What is Scientology?

[jEct2]

 

[Viper GTS]

A cult started by a science fiction author.

Now excuse me I need to go lock my door.

Viper GTS

 

[ElFenix]

l ron hubbard once said that the easiest way to make money was to start your own religion. so he did.

 

[BrokenVisage]

Tom Cruz?

 

[Atomicus]

Its basically a mix of Christianity/Catholicism, ignorance, and bullsh*t. All that minus the God, faith, and ethics.

You end up with a religion in which whatever you think is true is true.

So if I believed that murder is OKAY if it is to be committed on a daily basis by my hands with an icepick 15 minutes past noon while I walk my neighbor's dog, then it is truth.

What a bunch of idiots.. :roll:

 

[Proletariat]

The Church of Scientology is a new religious movement that was founded by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard as an organization dedicated to the practice of Scientology, an "applied religious philosophy" formulated by Hubbard.

"A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology," according to Hubbard. From its earliest days, the Church has become a focus of controversy wherever it appeared, with critics charging that the actual methods and goals of the Church sharply contradict Hubbard's stated aims.

The nature and legal status of the Church of Scientology continues to arouse controversy around the world. The Church of Scientology has, since 1993, been recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit charitable organization, affording it the same legal protections and favorable tax treatment that the US government extends to long-established religious groups. By contrast, many other governments have been reluctant to accept the Church: the governments of Germany and Belgium officially regard the Church of Scientology as a totalitarian cult; in France, a parliamentary report classified Scientology as a dangerous cult; in the United Kingdom and Canada the Church of Scientology is not regarded as meeting the legal standards for being considered a bona fide religion.

Hubbard directly managed the Scientology organizations until 1966 [1], when he resigned his title as Executive Director and turned managerial functions over to Church executives. Though Hubbard maintained no formal relationship to Church management?and he sometimes vigorously denied any connection to it?virtually all independent researchers conclude that Hubbard remained firmly in control of the Church of Scientology and its affiliated organizations until the time of his final illness, preceding his death in 1986.

Following Hubbard's death, David Miscavige, one of his former personal assistants, assumed the post of Chairman of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), a Scientology corporation that regulates the use of Church symbols and Hubbard's copyrighted works. While not publicly claiming to be the leader of Scientology, Miscavige is widely recognised as being the controlling figure of the network of Scientology-affiliated organizations, including the Church of Scientology International, whose president and chief spokesman is the Reverend Heber Jentzsch.

 

[Bateluer]

Text

The Founder of the Church of Scientology? was Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986), born in Tilden, Nebraska on 1911-MAR-13. Hubbard traveled extensively during his youth, covering some quarter of a million miles by the time he was twenty years of age, including directing two expeditions to the Caribbean. On one expedition, he made the first mineralogical survey of Puerto Rico.

During the 1930's, he became a famous author. Although he was known mostly for his science fiction, he also worked in other genres including mystery, western and adventure. He was also successful as a screen writer. His lifetime output of published fiction was over 200 novels, novelettes and short stories.

In 1938, in an unpublished manuscript "Excalibur," he delineated the common denominator of existence as "survive" and outlined the theory that "life is composed of two things: the material universe and an X-factor...that can evidently organize and mobilize the material universe." This fundamental concept was to be the basis of his later researches for both Dianetics and Scientology.

The Second World War intervened and his first published work on Dianetics appeared in the Winter/Spring 1949-1950 issue of the Explorers Club Journal entitled "Terra Incognita: The Mind". At this time he offered his findings on the mind to both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association. Both organizations rejected them and later attempted to discredit his work and reputation. In 1950-MAY, he had "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health" published; it has since sold over 17 million copies worldwide. In the fall of 1951, Hubbard formed the religious philosophy of Scientology, which is based on his discovery that man is most fundamentally a spiritual being -- the X-factor. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles on 1954-FEB-18 by persons other than Hubbard. The Founding Church of Scientology was opened in Washington, DC in 1955-JUL.

The US Food and Drug Administration raided Scientology offices on 1963-JAN-4 and seized hundreds of the Church's E-meters as illegal medical devices. The devices are now required to carry a disclaimer saying that they are a purely religious artifact. They are used in a Scientology counseling technique known as "auditing".

During the 1970s, the Church and many other emerging religions came under increasing attack from the anti-cult movement. In 1977, as a result of an FBI raid, some senior people in the movement's Guardian's Office were convicted of stealing government documents. In 1965, the Australian government had banned Scientology. However in 1983, the High Court of Australia overturned the decision, contributing greatly to the scope of religious freedom in that country. From 1968 to 1980, the British government restricted people who wished to enter the country to pursue Scientology training.

In 1993-OCT, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States granted full religious recognition and tax exemption to all Scientology Churches, missions and social betterment groups in that country. The Church is also officially recognized in every province in Canada where it has an organization.

