Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-13

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Introduction

Scientology has been in the news again lately with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, but it has actually been around sincethe 1950s. This really is a dangerous cult and it is important to be on top of its teachings. Hope this article contributes toyour life this way.

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The shenanigans of the Scientology crowd have been ondisplay for some time. As far back as the 1970s, Scientolo-gy began to gain a lot of publicity because of its celebritymembers. But they also received a lot of unwanted atten-tion because of some of their tactics.

Scientology has long had a policy of going on the offensiveagainst any who would oppose them. They have been quitevicious toward critics by filing lawsuits, making unwarrantedpublic accusations of personal wrongdoing, making threatsand engaging in various kinds of harassment. They havealso been involved in criminal activity in numerous placesaround the world, including such things as domestic espio-

nage, medical fraud, staging hit-and-run accidents and vari-ous other means of trying to ruin people’s lives.

They have also been accused of brainwashing and mis-treating their own members (even to the point of being cul-

pable in the deaths of several), urging members to sever contact with family members who are critical of Scientologyabusing donations to the organization and treating celebritymembers differently than others.

In more recent times, Scientology has been getting a lot of publicity because of the strange antics of Tom Cruse – itscurrent most high profile member – as he jumped onOprah’s couch, denounced Brooke Shields for taking anti-depression drugs, had his child’s first bowel movementbronzed, not associating with people who are not Scientolo-gists, and so on.

It is one thing to be aware of the activities of the church andsome of its followers, but just what is this religion and whatis it all about?

(Continued on page 2)

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Volume 3 Number 13 July 9, 2008

The Gospel According to Tom Cruise: Scientology



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(Scientology - Continued from page 1)

BackgroundScientology was founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. He was generally not very successful in his trade untilhe wrote a book called Dianetics in the early 1950s . This was purely a made up self-help process, but he got a huge re-sponse from it and his teachings began to take off and made him a great deal of money. In 1952, he began to turn hissystem into a new religion, establishing the first Church of Scientology in December 1953 in Los Angeles, CA.. Between1952 and his death in January 1986, Hubbard developed Scientology's doctrines.

Seemingly, he saw religion as a means of gaining wealth. He once told some friends, and this has been confirmed by hisson, that writing isn't worth the cent a word that you get paid. If you really want to become rich, you should start a reli-gion. With that in mind, he founded what has become a multi-million dollar business. As opposed to most religions, peo-ple pay to become Scientologists and pay even more to advance through the ranks.

From the very beginning, Hubbard constituted his organization into a church in order to take advantage of the tax bene-fits. Scientology churches are very aggressive in going after converts. The recruiting methodology starts out with a freeintroductory lecture followed by a personality test. This test is designed to lead a person to believe they are in great needof help from The Church of Scientology.

The help comes in the form of a course that people can take. There is a fee for the course and a significant amount of pressure is put on a person to sign up. In fact, recruiters are paid a commission for bringing people in. Individuals aretold that their lives will stay messed up unless they do it.

For those who decide to enter the Scientology program, the initial course is only the beginning. There are more and moreadvanced levels a person can attain and each level costs more than the previous. It is not unusual for people to paythousands of dollars as they opt to go to the higher levels.

The Church of Scientology is also quite aggressive in going after its enemies. Over the years there have been numerousaccounts of people who have been wronged by the church. In almost every case, Scientology has aggressively workedto suppress the negative information. It has no hesitation in using threats, law suits, and mis-information to further it’sends.

Scientology claims to be compatible with all religions, but this is merely a ruse to entice people in. Most Scientologists donot have any idea of the full scope of Hubbards teachings until they reach more advanced levels. As new people are pro-cessed into the group, the emphasis is almost entirely on trying to solve the problems associated with having unwanted“engrams” attached to their lives. It is only as people reach the higher levels of training, and have already bought into

Scientology’s teachings, that they are exposed to the instruction which unveils the true nature of the religion.

