What Scientologists Believe

The word "creed" means a set of religious beliefs. The beliefs of Scientologists are summarized in the Creed of the Church of Scientology.

(One uncommon word that is used in the creed is "inalienable", which means "that cannot be taken away." Also the word "man" is used with the definition "human being".)

I think any reasonable person would find it hard to disagree with the beliefs of Scientologists. Here are a few:

We of the Church believe:
That all men of whatever race, color, or creed were created with equal rights;

That doesn't sound too radical or unusual in these civilized times. Of course to racists and others of a like mind such ideas proabably seem dangerous, but you would think that in a modern democracy this idea should be quite acceptable. Here is another one:

That all men have inalienable rights to conceive, choose, assist or support their own organizations, churches and governments;

I think only a totalitarian would disagree with that. Here is a more spiritual belief:

That his survival depends upon himself and upon his fellows and his attainment
of brotherhood with the universe.

Rather altruistic sounding, but we believe it! And here is one more that only a nut could disagree with:

And we of the Church believe that the laws of God forbid man:
To destroy his own kind;

And one last example, a rather unusual belief for a religion you might think:

That all men have inalienable rights to their own religious practices and their performance;

So if you hear that a particular person or government agency doesn't like Scientology then you will know that they disagree with these beliefs and you will know them for what they truly are.

And if you hear someone pretending that these aren't the beliefs of Scientologists, you'll know that they are trying to find an excuse for attacking good people.

The 2007 Governor ’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award to the L. Ron Hubbard House at Camelback

The President of the Arizona Preservation Foundation, Vince Murray, presented a Governor’s Heritage Preservation Award to The Friends of L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology International to recognize the contribution their restoration project has made to the preservation of Arizona’s unique heritage. The award was presented on June 14, at the 2007 Arizona State Wide Historic Preservation Partnership Conference at the Elk’s Theater in Prescott, Arizona. Mrs. Marlyse Brock, Property Manager of the L. Ron Hubbard House, Mrs Monica Sanz Polo, President of the Friends of L. Ron Hubbard Foundation and Mr. Luc Dubois, representative of the Church of Scientology International accepted the award at the Elk’s Theater.

The award-winning project was an historic restoration of the late 1940s single-family dwelling constructed at 5501 Tatum Boulevard (now the northern end of 44th Street), which was at that time the outskirts of Phoenix. The historic House was the home of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology founder, from 1952-1955, during the time when he made important advances in his work.The L. Ron Hubbard house provides a historically accurate record of the way it looked in 1952 and stands at the dawn of the religion’s birth, as Mr. Hubbard established the first Scientology organizations, codified basic principles of Scientology, authored half a dozen Scientology texts and delivered more than 600 instructional lectures to local residents and thousands of people who traveled to Phoenix from around the world to hear him

I haven't been there yet but a friend of mine who visited it was blown away by the work that was done and the accuracy of the renovations.

A Lesson in Ethics

The disbarment and disgrace of Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong is making headlines and I'm sure the three falsely accused Duke University lacrosse players are very relieved to have been completely exonerated. However, in all the hoopla, I think an important point is being missed: If the lacrosse players hadn't been getting drunk at a party with a hired stripper then the girl couldn't have accused them of rape.

In his book "Introduction to Scientology Ethics", L. Ron Hubbard says:

"Ethics actually consists of rationality toward the highest level of survival for the individual, the future race, the group, mankind and the other dynamics taken up collectively. Ethics are reason."

I don't want this to sound preachy or prudish, but the simple fact is that if those three students had been thinking and behaving ethically they wouldn't have been at such a party. Put yourself in an iffy position and you are asking for trouble. Their decision to be there, as we have seen, ended up in a year of hell for them. If they had been thinking ethically, they could have still had a party and a barrel of laughs but without the possibility of false accusations, arrest and very nearly having their lives ruined.

Right now, the ethical standards of this society are so low that the concept most teenagers have of college is that it's a place you go to get drunk and have a good time and many adults think this is "harmless" and "doesn't hurt anyone," probably because they did the same thing themselves. They don't seem able to think it through and see what sort of an effect such behavior has on themselves, their families and their future. It takes an extreme example like that of the three Duke University lacrosse players to highlight what can happen.

Drug-Free Hungary Marathon 2007

Look at all the hands! That's kids in Hungary pledging to be drug free!

Just one of the many products from the Drug-Free Hungary Marathon 2007.

I wrote an article earlier about Scientologists being drug-free and the Marathon is just one more way we go about encouraging others to live happy and drug-free lives. We're a busy lot!

Freedom Magazine TV Edition

The award winning Freedom Magazine, is now available in a video format: Freedom Magazine - TV Edition. Check it out and enjoy.

Head First Books: Hitting and Missing the Mark

Several months ago I bought the best book I've come across to do with Software Design Patterns: Head First Design Patterns. It's a great book for software developers who want to understand what design patterns are and how to use them effectively. The reason it is so good is that purely by accident it utilizes some of the basics of L. Ron Hubbard's Study Technology.

• The first basic is study gradients. The book takes a "start simple and gradually get more complex" approach when introducing the different patterns, and the book itself starts with the simpler patterns and gradually gets into the more complex.
• Next is supplying the mass or objects of the subject. Not an easy thing to do when talking about software, but the book gives tons of real-world examples. It demonstrates why a pattern would be better to use than another method by showing you realistic examples.
• It's not bad on defining words, but could do a better job. For example it doesn't really get into a clear definition of "Design Pattern" until page 579.
• Another basic of Study Technology is emphasis on underlying basics and fundamentals. The book does a good job of that.

Compared to other Design Pattern books I've had to painfully slog through, because they violated just about every principle of Study Technology, this one was not only easy to read but I got a much better understanding of the subject and found I could apply it much better, which is after all the end product of study.

So, when I was looking for a good book on project management I decided to check out the book Head First PMP (PMP means Project Management Professional). I browsed through it in the store and was majorly disappointed. Unfortunately, because the designers of the 'Head First" methodology think that they are basically stuffing a brain rather than communicating ideas to a living being, the book completely misses the mark. It just isn't useful. It has too many of the "Head First" gimmicks in it and the actual principles which made Head First Design Patterns work were (as far as I could see) missing.

For those of you interested in learning more about L. Ron Hubbard Study Technology here are some links:

• L. Ron Hubbard Study Technology: Effective Learning and Education
• Applied Scholastics Study Technology and Tutoring
• Study Technology in Use
• Applied Scholastics International
• Study Trouble; Difficulty Learning and Retaining Things?
• How can we improve the quality of education?
• Overcoming Education Struggles & Learning Disabilities

Scientologists are Drug Free

Here is a great article with tons of links to related data and web sites. The article is not only about how Scientologists are drug free but also covers how they are effectively helping others become and stay drug free.

Kudos to ppedersen for all the work taken to produce the article: Scientologists are Drug Free

Scientology Solutions from the Scientology Handbook

I was hunting for an online reference to an article by L. Ron Hubbard and I remembered that the article is in the Scientology Handbook. I went to the book's web site and found an index of online articles from the Scientology Handbook. It's not the entire book, the book is huge, but there is a tremendous amount of the book on the site.

It also made me think that this would be a good starting place for someone who wants to know what Scientology is. Because Scientology is a practical religion, a religion that is all about living, solving the problems of life and improving situations, the best way to find out more about it is to read the actual methods it provides for handling life and its situations. The index on the Scientology Handbook site is a perfect place to start.

Scientology Solutions From the Scientology Handbook