For everyone waiting for a comment reply, I can only apologize and plead extenuating circumstances. Life, the Universe and Everything is conspiring to make my life very busy just now, so you may have to wait till the weekend or even longer for a response. Part of the problem is that some of the comments are really loooooong. How you comment is up to you but please take pity on me and try to make them shorter. One suggestion is to keep a comment to one subject – not sure how workable that will be, but maybe you could give it a try. There are more of you than me and I have a limited amount of time to devote to the blog so every little helps. And do remember that Patience is a Virtue :)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Scientology and the News Media
Dana asked:
I'm asking this in a completely neutral way. I have enjoyed learning about the religion from your perspective and I think it's only fair that you be treated with respect, not as an enemy of sorts. I can actually see why people become Scientologists and do not assume they've signed over their brains (or minds of any sort) when they do so.
But my question is -- even if I were interested in becoming a Scientologist myself, my understanding is that I would automatically be disqualified from doing so and labeled an SP because of my profession. I'm a journalist, and because of that I have been told that I am a "merchant of chaos".
I see where that idea comes from, but the fact is that I could go to just about any church or mosque or coven and be welcomed if I were a believer. At none of those places would it be assumed that I have an automatic desire to damage the faith through doing my job.
So if you could, could you explain why this is a good (or even bad) policy or why I should give up a good, honorable profession to better myself as a human being.
I know that Scientologists have some very valid reasons for hating the media overall, but it's also true that some of your celebrities, such as Tom Cruise, have used to tell the world about their own positive experiences using the tech, and that has helped your religion gain membership. Thanks!
Hey Dana,
I'm not sure where you got the idea that Scientologists regard journalists as SPs or "Merchants of Chaos". Isn't Greta Van Susteren a journalist? I work with a guy whose wife is a journalist, she's a nice lady, I have read some of her work and I don't have a problem with it. Scientologists who are celebrities deal with journalists all the time. I don't know who gave you that data but it is completely false. "Suppressive Person" is not a label that is applied casually. Nobody in Scientology "hates" the media.
I think there is no doubt that there are certain individuals in the media who are not nice people and who are there to make a buck, not to report facts or cause some improvement in society by their stories. You can probably name some of them yourself. In fact, I'm sure you can if this is your field.
I personally am not a fan of the mainstream media as it exists today, not just because of Scientology, but because of the way the average media handles "news". I don't know if you saw the movie "Lions for Lambs", but there are some very cogent points made about the current state of the media and their tendency to just follow public opinion rather than stand up for what is right or true.
At the very end of the movie is a scene where the college student is considering what his professor told him regarding doing something to change the state of the country and he is half watching the news. It's a CNN sort of channel and there's a piece about a female pop singer and her pop singer husband getting divorced. This piece is getting all the attention, meanwhile along the bottom of the screen is the ticker-tape talking about a new offensive in Afghanistan. To me that really nailed the main-stream media.
The news has become entertainment. The unpleasant realities are words flowing along the bottom so you can ignore them if you want. What is important is eyeballs and advertising dollars. Meryl Streep plays the journalist in the movie and by the end she is realizing what has happened to the ideals she had when she became an journalist. (As an aside, it's a great movie. I highly recommend it, especially to a journalist. The basic message of the movie is "do something about it!")
A great movie that, for me, says how the media should be is Good Night, and Good Luck. Edward R. Murrow stood up to Senator Joseph McCarthy and helped bring down an evil man. He did it with facts and truth. The bread and butter of the news media should be facts and truth and sadly I see far to little of that in modern journalism.
Finally, if you haven't seen it already, is the classic movie Network. When it came out it was part fiction and part fantasy, but now, what that movie portrays, has become fact.
I do think there are good, honest journalists around. I would just like to see them as the norm rather than the exception. Most of the journalists I respect are independents and talk about things out of the mainstream, things that the mainstream media ignore.