L. Ron Hubbard died in 1986. Unlike many emerging religions, the movement survived the transition to new leadership. Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center, now heads the organization. The St. Petersburg Times published an extensive interview of Mr. Miscavige in 1998-OCT-25.

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy that contains methodologies intended to improve life and achieve spiritual freedom for oneself and society. The Church states that its membership is 8 million. It currently has more than 3,000 churches, missions and groups in over 120 countries. Scientology continues its rapid growth worldwide.

An index of web sites about Scientology and Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard is available in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. 1

horizontal rule
Beliefs:
bullet Scientologists follow Mr. Hubbard's belief that a person is neither mind nor body, but a spiritual being - a soul. However, the word "soul" is an ambiguous term, which had been given many meanings by many religions. In order to avoid confusion, Mr. Hubbard selected the word "thetan" from the Greek letter "theta" which has traditionally meant "thought" or "life". A Thetan is the essence of a person, One does not have a Thetan, one is a Thetan. The brain, and the rest of the body, is looked upon as a mechanism, a communication center for the Thetan. The mind is perceived as a collection of pictures.
bullet Scientology recognizes "Eight Dynamics." A "dynamic" is an urge, drive or impulse. Understanding these dynamics help a person gain insight and harmonize all their life activities. The first four dynamics were initially described by Mr. Hubbard in Dianetics; the remaining four were added with the creation of Scientology:
bullet The First Dynamic is the urge to survive as oneself.
bullet The second the urge to survive through family and sex.
bullet The third is to survive in various groups such as a company or with a group of friends.
bullet The fourth is to survive as mankind.
bullet The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth are the urge to survive through other life forms such as animals, the physical universe, the spiritual universe and Infinity or God respectively.
bullet The human mind is divided into two components: the analytical mind and the reactive mind. The former resembles Freud's concept of the conscious mind; it senses, remembers, reasons and recalls. The reactive mind is somewhat similar to Freud's unconscious. It records physically and psychologically disturbing events in this life and prior lives. These include perceived assaults in the womb, the birth process, assaults, injuries etc. They are recorded as engrams which are a form of psychic scar. These engrams are considered "the single source of all man's insanities, psychosomatic illnesses and neuroses.". They are not sensed by the analytical mind directly. However, they will degrade a person's life and keep an individual from reaching their full potential. By removing the engrams, one can progress from being "preclear" (PC) to "clear;" i.e. totally free of engrams.
bullet A person can progress beyond "clear" to becoming a "OT" or "Operating Thetan." Scientologists believe that an OT is able to leave their body and mind. They can see, hear and feel without access to their normal senses.
bullet Great religious leaders like Buddha and Jesus Christ are regarded as being slightly above "clear".
bullet Scientologists reject the concept of eternal life in hell and heaven. They believe in reincarnation in which a person passes through a number of lifetimes. "....personal salvation in one lifetime [is] freedom from the cycle of birth and death".
bullet They believe that God exists, but do not have a specific belief about the nature of that deity.
bullet Their goal is to help sufficient numbers of people to become "clear" so that a significant impact can be felt in areas of crime, mental illness, warfare, drug addiction, physical illnesses etc.

 

[jEct2]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Text

The Founder of the Church of Scientology? was Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986), born in Tilden, Nebraska on 1911-MAR-13. Hubbard traveled extensively during his youth, covering some quarter of a million miles by the time he was twenty years of age, including directing two expeditions to the Caribbean. On one expedition, he made the first mineralogical survey of Puerto Rico.

During the 1930's, he became a famous author. Although he was known mostly for his science fiction, he also worked in other genres including mystery, western and adventure. He was also successful as a screen writer. His lifetime output of published fiction was over 200 novels, novelettes and short stories.

In 1938, in an unpublished manuscript "Excalibur," he delineated the common denominator of existence as "survive" and outlined the theory that "life is composed of two things: the material universe and an X-factor...that can evidently organize and mobilize the material universe." This fundamental concept was to be the basis of his later researches for both Dianetics and Scientology.

The Second World War intervened and his first published work on Dianetics appeared in the Winter/Spring 1949-1950 issue of the Explorers Club Journal entitled "Terra Incognita: The Mind". At this time he offered his findings on the mind to both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association. Both organizations rejected them and later attempted to discredit his work and reputation. In 1950-MAY, he had "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health" published; it has since sold over 17 million copies worldwide. In the fall of 1951, Hubbard formed the religious philosophy of Scientology, which is based on his discovery that man is most fundamentally a spiritual being -- the X-factor. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles on 1954-FEB-18 by persons other than Hubbard. The Founding Church of Scientology was opened in Washington, DC in 1955-JUL.

The US Food and Drug Administration raided Scientology offices on 1963-JAN-4 and seized hundreds of the Church's E-meters as illegal medical devices. The devices are now required to carry a disclaimer saying that they are a purely religious artifact. They are used in a Scientology counseling technique known as "auditing".

