Body: | "Scientology: From Science Fiction to Space-age Religion"
Understanding Scientology in simple terms!
An article from the Christian Research Journal, Summer 1993, page 20
by John Weldon
Summary
The Church of Scientology is a controversial new religion developed by L.
Ron Hubbard as an extension of his earlier psychological theories of
Dianetics. Drawing on ideas from Buddhist and Hindu religious philosophy,
science fiction, and Western concepts in psychology and science, L. Ron
Hubbard produced a religion that sees all human beings as immortal spirits
(thetans) who have forgotten their identity and become deceived by the very
universe they mentally emanated in order to amuse themselves. Scientology
claims it can free the thetan to realize his or her true nature and powers
through certain controversial procedures that allegedly heal the mind and
free the spirit.
Although the church claims its beliefs are not incompatible with Christian
faith, an evaluation of what Scientology teaches in the areas of God, man,
the creation, salvation, and death proves this is not so. Scientology is a
powerful new religion whose teachings are inconsistent with the beliefs of
orthodox Christian faith.
Ours is an age of religious cacophony, as was the Roman Empire of Christ's
time. From agnosticism to Hegelianism, from devil-worship to scientific
rationalism, from theosophical cults to philosophies of process: virtually
any world view conceivable is offered to modern man in the pluralistic
marketplace of ideas. Our age is indeed in ideological and societal agony,
grasping at anything and everything that can conceivably offer the ecstasy
of a cosmic relationship or of a comprehensive _Weltanschauung_ [world
view]. -- John Warwick Montgomery.[1]
One of the most intriguing and controversial items found in today's
religious marketplace is The Church of Scientology. The church was founded
by Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986) in California in the 1950s as an
extension of his earlier nonreligious theory of Dianetics.[2] (Dianetics is
believed to deals with mind and body; Scientology with the human spirit,
although they necessarily overlap in places. According to the church,
technically, "para-Scientology" is that branch of Scientology involving
past lives, mysticism, the occult, and so forth.[3] For our purposes, the
term Scientology is employed in its broadest sense.)
Today Scientology boasts over 700 centers in 65 countries and is one of the
wealthiest of the new religions. Celebrities such as Tom Cruise, John
Travolta, Kirstie Alley, and Sonny Bono are only a few of the Hollywood
faithful who actively endorse Scientology. But this new religion also has
its critics, as still-circulated issues of _Readers Digest_ (May 1980,
September 1981) and _Time_ magazine (May 6, 1991) reveal.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENTOLOGY
The basic tenets of Scientology result from an eclectic mixture of Eastern
philosophy and the personal research of Hubbard into a variety of
disciplines, as well as the "data" uncovered from "auditing." Auditing is
Scientology's "counseling" or extensive examination of the present life and
"past lives" of the "preclear," or initiate. In one of its many
definitions, Hubbard has described Scientology as "the Western Anglicized
continuance of many earlier forms of wisdom."[4] These include the Vedas,
Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Gnosticism and early Greek civilization; and the
teachings of Jesus, Nietzsche, and Freud. According to Hubbard,
"Scientology has accomplished the goal of religion expressed in all Man's
written history, the freeing of the soul by wisdom."[5]
Scientology divides the mind into two components -- the _analytic_ and the
_reactive,_ roughly parallel to the conscious or rational mind and
unconscious or irrational mind. Experiences of extreme shock, pain, or
unconsciousness cause "engrams," or sensory impressions, to be recorded in
the reactive mind. These mental pictures are, in turn, the cause of our
emotional and even many physical problems today.[6] They can be dislodged
only through Scientology.[7]
While these memory pictures are perfectly recorded, they lay dormant in the
brain until restimulated by a similar incident. When restimulated, they
cause conditioned, stimulus-response behavior which is counterproductive to
one's well-being. Thus, when the brain sees a similar situation to a past
threatening experience -- even though it is not now a threat to survival,
it responds as if it were, producing a form of inappropriate and
self-defeating behavior. For example, a boy falls out of a tree just as a
red car passes by and is knocked unconscious. Later, even as a man, red
cars (even red things) may restimulate the episode in various ways and
cause irrational reactions. This man may thus refuse to ride in a red car
and may even get ill or dizzy when confronted with the possibility.
