Do you think that Scientology is a...?

Question

...rich mans cult? According to an investigation, it is. This Doctor that I know said that he saw their headquarters in Florida and all these guys out front were walking around holding onto machine guns. What's up with that? If Tom Cruise swears that theres no such thing as a chemical imbalance, then why don't they prove that? Do you know how many americans have been diagnosed with a chemical inbalance? Like millions!

Answer 1

Scientology certainly looks for victims to scam financially. Some people work off their considerable debts by working for the "Church" itself, and many take out loans that they often cannot pay back. And yes, Scientology is most certainly a cult.

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). Their “treatment” of substance abuse includes little more than massive doses of vitamins and extended sessions in a sauna.
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
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/detox.htm

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 $200-$750 for introductory sessions to between $8,000 & $9,000 for advanced sessions. Basically, Scientology claims to possess exclusive knowledge of the path to religious redemption & then charges obscene amounts of money for every tiny incremental step towards this end. 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, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ANY neurological disorder / chemical imbalance at all, & the “church” has been known to withhold prescription pharmaceuticals from members (often with harmful & deadly results). The “Church” blames psychiatry for the Holocaust, as well as school shootings & 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 because their “stand against the enemy” fosters cohesion within said organization, & psychiatry was an effective rallying point considering many people already distrust & oppose the mental health profession.
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 & lists of personal accomplishments differ greatly between Scientology & non-Scientology publications as the “church” tends to exaggerate & outright lie about his early life, his education, his travels, his achievements etc, preferring to paint a distorted, flattering picture. Several books & articles present facts which flatly contradict these church-published accounts (links to free online copies of these books & articles 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 bullies all known critics, opponents, “enemies”, etc, often through malicious litigation & character assassination. It’s a particularly greedy as well as manipulative & dangerous cult that takes its anti-psychiatry fanaticism to deadly limits.
http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/harass.htm#start
http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialControl/scs.html#toc
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html

Answer 2

It is a rich man's cult. But it is also a poor man's one as they will take his money also only his runs out quicker. The chemical imbalance thing is bang on. They claim chemical imbalances don't exist, yet, like you say, they can't prove it! They claim their claim is true as no test can prove that a a chemical is missing yet they can't test to prove that it isn't. It's a two way street. They just want to peddle poison so they can take money to give their dangerous none beneficial 'treatments' to people.

Answer 3

Seems you've been fed some good ones!!!

I am not rich, although I practice Scientology. Since practicing Scientology I am definitely more able to control and influence my earning capacity.

A Doctor seeing people with machine guns. I think you need a new doctor.

The only chemical imbalance is the one created and perpetuated by insane drug companies and psychiatrist.

Check out the links. It shows all the trouble drug companies and psychiatrists have causes for themselves.

http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/5166

Answer 4

There are plenty of poor people in Scientology. They have to work their butts off and they get paid next to nothing. Some are in the adminstrative wing the 'Sea Org'. Others have committed suicide due to debt problems. One jumped from a tall building holding his last remaining dollars to his chest.

Answer 5

began by way of L. Ron Hubbard as 'self support process' known as Dianetics (he began out writing SiFi books after which wrote self support books) ...it right into a grew to become "faith".....many persons (Christians, atheist, agnostics, former individuals, ect) say it's the excellent 'textual content-e-book' illustration of a non-violent Cult (notion a few individuals have suggested bodily and emotional abuse) the elemental proposal is: for the period of your and beyond lives you have got had bad reports that you simply cannot bear in mind, those repressed reports 'preserve you again'.... by way of specified counseling known as "Dianetics" (furnished by way of the CoS. for a nominal cost) you'll be able to 'system/manage' those dangerous reports....as soon as there all looked after, you'll be able to go beyond to a "prime simple of life" ....THE END....

Answer 6

I think that it is a scam, but I also think that many rank & file Scientologists don't realize this...

I feel the same way about other organized religions, though... :)