Since Hubbards death, there has been no slowdown in the activity of the church. Today, there are said to be over 4,200Scientology groups, missions and churches. These are located in 156 countries around the world and serve some 10million Scientologists (though there are some who say that these figures are greatly exaggerated). Some well knownpeople who have become involved in Scientology include John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Beck Hansen, ChickCorea, Jason Lee, Tom Cruise, and Katie Holmes.

Basic Beliefs and PracticesThe word Scientology literally means “the study of knowledge or truth.” It teaches that the essence of all human beingsare their immortal souls, called thetans. These thetans are eternal and become attached to physical bodies in order to


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live out life in the physical world. When one body dies, the thetan is reincarnated into a new body and continues its exis-tence. These souls, though, were are not originally from this planet. Humans were, in fact, brought eons ago and trans-planted to earth.

The basis of the Scientology story comes straight out of the science fiction writings of Hubbard. It is based on the story of Xemu, an evil alien who was in charge of seventy six planets. Seventy five million years ago, Xemu tried to solve an over-population problem on his planets by hauling the extra people to earth. After bringing them here, he put them in a volcanoand destroyed them with an H-bomb. The souls (thetans) of these individuals were then captured and indoctrinated. Thestory goes that Xemu was later captured because of his evil deeds and imprisoned in a mountain on another planetwhere he is currently held prisoner by a force field with an eternal battery. According to Hubbard, there have been manyother such incidents, and alien involvement in Earth's affairs is still ongoing.

The problems that exist among humans on earth are said to be the result of what Xemu did to the humans he killed withthe H-Bomb. After he indoctrinated the thetans of those who were killed, he set them loose on the people (the physicalindividuals on earth) who survived the atomic blast. As these thetans attached themselves to those individuals, they created engrams (negative impressions lodged in the mind) in those who were affected.

Scientology teaches that the reason for the problems individuals have in reaching their full potential is that over the millennia, and through numerous reincarnations, many bad memories have become attached to the thetans. These bad memo-ries come from pain and various kinds of brainwashing which each thetan has experienced in past lives. The result of all

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of this is a destructive energy blockage (engrams) on thelives of every person in the world. As indicated above, thisall started with the destruction of the people by Xemu andhas continued to increase from generation to generation.

The result is that thetans today are severely unbalanced bybillions of years of mistreatment in past lives. This is said tobe the cause of many of the mental and physical problemsthat people experience today, and even the cause of war.Scientology’s goal is to clear the engrams from people’sminds and set them free to live full and complete lives.

The “clearing” process, in Scientology, is called auditing.

During auditing sessions, individuals are regressed througha series of past lives and key incidents which they mayhave experienced. As the auditor encounters engrams,they are cleared from the person’s thetan core. Once aperson achieves “clear” (elimination of the engrams), theyare then permitted to advance to higher levels.

Essential BeliefsTo get at the worldview foundation of Scientology, it is nec-essary to understand what Scientologists believe about thethree worldview essentials – God, man and salvation.

God Scientology’s understanding about God is rather vague,

which leads to their ability to pass the belief off as a “non-sectarian” practice. They often make the assertion that itdoesn’t matter what belief system you come from, Scientol-ogy can help you. They say that anyone can benefit fromScientology just to get rid of the bad engrams that are at-tached to their life and still keep their own religion. But if you dig a little, you find that Hubbard taught that ultimatereality (God) is an impersonal life force which is the sourceof all light, energy and life.

When it comes to Scientology’s teachings about Christ,Hubbard tends to be somewhat contradictory. In earlier

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writings he states that Christ never existed but was only an idea implanted in human minds as an engram. Later he ac-knowledged Jesus as an actual person but had very negative things to say about him. In Scientology, there are no partic-ular human incarnations of God, as the universal life force (the Theta) is impersonal and is inherent in all things.

ManMan, in Scientology, is seen primarily as a conscious spiritual life force called a thetan. This life force is eternal and at-taches itself to different physical bodies as it reincarnates throughout history. When the physical body it is attached todies, the thetan continues living and simply attaches itself to another body.