In this sense, we are all more or less conditioned beings -- "machines"
that simply respond to their operator (i.e., the reactive mind).
Scientology believes this restimulation is fairly automatic. In other
words, we are not free beings: we are slaves of an "aberrated" (reactive)
mind. Scientology maintains that through Dianetic and/or Scientology
therapy, we can be directly exposed to our engrams, "erase" them, and
become "clear," or in control of our behavior ("at cause") rather than at
the mercy of a damaged reactive mind ("at effect").
Unfortunately, Scientology informs us, through reincarnation we have all
been accumulating engrams for trillions of years. Thus, to resolve hidden
engrams, not only must the initiate be mentally whisked back to
reexperience the damaging events of this life, but of many past lives as
well.
According to Scientology, each person is really a thetan, an immortal
spirit who has been so damaged by engrams that he has forgotten he is
immortal and even forgotten he is a thetan. Thetans have absolute control
over their bodies, but, sadly, they think they _are_ bodies (a terrible
fate) and hence are bound by the MEST (matter, energy, space, time)
universe. Each time a body dies, the thetan must enter another body, but
this brings with it all its trillions of years' accumulation of engrams.
Thetans thus are no longer free, but are in bondage to the material
universe.[8] Scientology claims it can free the thetan.
THEOLOGICAL PRESUPPOSITIONS
In light of the religious claims of Scientology I will emphasize the
theological presuppositions of the church in six fundamental categories --
God, man, creation, salvation, death, and the supernatural.
God
In the Church of Scientology the concept of God would appear to be
panentheistic (believing that all finite entities are within, but not
identical to, God),[9] although monotheism could also be assumed. What the
church refers to as "the Supreme Being" is purposely left undefined and not
particularly relevant in Scientology theory or practice. It is variously
implied to be, or referred to as, "Nature," "Infinity," "the Eighth
Dynamic," "all Theta" (life), and so forth. Usually the individual
Scientologist is free to interpret God in whatever manner he or she
wishes.[10]
Man
Scientology maintains that in his true nature, man is not the limited and
pitiful body and ego he mistakenly imagines himself to be. He is a thetan
whose fundamental nature is basically good and divine. He is not morally
fallen; rather he is simply ignorant of his own perfection. His only "Fall"
was into matter, not sin. How did this Fall come about?
Apparently, trillions of years ago thetans became bored, so they emanated
mental universes to play in and amuse themselves. Soon, however, they
became more and more entranced in their own creation until they were so
conditioned by the manifestations of their own thought processes that they
lost all awareness of their true identity and spiritual nature.[11]
They became hypnotized and trapped by MEST. Compounding the problem was the
accumulation of endless engrams throughout trillions of years of existence.
The final result was a pitiful creature indeed -- a materially enslaved
entity existing as a mere stimulus-response machine. Today only slavery to
the reactive mind and bondage to the MEST universe (i.e., the physical body
and environment) are what remain of once glorious spiritual beings. Thus,
the Scientology concept of man is described in _Scientology: A World
Religion Emerges in the Space Age_ as follows:
The PERSON in Scientology is (and discovers himself to be) a Thetan
(spiritual being) of infinite creative potential who acts in, but is not
part of, the physical universe....
The Eternal Indestructible Self (Atman) of the Hindu Upanishads early
foreshadowed the Scientology concept of the Thetan....
The Thetan is also considered to be the innate source of his own projected
universe, which overlaps the created universes of other Thetans in a great
community of souls. Thus is formed the world of the senses, in relation to
which, like the Hindu "Lila," or "Divine Play," each Thetan plays the Game
of Life in concert with its spiritual partners....