Now to get to your point about a journalist taking services at a Church. People are only allowed to take services in a Scientology Church if they are there because they want to improve themselves. If a person is there to "investigate" then they are there for a different purpose than personal spiritual improvement, so it ain't gonna work. If a person wants to "investigate" Scientology they can buy a few books and read them or they can come in to see the Director of Special Affairs at a Church who is there to answer questions from the press.
If a member of the press is interested in personal spiritual gain and is honestly seeking it then there are no barriers to them.
I hope that answered your questions and I hope you enjoy my movie suggestions :)
I'm asking this in a completely neutral way. I have enjoyed learning about the religion from your perspective and I think it's only fair that you be treated with respect, not as an enemy of sorts. I can actually see why people become Scientologists and do not assume they've signed over their brains (or minds of any sort) when they do so.
But my question is -- even if I were interested in becoming a Scientologist myself, my understanding is that I would automatically be disqualified from doing so and labeled an SP because of my profession. I'm a journalist, and because of that I have been told that I am a "merchant of chaos".
I see where that idea comes from, but the fact is that I could go to just about any church or mosque or coven and be welcomed if I were a believer. At none of those places would it be assumed that I have an automatic desire to damage the faith through doing my job.
So if you could, could you explain why this is a good (or even bad) policy or why I should give up a good, honorable profession to better myself as a human being.
I know that Scientologists have some very valid reasons for hating the media overall, but it's also true that some of your celebrities, such as Tom Cruise, have used to tell the world about their own positive experiences using the tech, and that has helped your religion gain membership. Thanks!
Hey Dana,
I'm not sure where you got the idea that Scientologists regard journalists as SPs or "Merchants of Chaos". Isn't Greta Van Susteren a journalist? I work with a guy whose wife is a journalist, she's a nice lady, I have read some of her work and I don't have a problem with it. Scientologists who are celebrities deal with journalists all the time. I don't know who gave you that data but it is completely false. "Suppressive Person" is not a label that is applied casually. Nobody in Scientology "hates" the media.
I think there is no doubt that there are certain individuals in the media who are not nice people and who are there to make a buck, not to report facts or cause some improvement in society by their stories. You can probably name some of them yourself. In fact, I'm sure you can if this is your field.
I personally am not a fan of the mainstream media as it exists today, not just because of Scientology, but because of the way the average media handles "news". I don't know if you saw the movie "Lions for Lambs", but there are some very cogent points made about the current state of the media and their tendency to just follow public opinion rather than stand up for what is right or true.
At the very end of the movie is a scene where the college student is considering what his professor told him regarding doing something to change the state of the country and he is half watching the news. It's a CNN sort of channel and there's a piece about a female pop singer and her pop singer husband getting divorced. This piece is getting all the attention, meanwhile along the bottom of the screen is the ticker-tape talking about a new offensive in Afghanistan. To me that really nailed the main-stream media.
The news has become entertainment. The unpleasant realities are words flowing along the bottom so you can ignore them if you want. What is important is eyeballs and advertising dollars. Meryl Streep plays the journalist in the movie and by the end she is realizing what has happened to the ideals she had when she became an journalist. (As an aside, it's a great movie. I highly recommend it, especially to a journalist. The basic message of the movie is "do something about it!")
A great movie that, for me, says how the media should be is Good Night, and Good Luck. Edward R. Murrow stood up to Senator Joseph McCarthy and helped bring down an evil man. He did it with facts and truth. The bread and butter of the news media should be facts and truth and sadly I see far to little of that in modern journalism.
Finally, if you haven't seen it already, is the classic movie Network. When it came out it was part fiction and part fantasy, but now, what that movie portrays, has become fact.
I do think there are good, honest journalists around. I would just like to see them as the norm rather than the exception. Most of the journalists I respect are independents and talk about things out of the mainstream, things that the mainstream media ignore.
