of a number of “levels”. One begins as a “preclear” & works their way up. One must purchase virtually every service crucial to advancement directly from the "church" & at staggering prices. "Auditing", for example, is purchased in 12½ hour blocks, costing anywhere from $750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Visit this link to see how $380,000 is a conservative estimate for the total cost of moving all the way up the Scientology hierarchal ladder: http://www.xenu.net/archive/prices.html
These are the total costs for auditing alone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_as_a_business#Costs
Here’s an explanation of what “auditing” is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061224182319AA2nnd6

At level OT III (Operating Thetan 3), some very strange & fiercely guarded secrets are imparted upon worthy members who have paid enough money to advance to such a level (and no, this isn't a joke): the evil alien ruler Xenu killed a lot of aliens (Thetans) from around the universe by kidnapping them, bringing them to earth in golden DC-8 “space-planes” & blowing them up inside volcanoes with hydrogen bombs. Scientologists believe the souls of these aliens (these souls are "Body Thetans") were captured, brainwashed & released; they then attached themselves to our ancestors (who passed them all the way down to us) & cause many of our mental & physical ills to this day. Auditing is said to “clear” us of these Body Thetans as well as the “mental implants” they supposedly impose on our minds. http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Letter.pdf

Scientology has 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. The “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (with deadly results). Suspiciously, it was discovered upon Hubbard’s 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. http://www.clambake.org/archive/ronthenut/16.gif
(visit this link to read about the uses of hydroxyzine: http://www.drugs.com/mtm/v/vistaril.html )

To be blunt, Scientology is a cult. It employs semi-legitimate psychotherapy & self-help methods to keep people loyal & convinced of its merit while it simultaneously sucks them dry financially & attempts to keep them far away from ANYONE, even friends & family, who would dissuade them from remaining in such a harmful situation. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits. See this link for more information: http://www.lisamcpherson.org/

Answer 2

Scientology is for able people. It gives you tools to help yourself and others. I haven't studied about Aliens and have been studying Scientology for 7 years. But on the other hand I couldn't say that there are no Aliens anywhere!!!
Think of a problem you actually have, email it to me and I will email which bit of Scientology Technology deals with it.

Why are we so interested in someones problems???? Because you don't need to fix the things that are OK!!!

By the way I am neither rich(money wise) or famous.

Answer 3

Well I'm not particularly rich and definitely not famous, but then the majority of Scientologist are like me. Seems the media is only interested in the "rich and famous" when it comes to most things, so I can see how you might get that impression.
Here's a factual decription of Scientology for you:

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 in the area of God , the Supreme Being, or the Infinite. This area is left totally up to the indivdual as pasrt of his life. It does not conflict.
You can have no specific religious beliefs and still benefit from it.
And it is only true for you according to your own observation and experience with it.
It is also not a messianic religion. This means there is no worship of messiahs in Scientology. There are no “beliefs” as such because a truth should be according to ones own observation and experience.
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, but I hope this gives you some idea.... and no, belief in aliens
is not part of it. Another myth created by somebody.

Answer 4

I read L Ron Hubbards "Dianetics". It made a lot of sense. Said that people store memories, but some are memories of bad things that create mental blocks.
Then sombody could just say, "You're stupid!" And the
"stupid" word would trigger one of the mental block
memories, and a person can't act properly. They give-in to the person, or blow up or something.
I know lots of people who seem to be like that. Like they
had a drunk for a Dad, that just raised hell all the time.
Or a Mom that nagged. And their minds are full of these mental blocks and they cannot think and function
normally.
Scientology claims to be able to "clear" our minds
of all these blocks. But like the Good Book says. If
you take the evil spirit out of man, and don't fill him up with
something good. That evil spirit will come back, and the dude will be messed up worse than he was before. Just look at Tom Cruise.
They are fanatics to an extent. Like some of them won't take their child to the doctor because they believe he can
be healed through the mind and faith, and the kid kicks the bucket.
Not a Happy Ending!

Answer 5

It has something to do with aliens putting nuclear weapons in volcanoes millions of years ago or something. (That's why there's a volcano on the cover of "Dianetics".) Only the rich and famous know the "secret", because they're the only ones who can afford to pay the big $$$$$$$$ it costs to get that high up in the church of Scientology.

Answer 6

From what I've heard, yes, they believe in aliens and that they were what beget us. Their whole theology defies logic, even spiritual logic. I have no idea how they continue to thrive as a religion.

