What is the big deal about scientology?

Question

I have heard of scientology being considered a religion nowadays, but I have to ask why? It's nothing more than an expensive "pay as you go" religion endorsed by nutjobs such as Tom Cruise that fanatically tries to convert other celebs into it. Just what is scientology supposed to be anyway? It sounds contradicting, but I'd rather get knowledge of it before I criticize it, so could anybody help me out here? (By the way I'm Catholic).

I apologize for criticizing it, it's just that's what it seemed.

Answer 1

THIS IS SCIENTOLOGY
Scientology is a path to find your own personal truth. These are the principles:

1. What is true for you is what you yourself observe to be true. (Because of this rule you can believe in anything you want: Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad or Dharma. Your own believes are your own business. It is a high crime in Scientology for anyone to tell you what to think or believe. You are expected to question anything in Scientology.)

2. Man is his spirit not his mind or his body.

3. The spirit creates his own mind. Please, do not confuse the mind with the brain that is a physical thing. The mind is composed of mental image pictures as explained in Dianetics. These pictures serve the spirit to give him knowledge and experience. These pictures are composed of energy. The energy in the picture can affect the spirit. You can feel better by remembering something that you like or angry by remembering something else. These emotions are actually energy waves emanated by the picture. You can actually feel pain by remembering a pain memory. Sometimes these pictures are accompanied by ideas or considerations. Lets suppose that you father beat you mom up in front of you. Your father was the dominating figure so you might conclude that you have to act like your father in some situations. This is what we call on Scientology an aberration (a conclusion that is imposed to you by a mental picture). This picture is what we call an engram (a pain memory that affects your judgment and free will).

4. You can discharge the energy in these pictures through communication. This is Dianetics Auditing and is the oldest of hundreds of Scientology techniques used to improve the individual.

5. The Spirit creates his own emotions. Are you happy? Are you sad? Are you depressed? Maybe you think that something external of you is creating your emotions. Maybe you believe that you are sad because you had a bad day or maybe you believe that you are happy because you had a great day. And this might be true. But who made the decision that you had a good or bad day? You did. You decided if life was good or bad, and adjusted your emotions to respond to your own consideration. You created your own emotion.
Some people are born with everything they want and are still unhappy. And others are born into humble means and are happy. What's the difference? The only real difference is each person's ideas and considerations.
Scientology uses hundreds of processes in order to help a person get a better understanding and a better outlook in life by using his own observations.

6. Scientology Ethics. Ethical people take full responsibility for their actions. Un-ethical people blame others for their actions. "Wrong doings" diminish and deteriorate the freedom of the spirit because the need to justify the "wrong doing". So the spirit is enslaved into repeating the "wrong doing" in order to justify the original "wrong doing". The road to freedom lies within taking full responsibility for your personal condition and actions, past, present and future. Scientology provides the tools to help the person able to be fully responsible over his life thus rehabilitating his ability to be good and self determined.
Also Scientologists base their conduct on a non-denominational code of conduct. http://twth.org/eb/?id=16664j

7. Scientology and God. Scientology acknowledges the Supreme Being and promotes the individual search for closeness to God trough religion.

8. Scientology vs. Psychiatry. Psychiatry believes that self awareness, feelings, love and faith is merely cellular activity. Basically they think that you are your brain and you are not in charge of your behavior but your cells are. This is a totally materialistic point of view that denies the spirit and God. Psychiatrist is a pseudo science because it is based in principles that are false. Psychiatry has never proven that any "mental illnesses" (like they call it) has any connection with a physical illness. Any Neurologist will tell you there are no medical tests to identify a "mental illness". All Psychiatrists base their diagnosis on opinion and opinion alone.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3895596783332855545&q=Psychiatry+is+fraude&hl=enhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8443414209115892468&q=scientology&hl=en
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?p=cchr&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&b=1&oid=12085d1e6c58d04e&rurl=video.yahoo.com&vdone=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fvideo%3Fp%3Dcchr%26toggle%3D1%26cop%3Dmss%26ei%3DUTF-8
Happiness, exhilaration, depression and psychosis are states of mind, not diseases. All what you have to do to stop being depress is change your state of mind. How you do that? By changing your ideas and considerations. Scientology provides the tools to achieve a better state of mind in accordance with your own point of view.
Also Psychiatrist excuses the most horrendous crimes as mental illnesses. This is actually creates a sense of irresponsibility in society because it tells people that they are not responsible for their actions. Second they promote that drugs are the answer for your problems. This message promotes the use of drugs to find release from life and creates the current drug addiction problem in society. Drugs will only give you temporary false release but will never solve the source of your problems. And actually drugs will keep you away from finding a true spiritual release.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4437051883726295326&q=psychiatry&hl=en
Note: Scientology doesn't have anything against Psychology or Neurology. Also the mere awareness that you are a spiritual being and not a body makes you better person.