Now to get to your point about a journalist taking services at a Church. People are only allowed to take services in a Scientology Church if they are there because they want to improve themselves. If a person is there to "investigate" then they are there for a different purpose than personal spiritual improvement, so it ain't gonna work. If a person wants to "investigate" Scientology they can buy a few books and read them or they can come in to see the Director of Special Affairs at a Church who is there to answer questions from the press.
If a member of the press is interested in personal spiritual gain and is honestly seeking it then there are no barriers to them.
I hope that answered your questions and I hope you enjoy my movie suggestions :)
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Scientology - My Story
Lawtears said in response to my post "Is Scientology A Cult?": :
Interesting, but not quite the stuff I wanted. I want your fire/passion/spirit.
Think of it this way. A guy once said "I think therefore I am." I want YOU, the thing that does the thinking in your case, to tell me about X,Y,Z that's happened in YOUR life. The joys and well as (non-financial) cost.
In your own brevity, of course. No doubt you could write for months about yourself, as anyone could.
It's not about the semantics. It's the person behind that I'm wanting.
Lawtears
Okay. So looking over your original comment again in light of the new comment, I think I get what you're asking for. Unless I'm way off the mark, you want to hear my experiences that say, "This is my religion. This is the spiritual path for me. This is something good." If I'm wrong then you can leave another comment and I'll try again :). I think you also want some of the tough times I've had to go through, so I'll give you some of that too.
Here goes:
When I first came across Scientology I was at University studying Physics. I got interested because the person who told me about it said she used to be shy and it handled that for her. At the time I was horribly shy and I really didn't want to be, so I thought I'd give it a try. I started on the communication course and kept seeing the words "Church of Scientology" all over the place. I was not interested in Churches or religion so I simply ignored it and carried on.
The first problem I hit was when I came across the definition of the word "thetan" (a word that is much ms-defined on the Internet, but simply means an individual as a spirit). Because I was an atheist at the time and studying sciences I couldn't accept this idea of a spirit. I brought this up to the person running the course, saying, "I can't believe this. I'm a scientist." and, much to my surprise, he said, "You don't have to believe it. Just make sure you understand it and then see if it applies in life or not." There was no force, no "this is holy writ", no trying to persuade me that I should believe, none of that.
When I finished that first course I felt great. I had reduced my shyness tremendously. Before the course I would walk around feeling like I had a cloak wrapped around me so I wouldn't be noticed (not literally but figuratively). After the communications course that had gone away, I didn't feel like I needed to hide anymore.
The next big win I had was when I did the course on study and education called the "Student Hat". When I finished that I felt like I could take on the world, because I knew I could study anything and succeed at it. One of the most important things in education is for the student to be able to evaluate the accuracy and truth of what he is studying. He has to be able to think for himself in order to do this. Authoritarian education is doomed to failure. The student may pass tests with flying colors, but once he is free of the "Authority" he is very likely to reject the education by never using it. A student who is allowed to make up his own mind is far more likely to use the data successfully. That is one of the key principles of education used in Scientology.
Over the next few years I took more courses and received Scientology Auditing. Through all this I gained many new abilities. One big one for me was that I could stand up in front of a group and say something. I'd never been able to do that before. It was after one particular piece of auditing that this occurred. One day I was in a meeting of 40 or 50 people and I just stood up and said something relevant to what we were discussing and then I sat down. Suddenly I realized what I'd just done and, more incredible still, that I hadn't even thought twice about it - I just stood up and said my piece.
Another huge win was realizing that I was a spiritual being and not a body. This came about during some auditing. I felt so BIG as a being that I realized I was bigger than my body. It was like I (as a being) was a thumb and my body was like a small sliver of wood that was stuck in it. It's a difficult phenomenon to describe but it is a wonderful feeling. This video may give you an idea: The Parts of Man.
