What's the truth about Scientology?

Question

Can anyone give me an overview of what this religion is really about?

Answer 1

Im an ex-scientologist.
As a religion, Scientology is very generic. They believe in God but that is about as far as it goes. They allow any religion into their services. Their Sunday service is mostly wishing well for people hwo are going thru disasters, asking for canned food for them, or used clothing, and for people to join disaster teams. They dont pass a plate, or pray to God to do anything.

Along those lines they also offer many self-help courses. Personal Communications, Better Studying, shaking peer pressure, getting off drugs, getting control of your life. The start cheap and get more expensive. At the top is 1-on-1 counseling which costs about the same as any 1-on-1 counseling. Most people dont bother going that high in the self-help stuff.

As you can see its mostly instead of praying or miracles or "giving yourself over to God" they believe in empowering yourself and leave God to Gods other duties. :)

As far as the weird answers that people write here, I never saw any of that in the 2 years I hung out there. And I doubt they have either.

Answer 2

the only wrestling video games that have ever had a real tale mode have been the Day of Reckoning video games on the Gamecube, and there, you have been required to apply a created wrestler to stay clear of any hazard which you're able to feud with your self by utilising choosing a wrestler that replaced right into a considerable participant in the story mode. In SvR 2008, you are able to p.c.. any wrestler on the roster, because of the fact of this Benoit replaced into possibly a considerable participant in 2 or 3 of possibly 20 to 30 individual storylines, that have been possibly bumped off at WWE's request. besides, with all the problem that WWE is going by way of to do away with all point out of Benoit from WWE historic previous, they'd have made THQ delay the interest if particularly drastic variations mandatory to be made.

Answer 3

The truth is that it is a religion made up on a bet. Other than that I don't care about their dogma.

Answer 4

The truth is: it's a fake religion and money-making scam concocted by a hack science fiction writer.

Answer 5

When I became curious to know more about it, I asked too (not as politely as you - I was having a feisty day) - and got a really good and thorough answer complete with loads of interesting links:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjqzHRi_WtYi4q7hksljXnHty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070828133855AAIuno2

Answer 6

It is a religion created on a bet.

Answer 7

It is a reglion made up by a not to good scifi writer on a bet.

Answer 8

Sure thing! Here's a comprehensive overview (in my own words, not copy/pasted from a website or message board) that I hope helps you understand:

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
http://www.nypress.com/20/22/news&columns/feature.cfm

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 Level 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://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/atack_ot3.html
http://sf.irk.ru/www/ot3/spaink-ot3.html
http://xenu.net/archive/leaflet/Xenu-Letter.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/
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://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/essays/jeff-hubbard.htm

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.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/scientology/pignotti/
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/24/Tampabay/The_unperson.shtml
http://www.xenu.net/archive/personal_story/funkydonny.html