As a Being descends...into Materiality, the manifestations of his
communication become heavier and more dense, and his experience of reality
deteriorates.[12]
Creation
The universe was not created by a single supreme being _ex nihilo_ (out of
nothing), thus having a separate existence of its own. Instead, the
Scientology universe constitutes a subjective, mental emanation or
"projection" of the thetans, having merely an agreed-upon (and not actual)
reality. Thus, the entire physical universe is a Game, a product of thetan
ingenuity (designed for escaping boredom) which apparently emanates from an
original thetan consensus to "create" in pre-history.[13]
As a product of thetan minds, the universe is capable of endless
manipulation by an aware or spiritually enlightened thetan. Thus,
Scientologists may view psychic powers developed through their church
practices as a confirmation of this teaching. But for a densely ignorant
thetan (principally, all non-Scientologists) the universe is a deceptive
and deadly spiritual trap. Ignorant thetans are bound by engrams and think
they are only physical bodies. As a result, they are weak, impotent
creatures enslaved to a material universe that inhibits self-realization of
their nature as an immortal spirit.[14] In essence, the material creation
as we know it is not only an illusion but also a positive evil -- that is,
a powerfully destructive barrier one must overcome in order to advance
spiritually.[15]
Salvation
This pitiful thetan slavery to MEST and his own conditioned ignorance
continued for millennia until L. Ron Hubbard discovered the secret nature
of humankind and pioneered a solution to the thetan's misery by developing
a universal plan of salvation. Through Scientology auditing, engrams may be
neutralized and the thetan made increasingly self-aware or "enlightened."
By various techniques a practical methodology was developed to enable the
initiate to recognize his (or her) spiritual existence, to separate from
the MEST body, and to begin to exert mental control over the MEST universe.
In other words, the initiate may eventually achieve a state of "clear" and
then, by progressing through numerous levels of "Operating Thetan" ("OT"),
increasingly achieve self-realization. (An "Operating Thetan" is one who is
more and more aware of and "operating" according to his true thetan
abilities.)
Death
Death for Scientology is sometimes a blessing, for it may permit the
release of the soul from the prison of the body (i.e., the evolution of the
thetan [soul] into a higher state of awareness). Nevertheless, in another
sense death is an event so appallingly ordinary (indeed, one which each
person has passed through trillions of times) that it is, in effect, an
irrelevant incident, almost inconsequential in the larger scheme of
things.[16]
The Occult
The employment of psychic powers and out-of-body episodes (e.g., as a means
for the thetan to re-realize his or her true powers) is indicative of the
church's acceptance of the realm of the occult. Further, Hubbard's own son
goes so far as to affirm that "black magic is the inner core of
Scientology."[17] Hubbard himself allegedly confessed that a spirit entity
guided him throughout his life[18] and a number of scholarly researchers
have verified the occult nature of Scientology.[19]
CRITIQUE
Despite many successful attempts by the Church of Scientology to inhibit
criticism,[20] there remains a sizable literature available to the
researcher. Particularly helpful are: (1) government investigations and
reports, (2) transcripts of innumerable court proceedings (whether
Scientology functions as plaintiff or defendant), (3) scholarly review in
any number of fields related to Scientology theory (e.g., philosophy,
medicine, psychology, sociology, theology, ethics), (4) analysis by the
popular press and investigative reporting, in both printed and visual
media, and (5) the published literature of current and former members.[21]
Scientology and/or Dianetics are certainly not without testable claims,
even though the church alleges Hubbard has at no time made any claims for
them.[22] Still, Hubbard believed -- among many other things -- that his
philosophy and methodology (1) are superior in mental health expertise, (2)
(Dianetics) can be 100 percent successful and increase one's I.Q., (3) can
solve humankind's major problems, and (4) are a rational and proven science
(except where they impinge on the study of the spirit).[23] But before
Dianetics had evolved into Scientology, it had been examined and critiqued
by a variety of investigators and invalidated as to its basic claims.[24]
Neither are most of the claims of Scientology established. For example, one
of the great legal minds of our century is Oxford educated Lord Chancellor
Hailsham. He has twice held the highest office open to lawyers in England,
that of Lord Chancellor, as well as being the Minister of Education and
Minister of Science and Technology. He comments, "I do not find
[Scientology's] philosophical conceptions adequate to support [its]
theories...the factual basis on which they claim to have produced good
results on individuals do not seem to me to be fully substantiated."[25]
As to its mental health claims, the application of Scientology techniques
has allegedly harmed some people. Problems can arise from occult activity,
Scientology processes, and auditor inexperience.[26] They include
hallucinations and irrational behavior, severe disorientation, strange
bodily sensations, physical and mental illness, unconsciousness, and
suicide.[27] (As the notes will reveal, most of the above hazards were
admitted by Hubbard himself, although he maintained they only occurred
through misapplication of the "technology" of Scientology.)