Another great ability I gained was the ability to help other people. I had joined staff at a Church and I was put in charge of staff enhancement, which included Scientology Training and auditing for staff. Sometimes I would have to help people who were stuck in study or who were having some problem in life which was interfering with their progress. The fact that I could effectively help people with the Scientology that I had learned was a huge win for me. The tools I used were usually simple things such as those given in the Scientology Handbook and I'd get amazing results. For example, there was one guy who had never gotten along with his parents and rarely even spoke to them. After getting into Scientology they had gotten rather belligerent because they'd heard some false data about it. So I helped him become a friend to his parents so that not only were they fine about him being a Scientologist, but he and his parents now talked a lot because they actually liked each other.
I also got to help people who were not on staff. One of my greatest wins was helping a guy whose business was failing. I applied the L. Ron Hubbard Admin Technology and we solved his business problems. After that he became very successful and is still running a successful business twenty five years later. In fact I saw him at Flag just a few months ago and we had a great time catching up.
Probably the toughest time for me was in the early 1980's. I was in the Sea Org and there was a lot to do. It was hard work, but very rewarding, then I got a new senior who was a total bitch. One of the nastiest people I've ever had the misfortune to meet. It took a few months, but she eventually wore me down and I left the Sea Org. A few months later I found out that she had been expelled from the Church along with another person who had given me a really hard time. I felt a great relief to realize that it wasn't just me being a dick. (There is more on what happened at that time here: Answer to Comment on Fair Game.) That was also a tough time for the Church. Some very unpleasant people had wangled their way into high positions in the Church and were doing a wonderful job of destroying it. Luckily some good people spotted what was going on and handled it. New policies were put in place to make sure nothing like that ever happened again and those policies have been successful to this day.
After the nasties were kicked out, I went back into the Sea Org and had a good couple of years. During that time I did a stint on the Rehabilitation Project Force (RFP) and benefited from it. Eventually, I decided I wasn't contributing well as a Sea Org member, so I decided to leave. Leaving wasn't a big deal. I did the things required of one when one leaves, found myself a new job and that was that.
Since then I've continued as an ordinary Scientology Parishioner and as a Volunteer Minister. I've done more training and auditing and have continued to use my skills and knowledge to help others. I've helped save some marriages, helped people get over severe losses, helped people with drug problems and more.
I'm not full-time at my volunteer work, my wife and I have raised two kids and I've kept a full-time job going since I left the Sea Org. I wish I could do my volunteer work full-time, but helping people in this way pays diddly-squat financially, although it pays me huge amounts spiritually. There is nothing in this world better than effectively helping another.
I could go on and on about other personal gains, such as the huge gains I got from the auditing level called OT V, but I don't want this to turn into "No doubt you could write for months about yourself". So I'll stop.
I hope that answered your question and if not then just drop me another comment.
Interesting, but not quite the stuff I wanted. I want your fire/passion/spirit.
Think of it this way. A guy once said "I think therefore I am." I want YOU, the thing that does the thinking in your case, to tell me about X,Y,Z that's happened in YOUR life. The joys and well as (non-financial) cost.
In your own brevity, of course. No doubt you could write for months about yourself, as anyone could.
It's not about the semantics. It's the person behind that I'm wanting.
Lawtears
Okay. So looking over your original comment again in light of the new comment, I think I get what you're asking for. Unless I'm way off the mark, you want to hear my experiences that say, "This is my religion. This is the spiritual path for me. This is something good." If I'm wrong then you can leave another comment and I'll try again :). I think you also want some of the tough times I've had to go through, so I'll give you some of that too.
Here goes:
When I first came across Scientology I was at University studying Physics. I got interested because the person who told me about it said she used to be shy and it handled that for her. At the time I was horribly shy and I really didn't want to be, so I thought I'd give it a try. I started on the communication course and kept seeing the words "Church of Scientology" all over the place. I was not interested in Churches or religion so I simply ignored it and carried on.