During the 1970s, the Church and many other emerging religions came under increasing attack from the anti-cult movement. In 1977, as a result of an FBI raid, some senior people in the movement's Guardian's Office were convicted of stealing government documents. In 1965, the Australian government had banned Scientology. However in 1983, the High Court of Australia overturned the decision, contributing greatly to the scope of religious freedom in that country. From 1968 to 1980, the British government restricted people who wished to enter the country to pursue Scientology training.

In 1993-OCT, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States granted full religious recognition and tax exemption to all Scientology Churches, missions and social betterment groups in that country. The Church is also officially recognized in every province in Canada where it has an organization.

L. Ron Hubbard died in 1986. Unlike many emerging religions, the movement survived the transition to new leadership. Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center, now heads the organization. The St. Petersburg Times published an extensive interview of Mr. Miscavige in 1998-OCT-25.

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy that contains methodologies intended to improve life and achieve spiritual freedom for oneself and society. The Church states that its membership is 8 million. It currently has more than 3,000 churches, missions and groups in over 120 countries. Scientology continues its rapid growth worldwide.

An index of web sites about Scientology and Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard is available in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. 1

horizontal rule
Beliefs:
bullet Scientologists follow Mr. Hubbard's belief that a person is neither mind nor body, but a spiritual being - a soul. However, the word "soul" is an ambiguous term, which had been given many meanings by many religions. In order to avoid confusion, Mr. Hubbard selected the word "thetan" from the Greek letter "theta" which has traditionally meant "thought" or "life". A Thetan is the essence of a person, One does not have a Thetan, one is a Thetan. The brain, and the rest of the body, is looked upon as a mechanism, a communication center for the Thetan. The mind is perceived as a collection of pictures.
bullet Scientology recognizes "Eight Dynamics." A "dynamic" is an urge, drive or impulse. Understanding these dynamics help a person gain insight and harmonize all their life activities. The first four dynamics were initially described by Mr. Hubbard in Dianetics; the remaining four were added with the creation of Scientology:
bullet The First Dynamic is the urge to survive as oneself.
bullet The second the urge to survive through family and sex.
bullet The third is to survive in various groups such as a company or with a group of friends.
bullet The fourth is to survive as mankind.
bullet The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth are the urge to survive through other life forms such as animals, the physical universe, the spiritual universe and Infinity or God respectively.
bullet The human mind is divided into two components: the analytical mind and the reactive mind. The former resembles Freud's concept of the conscious mind; it senses, remembers, reasons and recalls. The reactive mind is somewhat similar to Freud's unconscious. It records physically and psychologically disturbing events in this life and prior lives. These include perceived assaults in the womb, the birth process, assaults, injuries etc. They are recorded as engrams which are a form of psychic scar. These engrams are considered "the single source of all man's insanities, psychosomatic illnesses and neuroses.". They are not sensed by the analytical mind directly. However, they will degrade a person's life and keep an individual from reaching their full potential. By removing the engrams, one can progress from being "preclear" (PC) to "clear;" i.e. totally free of engrams.
bullet A person can progress beyond "clear" to becoming a "OT" or "Operating Thetan." Scientologists believe that an OT is able to leave their body and mind. They can see, hear and feel without access to their normal senses.
bullet Great religious leaders like Buddha and Jesus Christ are regarded as being slightly above "clear".
bullet Scientologists reject the concept of eternal life in hell and heaven. They believe in reincarnation in which a person passes through a number of lifetimes. "....personal salvation in one lifetime [is] freedom from the cycle of birth and death".
bullet They believe that God exists, but do not have a specific belief about the nature of that deity.
bullet Their goal is to help sufficient numbers of people to become "clear" so that a significant impact can be felt in areas of crime, mental illness, warfare, drug addiction, physical illnesses etc.

uhh...cilffnotes? im lazy

 

[Atomicus]

QUOTE: "In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true."

Taken from Scientology.org.

A load of crap. People like these are the Hitlers and Stalins.

 

[jEct2]

Originally posted by: Atomicus
QUOTE: "In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true."

Taken from Scientology.org.

A load of crap. People like these are the Hitlers and Stalins.

weirdos.....

 

[biggestmuff]

http://www.xenu.net/

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: jEct2

uhh...cilffnotes? im lazy

You can't be lazy when discussing religion, it can lead to some very deep debates.










Or childish mudslinging.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Atomicus
QUOTE: "In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true."

Taken from Scientology.org.

A load of crap. People like these are the Hitlers and Stalins.

what are you talking about. stalin had his holy book, and each had his unquestionable dogma

 

[Fritzo]

You also pay to get to certain "levels" in the church. When you reach I believe the "3rd level", you learn the truth about our existance: A big galactic federation eons ago banished the worst of their society to earth, then killed them all. All sickness and mental illness is caused by their evil spirits that still roam the earth and possess humans. Medicine is not needed to cure disease and illness- simply a strong enough will to banish the spirit.


Now THAT'S a religion!!!!