SalvationScientology teaches that humans are immortal beings who have become trapped by matter, energy, space, and time(MEST). Salvation, for Scientologists, occurs when that immortal thetan is finally freed from all of the bad engrams(negative impressions from previous life experiences) which are attached to it.

The process for eliminating the engrams comes through the practice of “auditing.” The auditing process is done under thesupervision of a Scientology practitioner who uses a hypnotic type process to take individuals back through previous livesto discover and remove the engrams.

The path to salvation includes achieving states of increasingly greater mental awareness. This is all done through higher and higher levels of classes which individuals pay to participate in. Until ultimate salvation, each thetan is continuouslyreincarnated. Once the highest state is finally achieved, a person will become a “free being” with no engrams attached to

his life. At that point he is able to continue forth in life without the restrictions of the human body and without need for fur-ther reincarnations.

What Worldview Does Scientology Represent?How Scientology Answers the Seven Worldview QuestionsIn order to understand more fully the worldview of Scientology, we need to see how it answers the seven worldview ques-tions.

1. What is the most fundamental reality? (Ultimate reality)Scientology teaches that there exists an impersonal life force (theta) which is beyond and within all. This life force is be-lieved to be the ultimate source of light, energy and life.

2. What is the nature of our material reality? (Material reality)

Everything, including the material universe, is understood to be a manifestation of the impersonal life force. There is nospecific teaching as to the ultimate origin of material reality, but it has somehow been manifested from the life force.

3. What is a human being? (Humanity)All humans are immortal spiritual beings (thetans) who possess a mind (the accumulation of life experiences, memories,perceptions, decisions and conclusions) and a body (which includes the brain). Thetans came into being out of the imper-sonal life force by self will. The thetan is the soul, or the “true essence” of the person, and can exist independently of thebody and the mind and, in fact, originally existed in that state. But at some point in history, the thetans became trappedwithin the material universe. The independent and free state can be regained, though, by achieving the level of a “freebeing.” Once this level of “free being” is achieved, thetans are believed to be capable of rising to a nearly godlike state.

An individual’s thetan is believed to have lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of one’scurrent body. Scientology teaches that a person is considered to be basically good, but becomes unbalanced by momentsof pain and unconsciousness in the process of living life. This pain and unconsciousness is the source of the engramswhich attach to individual’s lives and are passed on from lifetime to lifetime.

4. What happens to a person at death? (Death)Death, in Scientology, is known as "dropping the body." The belief is that at the death of the physical body, the thetan, willreturn to an “implant station" somewhere in outer space. At this station, the thetan will have all memories from the mostrecent lifetime electronically erased. It is, then, sent back to earth to "pick up a new body," and start another life.

Rebirths continue until an individual finally consciously confronts all pre-birth, current-life, and previous-life traumas (usingScientology auditing). When all of these traumas (engrams) have been eliminated, the "return command" is removed and




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the person does not have to go back to an implant station again. At that point, an individual becomes a "free being" and isable to operate independently of the physical universe. At this state the thetan becomes one with God.

5. Why is it possible to know anything at all? (Knowledge)There is no particular reason why it is so, but knowledge is an innate part of the essence of all thetans.

6. How do we know what is right and wrong? (Morality)The writings of Ron Hubbard define right and wrong in every area of life.

7. What is the meaning of human history? (History)In Scientology, reality is believed to exist in a state of eternity. History is cyclical in that the essence of individuals(thetans) keep reincarnating and returning to earth until they are able to break the cycle. At that point they become able tooperate independently of the physical universe. There is no transcendent meaning in history. Meaning is a personal mat-ter and is achieved by advancing closer and closer to becoming a “free being.”

What is Scientology’s Worldview? Based on the answers to the seven worldview questions, it becomes clear that Scientology is a hybrid worldview belief.

One of the clear elements of the belief comes directly from Far Eastern Thought. The belief in an impersonal life force andthe element of reincarnation clearly comes from this worldview foundation.

There is also a strong Naturalistic bent to Scientology. The use of psychological techniques to manipulate people’s mindsexpresses a Naturalistic understanding of the nature of human beings. Even though ultimate reality is understood to beimpersonal, humans (thetans) are seen to be personal.