9. Scientology is a force for good in society. Scientologist fights Psychiatric abuses, http://www.cchr.org/ dangerous and harmful drugs, criminality, http://www.criminon.org and drug addiction. http://www.narconon.org Also Scientology fought and won against the FDA and the IRS. And Scientologist initiated the social reform group "Youth for Human Rights" http://www.youthforhumanrights.org and the movement "Say no to drugs and yes to life". http://www.notodrugs-yestolife.org
Scientologist are some of the more intelligent, able and successful people in this planet. Including Jenna Elfman, Kelly Preston, John Travolta, Priscilla Presley, Sofia Milos and Leah Remini. Even Danny Masterson from that’s that '70s Show is a Scientologist.

10. Scientology is the only church that doesn't ask for donations from their parishioners during their Sunday Services. All chapel services are 100% free (marriages, naming ceremonies, ect). Scientology earns its money by delivering courses and auditing. Courses and auditing are optional. You do not need to take courses and auditing to be in Scientology. All you need to do to be a Scientologist is to read the books and apply Scientology to your life (like I do). But if you want auditing there are many alternative and economical ways to achieve this.
a. You can do volunteer work in your local church and get your services for free.
b. You can study to be an auditor and perform all your auditing with a fellow student. This way you can also provide free services to your friends and family. This is actually the preferred way to become clear because you learn how to help others. Scientology isn't about you going clear but taking responsibility across all your dynamics (self, family, group, humanity, life, ect).

11. Scientology and aliens. The story of Xenu is just a fable. Fables are not intended to be taken seriously. The story of Xenu doesn't have any significance on Scientology beliefs.

12. Anti-Scientology propaganda is just that, propaganda. If you want to know about this propaganda see my blog: http://www.myspace.com/129727315
References
http://www.neuereligion.de/eng/index.htm
http://www.bonafidescientology.org/
http://www.chaplaincare.navy.mil/Scientology.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/scientol.htm
http://www.scientology.org/
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8057_1.html

Answer 2

Scientiology got taken to Tax court by the IRS and the IRS LOST and the Tax Court award Scientology a Religious establishment status for tax purposes.

You can look at Scientology as being comparable to Buddhism. Buddhists have no God, just a prophet named Buddah. They are still considered a religion. But they have no Diety.

Scientology is the same way. They did not elevate L. Ron Hubbard to status of God, he's merely a prophet.

And by the way, you have to search FAR and WIDE to find someone who'll teach you TM for example, without having to pay them!

Religions don't offer free school, except to the impverished in foreign countries.

YOu want to go to Catholic or Lutheran school, you gotta pay a monthly fee.

Answer 3

You know waht else is contradicting? The Bible.
And there are many religions, yours included, based on it. So what right do you, a person who follows a Bronze Age fairy tale, have in criticizing a religion based on a modern age science fiction story for not being a religion? Isn't that a tad bit hypocritical?

And what's the point of saying "I'd rather get knowledge before I criticize it" right after you criticize it?

Answer 4

Scientologists allow their children to die rather than get them any professional medical care, their children are dying from diabetes and a whole slew of other things that are treatable, their parents are sitting there praying over their dead bodies for days after they've passed away. They do not immunize their children either and there have been several terrible outbreaks amongst them. These people are not bad people but they are not morally innocent. Look up CHILD inc. (Child Healthcare is a Legal Duty) , these people should be put in prison for what they do to their own children.

Answer 5

L Ron Hubbard was a very intelligent man. I read his "Dianetics". Like all religions. His religion today is run by "middle" men, with no knowledge except how to take your money.

Answer 6

First he criticizes Scientology, then he says "I'd rather get knowledge of it before I criticize it"???

not that I disagree with you.

Answer 7

I must say that I think it is crazy, but I think that of all religions. The other ones have just been around longer, so people don't dispute them as much.

Answer 8

its just crazy talk all of it... how can anyone one base their beliefs on a religion that was started in the 50's.. I wander what their beliefs say about the time before their time..... though It wouldn't matter to me what they said.. its all still crazy talk...

Answer 9

I have little trust in a faith that was founded by a man who wrote science fiction. Bad science fiction

Answer 10

The best thing about Scientology is that it is not mandatory.

Answer 11

Sounds like you are already criticizing it.