What are some of it's beliefs and how does it work? Do you actually go to classes?
2007-10-18 07:35:36 · 9 answers · asked by kytta22 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Here's an overview that will answer many of your questions and hopefully help you better understand the organization:
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#S...
Dianetics review: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl...
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...
Here’s an explanation of what “auditing” is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
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_o...
http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Let...
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/...
http://www.clambake.org/archive/ronthenu...
(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/Tampab...
http://www.factnet.org/Books/SocialContr... http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecen...
Watch this very revealing video that will, in about 5 minutes, show you EXACTLY what Scientology is all about: http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/
This video is a bit longer. It’s a CBS “48 Hours” special on the mentally disturbed son of Scientologist parents who refused to put him on the anti-psychotic drugs that would have stabilized him & prevented him from killing his mother:
http://www.scientomogy.com/jeremy_perkin...
Is Scientology a cult? Yes, & this is why:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
Scientology in relation to God, Jesus and Christianity:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
This is how they sell their cult to others:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
This shows how dangerous the cult really is: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...
http://xenu.net/ aka Operation Clambake http://clambake.org
http://www.philosoraptor.com/scientology...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology
http://www.modemac.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/A...
http://www.scientology-kills.org/
http://www.scientology-lies.com/whatswro...
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/
http://www.holysmoke.org/pc/pc.htm
http://www.watchman.org/sci/
http://www.whyaretheydead.net/room174.ht...
http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/ts...
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf...
http://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/es...
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/sto...
Cult information - http://www.cultinformation.org.uk/faq.ht...
Official site - http://www.scientology.org
2007-10-18 07:44:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 2⤋
Its beliefs dont really come into the classes stuff. The beliefs that people print here are supposedly "secrets known only to the topmost members". I actually took a few of their courses and I wouldnt know any of the stuff some people post here if I didnt keep seeing it here. :-)
The courses are lots of material from lots of sources put together in really good courses. The Communications course is excellent. Im much more outgoing and confident because of it. The Better Studying course is very good also but truthfully I wasnt a good enough studier to finish it completely. I do still use what I got from both all of the time.
There were other courses on fighting peer pressure and getting off of drugs but I didnt feel like taking those. According to the anti-Scientologists websites something like 62% of people just take the first few (cheaper) courses then leave.
2007-10-18 14:30:36 · answer #2 · answered by Gandalf Parker 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself universes and other life.
The word Scientology itself means, the study of knowledge, or Knowing how to know.
Dianetics is the forerunner and substudy of Scientology.
The attainment of the goals and benefits of Dianetics and Scientology depend in large part on the practioner.
As long as your using this technology and its applied standardly, meaning as instructed by Hubbard, you will see gains when you apply the tech in your life.
There are life improvement courses and counseling which you can enroll on that will give you some of the basics of Scientology, and they do not cost much.
But it is optional, and it gives one the chance to interact with other Scientologists and hear wins and success stories they have had. Plus it gives a person the chance to become active and involved with the church and its many social betterment activities.
Scientology is in the business of helping able people become more able. No more no less. And the church could care less about your race color or creed.
For more info visit http//:www.scientology.org
2007-10-18 15:17:45 · answer #3 · answered by Christobal D 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You want to go to heaven, you have to go to class and pay your tuition.
Kind of like college without all the beer & sex.
2007-10-18 10:11:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It works with the emptying of your pockets and mind. Stay away. The free personality test isn't worth it.
2007-10-18 07:47:10 · answer #5 · answered by Frank B 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You pay until you are broke. Hopefully you are fixed before you go broke, or you are just S O L....
They fix you, by helping you to clear your bad thoughts....?
2007-10-18 07:40:35 · answer #6 · answered by Sapere Aude 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Jump up and down on the couch.
2007-10-18 07:38:53 · answer #7 · answered by brian 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You give them money, and they debug you (get the nasty aliens out of you).
When you run out of money, you are through being debugged.
2007-10-18 07:39:05 · answer #8 · answered by Christmas Light Guy 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
it don't, unless you are Tom and wish to be "different"
2007-10-18 07:45:30 · answer #9 · answered by julien 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