Scientology: Not Just Silliness

Image via WikipediaLately I have gotten interested in Scientology. And, I hasten to add, that doesn't mean that I am joining up! There's a blog that I enjoy reading, called The Frame Problem; and I'll credit that blogger (Ron Brown) with opening my eyes a bit to the degree of harm that is perpetrated by the scientology cult. It's not just one of those funny, quirky things that Hollywood actors do in their spare time... You might want to take a look at the blog (ex-scientology kids) that was created by some of the (now grown) children of scientologists, to see the havoc that this highly coercive, manipulative, and punitive organization has created within families. Also, see the blog called "Operation Clambake" (I don't know why it's called that...) for a lot of information about this organization.

Here are some excerpts from the "Clambake" site:

The Church of Scientology is a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a religion. Its purpose is to make money. It practices a variety of mind-control techniques on people lured into its midst to gain control over their money and their lives. Its aim is to take from them every penny that they have and can ever borrow and to also enslave them to further its wicked ends.

It was started in the 1950s by a science fiction writer named L. Ron Hubbard in fulfilment to his declared aim to start a religion to make money. It is an offshoot to a method of psychotherapy he concocted from various sources which he named "Dianetics". Dianetics is a form of regression therapy. It was then further expanded to appear more like a religion in order to enjoy tax benefits. He called it "Scientology".

Scientology is a confused concoction of crackpot, dangerously applied psychotherapy, oversimplified, idiotic and inapplicable rules and ideas and science-fiction drivel that is presented to its members (at the "advanced" levels) as profound spiritual truth.

The science fiction content of Scientology is revealed to [scientologists] after they have reached the state they call "Clear", meaning freed from the aberrations of the mind. However, perhaps "brainwashed" would be a more applicable word... On the "advanced" levels (called OT levels) above the state of "Clear" they encounter the story of Xenu. Xenu was supposed to have gathered up all the overpopulation in this sector of the galaxy, brought them to Earth and then exterminated them using hydrogen bombs. The souls of these murdered people are then supposed to infest the body of everyone. They are called "body thetans". On the advanced levels of Scientology a person "audits out" these body thetans telepathically by getting them to re-experience their being exterminated by hydrogen bombs. So people on these levels assume all their bad thoughts and faulty memories are due to these body thetans infesting every part of their body and influencing them mentally...

I guess all this could seem like harmless silliness, except that the cult uses what amounts to mind control and blackmail to suck people into their organization, and keep them there, and divest them of all their money (and their minds). The use of lawsuits and shunning tactics against detractors is reminiscent of the tactics of the (much smaller, but also vicious) Fred Phelps cult in Topeka, Kansas (see here for more info about that horrible group).

Here are excerpts from an article in Slate:

On April 24, ABC's Nightline aired interviews in which disillusioned former Scientologists (including a niece of current worldwide church leader David Miscavige) complained that the church limited their contact with family and forced them to work 15-hour days. (In a statement to ABC, the church refused to "engage in such a debate.") The broadcast was one in a series of publicity hits the church has suffered in recent months. January brought not only the unauthorized release of a video starring celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise but also a series of Internet attacks and demonstrations by a group of critics called Anonymous that pledges to "dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form." The church enjoys tax-exempt status and claims more than 3.5 million members in the United States, but its secretive organization has remained controversial since its inception, and the Scientologists have repeatedly been sued by defectors or their family members. The signed agreement is an attempt to limit Scientology's legal exposure. Church members are required to "forever give up my right to sue the church … for any injury or damage suffered in any way connected with Scientology religious services." In order to participate in services, one must further acknowledge that "no Scientology church is under any duty or obligation whatsoever to return any portion of any religious donation." In other words, all sales are final.

And here's something I just found on a website about e-meters, from the scientologists' textbook about their weird polygraph-like machine... they use it for interrogating each other (and themselves, apparently...):

Understanding the E-Meter, an old book by L. Ron Hubbard... : Here's the book description from the Church of Scientology's own web site: "Is the theta being inside or outside the mest body or both? How big is a theta being in relation to his body?" The answers aren't very convincing, but it's unusual to see Scientologists even asking loopy questions like this in front of raw public, much less purporting to answer them. Bottom line: $50 buys you a load of comic book physics and a revealing look at what constitutes a "scientific explanation" in the cult of Scientology.

In Kansas City, I have noticed that there is sometimes a group of protesters, carrying signs, standing outside the Scientology office (or whatever it's called) near 39th and Broadway... Now, I can see why they are doing that. It's not just some silly hobby that Tom Cruise has gotten into. It's a lot more serious than I thought it was.

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