The first problem I hit was when I came across the definition of the word "thetan" (a word that is much ms-defined on the Internet, but simply means an individual as a spirit). Because I was an atheist at the time and studying sciences I couldn't accept this idea of a spirit. I brought this up to the person running the course, saying, "I can't believe this. I'm a scientist." and, much to my surprise, he said, "You don't have to believe it. Just make sure you understand it and then see if it applies in life or not." There was no force, no "this is holy writ", no trying to persuade me that I should believe, none of that.
When I finished that first course I felt great. I had reduced my shyness tremendously. Before the course I would walk around feeling like I had a cloak wrapped around me so I wouldn't be noticed (not literally but figuratively). After the communications course that had gone away, I didn't feel like I needed to hide anymore.
The next big win I had was when I did the course on study and education called the "Student Hat". When I finished that I felt like I could take on the world, because I knew I could study anything and succeed at it. One of the most important things in education is for the student to be able to evaluate the accuracy and truth of what he is studying. He has to be able to think for himself in order to do this. Authoritarian education is doomed to failure. The student may pass tests with flying colors, but once he is free of the "Authority" he is very likely to reject the education by never using it. A student who is allowed to make up his own mind is far more likely to use the data successfully. That is one of the key principles of education used in Scientology.
Over the next few years I took more courses and received Scientology Auditing. Through all this I gained many new abilities. One big one for me was that I could stand up in front of a group and say something. I'd never been able to do that before. It was after one particular piece of auditing that this occurred. One day I was in a meeting of 40 or 50 people and I just stood up and said something relevant to what we were discussing and then I sat down. Suddenly I realized what I'd just done and, more incredible still, that I hadn't even thought twice about it - I just stood up and said my piece.
Another huge win was realizing that I was a spiritual being and not a body. This came about during some auditing. I felt so BIG as a being that I realized I was bigger than my body. It was like I (as a being) was a thumb and my body was like a small sliver of wood that was stuck in it. It's a difficult phenomenon to describe but it is a wonderful feeling. This video may give you an idea: The Parts of Man.
Another great ability I gained was the ability to help other people. I had joined staff at a Church and I was put in charge of staff enhancement, which included Scientology Training and auditing for staff. Sometimes I would have to help people who were stuck in study or who were having some problem in life which was interfering with their progress. The fact that I could effectively help people with the Scientology that I had learned was a huge win for me. The tools I used were usually simple things such as those given in the Scientology Handbook and I'd get amazing results. For example, there was one guy who had never gotten along with his parents and rarely even spoke to them. After getting into Scientology they had gotten rather belligerent because they'd heard some false data about it. So I helped him become a friend to his parents so that not only were they fine about him being a Scientologist, but he and his parents now talked a lot because they actually liked each other.
I also got to help people who were not on staff. One of my greatest wins was helping a guy whose business was failing. I applied the L. Ron Hubbard Admin Technology and we solved his business problems. After that he became very successful and is still running a successful business twenty five years later. In fact I saw him at Flag just a few months ago and we had a great time catching up.
Probably the toughest time for me was in the early 1980's. I was in the Sea Org and there was a lot to do. It was hard work, but very rewarding, then I got a new senior who was a total bitch. One of the nastiest people I've ever had the misfortune to meet. It took a few months, but she eventually wore me down and I left the Sea Org. A few months later I found out that she had been expelled from the Church along with another person who had given me a really hard time. I felt a great relief to realize that it wasn't just me being a dick. (There is more on what happened at that time here: Answer to Comment on Fair Game.) That was also a tough time for the Church. Some very unpleasant people had wangled their way into high positions in the Church and were doing a wonderful job of destroying it. Luckily some good people spotted what was going on and handled it. New policies were put in place to make sure nothing like that ever happened again and those policies have been successful to this day.
After the nasties were kicked out, I went back into the Sea Org and had a good couple of years. During that time I did a stint on the Rehabilitation Project Force (RFP) and benefited from it. Eventually, I decided I wasn't contributing well as a Sea Org member, so I decided to leave. Leaving wasn't a big deal. I did the things required of one when one leaves, found myself a new job and that was that.
