can you explain scientology to me?

Question

i don't know much about it except for what i've heard through tabloids and TV.... I've also heard something about a book called Dianeteics I think. Does that have anything to do with the religion?

Answer 1

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_evaluation_and_criticisms
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”, stacking them around volcanoes & blowing them up by dropping “h-bombs” into the volcanoes. 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. It doesn’t recognize legitimate conditions like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ANY neurological disorder / chemical imbalance at all, and the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from members (often with harmful & deadly results). The “Church” blames the psychiatry for the Holocaust, as well as school shootings and even September 11th. It’s been suggested that Hubbard’s vehement opposition was born of the psychiatric community’s rejection of his “tech” as a valid treatment method, but it’s also possible that Hubbard chose psychiatry as a scapegoat. Organizations like Scientology are notorious for villainizing a specific out-group as it fosters cohesion within the organization.
http://www.anti-scientologie.ch/usa-scientology.htm
http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3137&IssueNum=136
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/07/01/sci_psy/index_np.html?pn=1
http://perkinstragedy.org

L. Ron Hubbard, the man behind the creation of Scientology, was & still is a controversial figure. Biographies and lists of personal accomplishments differ greatly between Scientology and non-Scientology publications as the “church” tends to exaggerate and outright lie about his early life, his education, his travels, his achievements etc, preferring to paint a distorted, flattering picture. Several books and articles present facts which flatly contradict these church-published accounts (links to free online copies of these books are provided below), showing conclusively that he was NOT the brilliant, accomplished figure revered by Scientologists. During his autopsy, the sedative 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. It had also been said by many who knew Hubbard personally that at the end of his life he was “a psychopathic insane person screaming about BT's [Body Thetans]….”
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/Bare%20Faced%20Messiah.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/contents.htm
http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/mom/Messiah_or_Madman.txt
http://skull.piratehaven.org/~atman/factnet/lrhbare.txt

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.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html

Answer 2

Google the affiliation with L. Ron Hubbard, Jack Parsons and Gene Roddenberry. Interesting stuff.

It is basically the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard who was a science fiction writer. They believe that we each had forgotten trauma that affects our daily life. They work on "clearing" those traumas. To my understanding, this is done by personal auditing sessions(by another scientologist) that are pretty costly. You work your way up in the organization, kind of like a pyramid (isn't everything). Dianetics was one of the books that Hubbard wrote. There are many. There's lots of informative information online, both positive and negative. Some of the things they believe are pretty out there. Good luck in your research :)

Answer 3

L. Ron Hubbard was a science fiction writer who thought he'd make a lot of money if he got into religion. He used his fiction talents to concoct one whopper of a religious hoax and became rich as a result. His theology teaches that everyone is encrusted with aliens and that we need to "clear" ourselves of these. For lots of money you can earn the level of clear, but then you will realize nothing has really changed, you are still human and have feelings of doubt and such, so for some more money you can get to another level beyond clear. If you are a zillionaire moviestar, you will get star treatment for your endorsement of the cult, but if you are nobody special, you may find yourself working for the cult without the benefit of a paycheck, just to cover your religious lesson expenses. After you have spent an awful lot of money and time on this farce, you will find it too embarrassing to admit you had been taken, so you might stay on with your Scientology friends, and just continue to be part of the charade. You will not find God in Scientology, and that is what a church is supposed to lead you too, right?

Answer 4

Started as a bar bet between the founder, a SF writer, and Johm W. Campbell during a SF convention in the early 50's. Campbell said in the modern US culture, a new religion would never last. Campbell is now dead, Scientology is still around - who knew?

Answer 5

A long time ago, some pulp sci-fi author wanted to make an extra buck, so he started passing his dime novel crap off as a religious belief system. Then, some celebrities actually bought into it. Because of the unusual level of power, the church gets to intimidate anyone they don't like.

Answer 6

Dianetics is a technique to rid you of negative emotion, but it's ok it doesn't affect possitive EMOtion :-).

Scientology is the study of of knowledge.

With the use of Scientology you can find out much more about who you really are.

Here is a link to the Scientology site which has the answers you are looking for.

Answer 7

Scientology is a body of teachings and related techniques created by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Hubbard later characterized Scientology as an "applied religious philosophy" and the basis for a new religion. Scientology holds that an individual is basically an immortal spiritual being that has a body and a mind. Each individual is adversely affected by forgotten decisions left over from past trauma and by stored mental energies. Scientology training and counseling aims to eliminate these adverse effects and to allow devotees to regain native spiritual abilities lost over the course of many lifetimes. Scientology claims to be applicable in all facets of life, including programs for organizational management, study skills, and drug-rehabilitation. Journalists, critics and religious groups worldwide have often referred to the organization as a cult. Scientology is concerned with "the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life." By contrast, Dianetics is more narrowly focused on getting rid of the reactive mind, the "bank" of traumatic memories known as engrams which are said to inhibit one's success and happiness.Scientology also covers topics such as ethics and morality (The Way to Happiness), drug and chemical residues as they relate to spiritual wellbeing (the Purification Rundown), communication, marriage, raising children, work-related problems, education (Study Technology), and the very nature of life (The Dynamics). The ultimate goal is to get the individual being (the "I", called Thetan) back to its native state of total freedom, thus gaining control over matter, energy, space, time, thoughts, form, and life. This freed state is called Operating Thetan, or OT for short.Believers in Scientology say that it offers "exact" methods of spiritual counseling to help people achieve awareness of their spiritual existence, while enhancing their effectiveness in the physical world. The exact nature of all of existence is said to be stated in Hubbard's Scientology and Dianetics Axioms. THey hate shrinks

I think it's all a little nuts.

Answer 8

see the following accounts of people who lived all through scientology and left:

Tory Christman in a lecture:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4dMjwuAk7YQ

Robert Kaufman in a book:
http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/isd/isd.htm

Scientology is a very tricky thing, because they sue people who publish their materials.

edit: 1 thumb down on all the answers. hmm....

Answer 9

here's a brief history of scientology, in neat comic book style.

Answer 10

Google:

Operation Clam Bake.

It is Science Fiction that wanted to make more money.

You will not believe the truth.

Peace be with you.

Answer 11

it's all a crock of bull
L Ron Hubbard started the whole scam