As with all hybrids, the combination of multiple worldview elements within one belief system creates an irreconcilable in-ternal contradiction. Scientologists, however, seem to be able to ignore these contradictions in order to assert their be-liefs.

Sceintology’s Authority FoundationEvery faith system has some ultimate authority that it bases its beliefs upon. Scientology is no exception. It is entirelybased on the writings of Ron Hubbard. His primary work detailing the basic practice of Scientology is found in his bookDianetics. He has many other writings, however, and everything he wrote and said is considered to be the source of thereal truth about the nature of reality.

How Can We Evaluate the Viability of Scientology’s Authority Foundation? Other than the fact that Ron Hubbard asserted it and his followers continue to teach it, there is no objective evidence thatHubbard’s version reality is the way that it is actually structured. The whole concept of thetans, reincarnation, engrams,and the like, have no objective basis of verification. The only evidence is the word of Hubbard and his followers. Hubbard,himself, never shared how he came into possession of this knowledge.

The Practical Implications of Scientology’s WorldviewThe practical implications of Scientology have been played out for the world to see. There is no doubt that there are somevery good people who have become Scientologists, just as there are good people who follow virtually every other belief system in the world. But there is also a strong tendency for bad, as well.

In reading Hubbard’s writings, it is evident that he instructed his followers to do virtually anything necessary to eliminateperceived threats and opposition to his church. One only need look back at some of the documented practices of thechurch and its followers to see that it has led to much illegal activity, harassment of opponents, psychological problemsand even death of some followers, questionable accumulation of massive amounts of money, and people distancingthemselves from family.

From a theological perspective, Scientology’s teachings cause individuals to focus entirely on self. The ultimate goal of lifeis to achieve godlike status for oneself. There is no moral compulsion to look out for the interests of God (since there is nopersonal God), or to be interested in the needs of others.

Interacting with Scientology’s AdherentsInteracting with those who are relatively new to Scientology should not be very difficult. In the early stages, individuals aresimply looking for a way to get rid of many of the personal problems that they are experiencing in life. When interacting




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with these individuals, having a grasp of the worldview foundation of Scientology and creating an opportunity to tactfullyconfront them with the problems related to their beliefs may be enough to help them understand the problems associatedwith this belief system.

Once a person has been in the religion for a time, though, and spent hundreds to thousands of dollars, it becomes muchmore difficult for those individuals to admit that there may be a problem. Once a person completely buys into the belief that there is such a thing as engrams which need to be eliminated, and they go through the auditing process, a psycho-logical dependence begins to form which is much harder to break.

As with any sharing situation, the first, and most important, thing that must be established is a mutual non-judgmental re-lationship with an individual. This does not mean that you simply live and let live. But it does mean that you are willing tobe a true friend in spite of the fact that you don’t agree with Scientology.

This can sometimes be difficult as Scientologists are taught to avoid significant relationships with people who do notagree with them. Once you demonstrate that you have no interest in their belief, the tendency will be for them to distancethemselves from you.

The other element that you must have in place is a solid understanding of the beliefs of Scientology. This gives you thetools to begin poking holes in their beliefs. Typically, though, you will not be able to do this with a frontal assault. If theyperceive that you are attacking them, they will simply drop their relationship with you. Rather, it will be more effective tosimply ask them questions which, when answered, reveal the problems and discrepancies in their beliefs.

SummaryScientology, as a belief system, does not have a leg to stand on. There is no objective evidence that reality is structuredthe way that Ron Hubbard has described it. That being said, there are thousands of people who have been sucked intothis religion.

As Christians, we have an obligation to share the gospel with everyone we possibly can. If we are uninformed about our own faith and the faith of others, this becomes an impossibility. By understanding the worldview foundation of Scientologywe put ourselves in a position to confidently and naturally help others understand the actual truth that God has revealedhimself to mankind and that we can know him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

[If you have questions or comments about this article, feel free to contact us at [email protected]).

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Worldview Made Practical - Issue 3-13