Since then I've continued as an ordinary Scientology Parishioner and as a Volunteer Minister. I've done more training and auditing and have continued to use my skills and knowledge to help others. I've helped save some marriages, helped people get over severe losses, helped people with drug problems and more.
I'm not full-time at my volunteer work, my wife and I have raised two kids and I've kept a full-time job going since I left the Sea Org. I wish I could do my volunteer work full-time, but helping people in this way pays diddly-squat financially, although it pays me huge amounts spiritually. There is nothing in this world better than effectively helping another.
I could go on and on about other personal gains, such as the huge gains I got from the auditing level called OT V, but I don't want this to turn into "No doubt you could write for months about yourself". So I'll stop.
I hope that answered your question and if not then just drop me another comment.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Is Scientology A Cult?
I had an interesting comment from Lawtears which I would have published if it hadn't linked to his profile and his anti-Scientology blog. (See my rules about what I publish).
What he said was this: At the anonymous demos, there's guys there that will say scientology is a cult because X,Y,Z happened. What I'd love to know is what your X,Y,Z is, that makes scientology NOT a cult. What are these 3 things (or give me more or less) that make you sure that, yes, scientology is the way for humanity and not a cult?
First of all let me say that Scientology is the way for people who want it. Religion is not something you can force on people. It's been tried in the past and it has brought only misery and suffering. Just look at the last 2,000 years of history alone for many horrible demonstrations of that.
Now we come to the "C" word, "Cult". If we are going to discuss that word then we should define it so we know what we are talking about. Until not very long ago, the mid-1970's in fact, the word "cult" meant: 1. Attentive care; homage; worship. and 2. A system of religious belief and worship. (See Webster's 1913 dictionary: Cult.) In the late 1970s the word was changed to have a sinister meaning. I recommend you read this article on how that happened, it is extremely enlightening: The Lies Behind Bigotry (Chapter 1).
After its redefinition, the word "cult" didn't have a clear cut definition but it had very clear cut connotations. A "cult" was a bad thing, a nasty thing, an evil and destructive thing. It was something to run away from screaming. You may think I'm being funny, but actually those are the concepts that have become associated with the word.
So for the purposes of this discussion let's use the definition given by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance: Cult (you'll have to scroll down to almost the bottom of the page to find it).
The definition I'll use for this discussion is the one they say is used by the "anti-cult movement", which is: a small, evil religious group, often with a single charismatic leader, who engage in deceptive recruiting, brainwashing and other mind control techniques
So let's break that down.
small - Scientology is not small. The number of Scientologists around the world is a disputed figure, the Church estimates it at 10 million , anti-Scientology elements say it is much less. However, if you take a look at two things: a) the number of Scientology Churches, Missions and Groups (7,500) and b) the amount of press on the subject. You'll have to admit that it isn't "small".
evil - that is such a difficult word to deal with, isn't it? One man's meat is another man's poison. I can only refer you to what is in Scientology books and what is on the Church's website. Take an unbiased look and decide for yourself. I'd suggest you start with the Scientology Video Channel and then move to Scientology Basic Books.
often with a single charismatic leader - L. Ron Hubbard was our "single charismatic leader" for many years. I personally don't know why having a "single charismatic leader" is a problem. Didn't Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and many other religions have the same? Don't musical groups, corporations (e.g., Apple) and other groups have "single charismatic leaders"? If you want make that something bad then go ahead.
who engage in deceptive recruiting - If you want to know what Scientology is all about then go to the Scientology Home Page or buy a Basic Book or watch the videos on the Video Channel. It's all there. I'm sure that anyone with the ability to read can figure out if Scientology is something they want to be "recruited" into at that point. There is no deception. What we believe is all out there.
In fact no one is allowed to take Scientology services unless they themselves have made the decision to. For example, if a child is being pressured by parents to take a course in Scientology and the child isn't interested then the kid will not be allowed to take the course. It is against the rules of the Church for a person to take services unless they have chosen for themselves.