Edit: It's interesting to watch the celebrity Scientologists talk because they really are often so in control of their emotions that they come across as freakish. It's like they have mastered the "no one can offend me" technique so well that they are really no fun to talk to. I like people to be real and slightly vulnerable--isn't that what being human is all about?

Answer 7

Time Magazine's cover story for May 6, 1991 read "Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power." If you're looking for an outside look at the religion, start there.

The link below should take you to the story.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865,00.html?internalid=ACA

Answer 8

the only thing i know is from a former member who told us that he was high up in the church and found it was all about getting peoples money. I went there once and they made me cry then tried to sell me stuff to make me feel better. It is not all rich people but you do have to spend money on their courses.

Answer 9

It's a sick cult that have really disgusting practices. Example, when a woman has a baby, the father of the baby eats the placenta. Ewwww...

Answer 10

Scientology is a very difficult religion to summarize in just a few paragraphs, let alone in a few pages. It was founded in 1953 by fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, just four years after he made the statement, "I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is," to Lloyd Eshbach; quoted by Eshbach in Over My Shoulder. That's where he found wealth, also--Hubbard became a multi-millionaire. An easier question to ask would be, "What are the similarities between Christianity and Scientology?" The answer to that would be, "There are no similarities."



Scientology teaches that mankind is an immortal being (called a Thetan) not originally from this planet that is trapped by matter, energy, space, and time (MEST). Salvation for a Scientologist comes through a process called 'auditing,' whereby 'engrams' (basically, memories of past pain and unconsciousness that create energy blockage) are removed. Auditing is a very lengthy process and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. When all engrams are finally removed, the Thetan can once again control MEST instead of being controlled by it. Until salvation, each Thetan is constantly reincarnated.



Scientology is a very expensive religion to associate with. Every aspect of Scientology has some sort of fee associated with it. This is why Scientology's "pews" are filled only with the wealthy. It is also a very strict religion, and very punitive against those who would try to leave behind its teachings and membership. Its "scriptures" are limited solely to the writings and teachings of L. Ron Hubbard.



Scientology is, without a doubt, a cult: Its teachings are taken from science fiction and eastern mythologies; It promotes man as the ultimate power in the universe--he just hasn't realized it yet; Salvation comes through an extremely expensive process of mind games; and it categorically denies the existence of the God of the Bible, Heaven, and Hell. To a Scientologist, Jesus Christ was just another nice guy who unfortunately was wrongfully put to death, and whose story ends at that death.



Though Scientologists will claim that Scientology is compatible with Christianity, the Bible counters each and every point of belief they hold to: God is the sovereign and only creator of the universe (Genesis 1:1); Mankind was created by God (Genesis 1:27); the only salvation available to man is by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:8); salvation is a free gift that mankind can do nothing to earn (Ephesians 2:8-9); and Jesus Christ is alive and well, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father even now (Acts 2:33; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3), awaiting the time when He will gather His children to Himself to reside with Him for eternity in Heaven. Everybody else will be cast into a very real Hell, separated from God (Revelation 20:15).



Scientology differs from Biblical Christianity on every important doctrine. Some of the most important differences are summarized below.



God: Scientology believes that there are multiple gods and that some gods are above other gods. Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, recognizes the One and Only True God who revealed Himself to us in the Bible and through Jesus Christ. Those that believe in Him cannot believe the false concept of God as taught in Scientology.



Jesus Christ: Like almost all other cults, Scientology denies the deity of Christ. Instead of having a biblical view of who Christ is and what He did, they assign to Him the characteristics of some sort of lesser God who has obtained a sort of legendary status over the years. On the other hand, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus was God in the flesh and through His incarnation He could act as a sacrifice for our sins. It is through Christ’s death and resurrection that we can have the hope of eternal life with God.



Sin: Scientology believes in the inherent goodness of man and that “It is despicable and utterly beneath contempt to tell a man he must repent, that he is evil.” On the other hand, the Bible teaches that man is a sinner and the only hope for him is that he repent of his sins and acknowledge Christ as his Lord and Savior.



Salvation: Scientology believes in reincarnation and that personal salvation in one's lifetime is freedom from the cycle of birth and death associated with reincarnation. They believe that religious practice of all faiths is the universal way to wisdom, understanding, and salvation. On the other hand, the Bible teaches that there is only one way of salvation and that is through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.



When one looks at the teaching of Scientology in comparison with the Bible, he will see that the two have little if anything in common. Scientology will only lead you away from God and eternal life, and the Bible will lead you to God and eternal life. There is nothing to gain by associating with scientology and everything to lose.