Did anyone see Panorama on TV? Is Scientology a cult?

Question

I found this programme most disturbing, all these so called celebrities lining up to extol the virtues of joining the club. How creepy!

Answer 1

Yes, I saw the Panorama program and yes, Scientology is a cult. It's a dangerous, destructive, greedy, manipulative, scamming, lying, brainwashing cult.

I agree, Scientology can be extremely creepy and so can some of the members. You should see the video I just saw, a video of 3 Scientologists going BONKERS at the person behind the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSUeSMphLsY

And if you really want to know if Scientology is a cult, I can give you an overview (along with several helpful links) and you can decide for yourself if my final assessment is accurate.

Scientology, which questionably calls itself a new "religion", is the brainchild of science fiction writer & occult enthusiast L. Ron Hubbard. The organization, by means of Hubbard’s self created psychotherapy technique called “Dianetics”, 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).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics#Scientific_evaluations
Dianetics review: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/06/28/dianetics/index.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812852,00.html

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 millions 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 during everyday life. They don’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc, and the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from member (often with harmful & 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 these links for more information: http://www.lisamcpherson.org/
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialControl/scs.html#toc http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/

Answer 2

Firstly, the BBC is the most biased of channels ever. why do BBC reporters have such a fascination with the south in the US and also with Palestine.

typical BBC funds projects to make every religion or cult look bad, but whilst the Muslims are blowing up tubes, buses, planning terrorist attacks and rioting, they choose to totally ignore this back in 'England' and focus on another group.

Any interview the BBC does with Muslims is always about 'Islamaphobia' and how peaceful Islam is.

I have no objection with the BBC investing ALL religions/cults like this, it is just the way they only pick of the one they think they can get away with... so yes it is BIASED

Answer 3

Yes, scientology is a cult. It was started by a science fiction writer who was known to keep little boys on his boat for "various activities" and all he wanted to do was make money. You have to pay to be in the religion, which makes it not a religion at all.

Answer 4

i watched it and whilst i admit i dont fully understand scientology and the members in the documentary did come across as a bit strange, i have to agree with the leader guy that the BBC journalist was biased towards scientology. he only investigated the negative. i looked it up on the net last night and the beliefs dont seam all that bad.

Answer 5

Scientology is barely somewhat much less risky than leaping into an energetic volcano. study their teachings in case you choose, yet stay removed from their church. Noone could would desire to spend 4 cases what they make in an entire life to grow to be enlightened.

Answer 6

i think it was the worst programme the bbc have made.that idiot interviewer who lost it,wasnt concerned about the public knowing what their beliefs were about and producing a decent documentary on the subject.nobody was any the wiser when it finished.i shall have to research the subject myself,as an atheist of course.

Answer 7

Yes I saw it and I agree with you. I think the Panorama reporter did well not to hit that scientologist bloke. Apparently he has been followed since he has come back to Britain.

Answer 8

YES, i saw the programme too, i have attached a link below to the BBC programme you are talking about and YES, SCIENTOLOGY IS A PARANOID, FREAKY CULT !!!!

Answer 9

It is on youtube BBC, "Scientology and Me". Good work. The scientologists are doing everything they can to stop it. Even defaming the reporter.

Answer 10

Any "Religion" that does not tell its followers the reasons and meanings until they have paid $100,000 is no religion. It is but but a complicated method of gaining funds.

Ever get the feeling we are back to Little Red Riding Hood ?

Answer 11

AS IT SO happens... no, I didn't see that. It's BBC, right?

But yeah, Scientology is like cult meets organized crime. You mess with them, you're a goaaa HEY GET OUT OF...

...

aaaaahhh!!