Posted on 01/12/2005 5:10:10 PM PST by Murray Luther
Are you aware that L. Ron Hubbard is still alive?
Murray Luther. Sorry. That was not an intentional slight.
He lives in you and me.
They were very friendly and helpful while I was there the short time. They offer "audits" to help you get started on the right path. Each audit of course has a good price tag attached to it. One pays dearly to conform with the COS.
As I recall from collected news articles over the years...
L Ron Hubbard long ago was a writer of fiction, now a founder of religion.
Arafat was a heartless terrorist, died a leader of some sort married to a not pretty gold digger.
Ted Hayes was a ratty looking homeless man interviewed on the news complaining about what he and his fellow homeless people felt entitled to for free. Now he is a recognized and respected advocate of the homeless.
They accomplished these with the help of non thinking average people, although I think COS goes for the wealthy more than the average Joe on the street.
Go figure.
For anybody who is about to get into any other high-control religion, you have to watch out for these signs.
# Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
# No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
# No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.
# Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
# There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
# Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
# There tend to be many records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader
# Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
# The group/leader(s) is always right. Either through outright admission or through unwritten rules, AKA (Our leader may be misdirected at times, but he's imperfect, however, if you speak against Their/His/her direction, you're turning your back on the group and you're evil.
# The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.
Authoritarian: There is almost always a central, charismatic, living human leader who commands total loyalty and allegiance.
Oppositional: Their beliefs, practices and values are counter to those of the dominant culture.
Exclusivistic: They are the only group that possesses the "truth."
Legalistic: Rules and regulations abound governing spiritual matters and the details of everyday living.
Subjective: They emphasize the experiential, the feelings and the emotions. This is usually accompanied by an anti- intellectualism.
Persecution-conscious: The groups feel they are being singled out by mainstream Christians, the press, parents, and the government.
Sanction-oriented: They require conformity in practice and belief, and exercise sanctions against the wayward.
Esoteric: They promote a religion of secrecy and concealment. Truth is taught on two levels, inner truth and outer truth.
Also watch out for family members and friends that seem to shy away from you due to their new religion.
Egad, I feel like I'm rubbernecking a bloody train wreck :- |
"...attained some of the highest spiritual levels that it offers."
That phrase alone tells you more than any other part of the story.
Scientology "offers" (as in sells) spiritual levels. The more you make as a hollywierd actor or lawyer/judge .... the more "spiritual you may become .... your only limit is how much CASH you have to give.
I went in with my stubborn streak turned on just to be in the clear and safe from them if they closed in on me too much.
Read up here: http://www.clambake.org
Do tell. Have you ever met Tom Cruise and Nichole Kidman?
bump for later read
I'm a socioanthropologist. Scientology, like some other cults, is a pseudo religion. For the emotionally and therefore spiritually bereft of the feel good culture being shoved down our throats for 35 years, it used the classic elements necessary for any new religion: heavy emphasis on what amounts to simple understanding of the human ohyche, what makes us pack/herd animals get along and what makes us confrontational.
Hubbard did this as a weird experiment in Jungian psychology. As far as I was ever able to tell, he never meant it to be a real religion, he just wanted to compel readers and sell books. When he died, his wife preyed upon the gullible for profit. If you're creative enough and a good student of human psychology - you don't need a degree, just a good brain - you too and invent a cult of your own.
If you're really that openly critical and questioning of Scientology, study the methodology Hubbard used in mapping his books.
There are no secrets to it, only elements of the ritual methodology of established religions combined with the most popular buts and pieces of pop culture
A previous poster has it right: Muhammad successfully used Judaeism and Christianity and combined it with the STRICTEST, most secret aspects of ancient Semitic tribal culture to create Islam and did a giid job, even though half the time he was wasted on opium laced wine to ease the pain of wounds he'd received while killing off while tribes of his own people
Just as Hubbard did while combining the most fascinating aspects of all the major religions and combining them with the most Californian of pop cults. You're not a member of a real religion, you're a member of his widow's complexes.
One thing is for sure...people on welfare...will never be members of Scientology...they can't afford it and they aren't the type to be accepted in the exclusive club.
Hmm, I thought some have been homocidal.
BTW, L. Ron Hubbard's mentor was Alastair Crowley, the reknowned black witch homosexual pedophile Satanist.
bump for later
You could easily be describing the Communist Party. Is the COS any different? Not in my mind.
For the most part, Scientologists are oblivious to how they're perceived outside of their own little bubble world. Sort of like blue state liberals.
I have a very good friend whose parents were "into" Scientology for many years. They spent untold thousands of dollars, and finally kicked her out of the house when she was 16 because she would not follow the Scientology program, on the instruction of their Scientology superiors. She went through incredible hardship trying to support herself at that age.
The philosophy of Scientology, as understood and expressed by her parents to her (and still to this day) is the epitome of selfish hard heartedness. Any trouble she may have (such as a disabled child, and severe asthma) are her own fault, she "created" them. Her very wealthy parents offer her no financial, emotional or personal support whatsoever, and in fact still use her at every opportunity.
Scientology...that's like AmWay, right?
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