Before you can take any major service in a Scientology Church you will be asked if you are there on your own determinism. If you are not then you won't be allowed onto the service.
who engage in ... brainwashing and other mind control techniques - this whole idea of "brainwashing and other mind control techniques" has been completely debunked in the USA. The use of such terms as "Magnetic attraction, compulsion, captivity, enslavement, kidnapping" first began in the 19th century when the Mormons were attacked by mainstream Christian bigots. This vile tradition has continued and was given a fresh coat of "scientific" paint in the 1970's by such disgraced "experts" as Margaret Singer and the old "Cult Awareness Network". You can read a very thorough academic analysis of this in the article: "Brainwashing": Career of a Myth in the United States and Europe
Another article which examines these ideas is: Conversion and "Brainwashing" in New Religious Movements. It's a long article so you have to be seriously interested in the truth to spend the time to read it.
Another article which sums up and links to a huge amount of evidence is: "Liar, Liar": Brainwashing, CESNUR and APA
So according to the experts there is no "brainwashing and other mind control techniques".
Finally, the "cult" word also has the connotation that the target of the word is not a religion. There are innumerable religions experts who have written papers on the religious nature of Scientology: More Research on Scientology.
Heck, even the IRS has recognized Scientology as a religion. You may not like the IRS, but one thing you can't fault them on is sticking to the rules they create. They make a rule, they enforce it. They examined the Church of Scientology and they gave it a clean bill of health.
Also, governments and courts of law all over the world have recognized the religious nature of Scientology: Governments and courts of countries worldwide recognize the religious character of the Church of Scientology
So, that's my answer. What do you think?
What he said was this: At the anonymous demos, there's guys there that will say scientology is a cult because X,Y,Z happened. What I'd love to know is what your X,Y,Z is, that makes scientology NOT a cult. What are these 3 things (or give me more or less) that make you sure that, yes, scientology is the way for humanity and not a cult?
First of all let me say that Scientology is the way for people who want it. Religion is not something you can force on people. It's been tried in the past and it has brought only misery and suffering. Just look at the last 2,000 years of history alone for many horrible demonstrations of that.
Now we come to the "C" word, "Cult". If we are going to discuss that word then we should define it so we know what we are talking about. Until not very long ago, the mid-1970's in fact, the word "cult" meant: 1. Attentive care; homage; worship. and 2. A system of religious belief and worship. (See Webster's 1913 dictionary: Cult.) In the late 1970s the word was changed to have a sinister meaning. I recommend you read this article on how that happened, it is extremely enlightening: The Lies Behind Bigotry (Chapter 1).
After its redefinition, the word "cult" didn't have a clear cut definition but it had very clear cut connotations. A "cult" was a bad thing, a nasty thing, an evil and destructive thing. It was something to run away from screaming. You may think I'm being funny, but actually those are the concepts that have become associated with the word.
So for the purposes of this discussion let's use the definition given by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance: Cult (you'll have to scroll down to almost the bottom of the page to find it).
The definition I'll use for this discussion is the one they say is used by the "anti-cult movement", which is: a small, evil religious group, often with a single charismatic leader, who engage in deceptive recruiting, brainwashing and other mind control techniques
So let's break that down.
small - Scientology is not small. The number of Scientologists around the world is a disputed figure, the Church estimates it at 10 million , anti-Scientology elements say it is much less. However, if you take a look at two things: a) the number of Scientology Churches, Missions and Groups (7,500) and b) the amount of press on the subject. You'll have to admit that it isn't "small".
evil - that is such a difficult word to deal with, isn't it? One man's meat is another man's poison. I can only refer you to what is in Scientology books and what is on the Church's website. Take an unbiased look and decide for yourself. I'd suggest you start with the Scientology Video Channel and then move to Scientology Basic Books.
