Tell me about their beliefs. It sounds kinda crazy to me.
2007-06-12 19:05:05 · 8 answers · asked by Renesme 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
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 (and according to Scientology’s belief in Thetan immortality, they also attached to us during “past lives”) & 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://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/atack_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 members (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://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/07/01/sci_psy/index_np.html?pn=1
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/
2007-06-12 19:07:25 · answer #1 · answered by ZER0 C00L ••AM••VT•• 7 · 8⤊ 1⤋
It's a little wacky, but not too far fetched. It parallels a theme I've been carrying about evolution. Scientologists believe that man should not intervene in life's ailments with modern medicine.
Modern medicine can be good and bad. Of course if you bust a leg, you need to get it set and casted. But there often is a floating line someplace where medicine and capitalism mix to form something unethical - a place where TV commercials advertise prescription drugs to us, coaching us to ask our doctors for it. - a place where elective surgeries are touted as wonderful benefits to our lives, - a place where instead of dealing with our problems, we are encouraged to pop a pill if we are having a tough time emotionally, etc.
2007-06-12 19:11:58 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sit someone down while they are open minded and gullible.
Confuse them with a bunch of pseudo scientific talk about mind, body and spirit being separate.
Give them a hard sell on expensive "auditing sessions" to alleviate how "miserable" they've discovered they are after the "Free" personality test.
Try to get them to join Sea Org and virtually become a slave.
In time, cheat them out of every dime they have with Orwellian mind control tactics.
Oh, yeah, you might see a Celebrity one time while paying off your "billion year debt"
Sounds Crazy. Is crazy! Stay away from them if you value your freedom and sanity!
2007-06-12 19:12:36 · answer #3 · answered by Chessmistress1000 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
L.RonHubbard (Sci Fi Writer) the founding father of Scientology , ackowledges Jesus as a man or women and a instructor, that's all. The faith/cult, does no longer appreciate him as a savior or God, or the Holy Trinity. They don't feel in heaven or hell simply that they've a spirit that has lived a couple of lifetimes and their God is a few Xenu diety from outerspace.
2016-09-05 14:54:09 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why do you want us to tell you if you have already formed an opinion that they are "kinda" crazy?
2007-06-12 19:09:30 · answer #5 · answered by Ohteech 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
An episode of South Park explains it all.
2007-06-12 19:07:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
they believe that El Ron Hubert is their god
2007-06-12 19:08:21 · answer #7 · answered by cthulhu will raise 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I know they think psychiatry is harmful.
2007-06-12 19:08:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