often with a single charismatic leader - L. Ron Hubbard was our "single charismatic leader" for many years. I personally don't know why having a "single charismatic leader" is a problem. Didn't Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and many other religions have the same? Don't musical groups, corporations (e.g., Apple) and other groups have "single charismatic leaders"? If you want make that something bad then go ahead.
who engage in deceptive recruiting - If you want to know what Scientology is all about then go to the Scientology Home Page or buy a Basic Book or watch the videos on the Video Channel. It's all there. I'm sure that anyone with the ability to read can figure out if Scientology is something they want to be "recruited" into at that point. There is no deception. What we believe is all out there.
In fact no one is allowed to take Scientology services unless they themselves have made the decision to. For example, if a child is being pressured by parents to take a course in Scientology and the child isn't interested then the kid will not be allowed to take the course. It is against the rules of the Church for a person to take services unless they have chosen for themselves.
Before you can take any major service in a Scientology Church you will be asked if you are there on your own determinism. If you are not then you won't be allowed onto the service.
who engage in ... brainwashing and other mind control techniques - this whole idea of "brainwashing and other mind control techniques" has been completely debunked in the USA. The use of such terms as "Magnetic attraction, compulsion, captivity, enslavement, kidnapping" first began in the 19th century when the Mormons were attacked by mainstream Christian bigots. This vile tradition has continued and was given a fresh coat of "scientific" paint in the 1970's by such disgraced "experts" as Margaret Singer and the old "Cult Awareness Network". You can read a very thorough academic analysis of this in the article: "Brainwashing": Career of a Myth in the United States and Europe
Another article which examines these ideas is: Conversion and "Brainwashing" in New Religious Movements. It's a long article so you have to be seriously interested in the truth to spend the time to read it.
Another article which sums up and links to a huge amount of evidence is: "Liar, Liar": Brainwashing, CESNUR and APA
So according to the experts there is no "brainwashing and other mind control techniques".
Finally, the "cult" word also has the connotation that the target of the word is not a religion. There are innumerable religions experts who have written papers on the religious nature of Scientology: More Research on Scientology.
Heck, even the IRS has recognized Scientology as a religion. You may not like the IRS, but one thing you can't fault them on is sticking to the rules they create. They make a rule, they enforce it. They examined the Church of Scientology and they gave it a clean bill of health.
Also, governments and courts of law all over the world have recognized the religious nature of Scientology: Governments and courts of countries worldwide recognize the religious character of the Church of Scientology
So, that's my answer. What do you think?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Scientology and Earth Day
Scientologists tend to be very environmentally aware (me for example: Earth Day and Me Being Smug ). A basic idea of Scientology is that none survive alone, life is a cooperative activity. A basic concept of Scientology is the Dynamics, which are urges to survival that we all have. Very briefly these urges are self, family, groups, mankind, life forms, physical universe, spiritual universe, infinity (or God). For a person to be living at his or her optimum that person must be operating ethically on all Dynamics.
"Looking out for number 1" is not a survival concept because it only takes into account self - what about all those other areas of life? People who operate only on a couple of dynamics are usually destructive to the Dynamics they are not operating on. For example, let's say an industrialist is out to make a lot of money for himself, his family and his stockholders. He may do things that are destructive to mankind, life forms and the physical universe, such as dumping toxic waste into a river to save the cost of processing it into something that is not toxic. This could kill people (mankind), fish, animals, and plants (life forms) and severely pollute the river, river banks, the sea and the sea shore (physical universe).
This fits in with the idea of Earth Day, because Earth Day is all about the life form and physical universe dynamics. These are areas of life that tend to get ignored in the day to day craziness of existence.
In Scientology, we have, "Safeguard and Improve Your Environment," which is a precept of The Way To Happiness, a non-religious, common sense moral code that Scientologists follow. You can read more here: Earth Day Colorado 08.
I've also included a public service announcement video on the subject.
Click here to view other Public Service Announcements
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