Hubbard also claimed that Scientology is a proven science that is rational
and utilizes scientific principles. However, Hubbard's methods contradict
this assertion and reveal that scientifically his research methodology is
questionable or unreliable.[28] Even his own son claims that for the
multimillion bestseller _Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health_ he
did
no research at all....what he did, really, was take bits and pieces from
other people and put them together in a blender and stir them all up -- and
out came Dianetics! All the examples in the book -- some 200 "real-life
experiences" -- were just the result of his obsessions with abortions and
unconscious states....In fact, the vast majority of those incidents were
invented off the top of his head. The rest stem from his own secret life,
which was deeply involved in the occult and black magic. That involvement
goes back to when he was sixteen.[29]
Further, researchers who have examined the only "scientific" instrument in
Scientology allegedly capable of producing "data" have concluded it is
useless as to its claimed abilities. This instrument is the "E-meter," an
electric meter which is used to "locate" engrams. The E-meter accurately
measures variations in the electrical resistance of the human body, like a
galvanometer. But "none of the Scientology theories associated with, or
claims made for, the E-meter is justified. They are contrary to expert
evidence...."[30]
Scientology Ethics
Scientology maintains a strong position outwardly on ethical issues:
The practice of Scientology results in a higher level of ethics and
integrity....[31]
Millions already believe the Ethics of Scientology carry more weight and
honesty than the traditional and confused laws of nations.[32]
The Church of Scientology International memberships -- your link to other
honest ethical people.[33]
Unfortunately, Scientology does not always live up well to its own ethical
confessions, partly because its ethics seem to be valid only for those it
deems worthy of them. For example, critics of the church may be treated as
enemies.[34]
We should also note that Scientology has its own unique definitions for
terms. Thus words used in the above quotations -- such as _ethics_ -- carry
not only accepted meanings but also Scientological ones.[35]
Truth Is Stranger than Fiction
This brings us to a related problem in Scientology: its subjective use of
terms so that data is manipulated to conform to the alleged discoveries and
truths of Scientology. Perhaps the most fruitful area to begin with is by
noting Hubbard's expertise as a science fiction writer. In fact, many of
the themes one finds in Scientology can also be found in his science
fiction works.[36]
For Hubbard "life is a game," and this is about the only thing that gives
it any real meaning.[37] The various exploits of thetans in the past
trillions of years are their _lila_ (or sport) -- the games they play to
keep eternal boredom at bay. Certainly many critics would contend that the
adventures of thetans -- as chronicled in, for example, Hubbard's _A
History of Man_ and _Have You Lived Before This Life?_ -- should be ranked
among his science fiction work. From the latter book consider one alleged
"past life" incident of a Scientology counselee as uncovered by a
Scientology auditor using his E-meter:
The preclear was on Mars without a body 469,476,600 years ago, creating
havoc, destroying a bridge and buildings. The people were called by an
alarm to temple. PC [preclear] went and broke the back pew, and the Temple
tower. He wandered in town and saw a doll in a window, and got entrapped
[inside the doll] trying to move its limbs. People seized it, beat it up,
and threw the doll out of the window (30 ft. drop). The doll was taken
roughly to the Temple, and was zapped by a bishop's gun while the
congregation chanted "God is Love." When the people left, the doll, out of
control, staggered out and was run over by a large car and a steamroller.
It was then taken back to the Bishop, who ordered it to be taken (in a
lorry with others) to dig trenches or ditches for 2,000 years. (The whole
incident took nearly 2,000,000 years.) Then it was taken and the body was
removed and the PC was promised a robot body. The thetan (PC) went up to an
implant station and was put into an ice-cube and went by flying saucer and
was dropped at Planet ZX 432.[38]
Hubbard himself confesses that truth is so strange one cannot actually
distinguish between science _fiction_ and science _fact_ (a revelation he
also found useful for rejecting or manipulating the "illusions" of
conventional knowledge). For example, Hubbard once noted, "One of the
closest pieces of work to a thetan is _Alice in Wonderland_....He can mock
up [invent, make] white rabbits and caterpillars and Mad Hatters. He'd find
himself right in his element."[39] And, "When you look at man's location in
the MEST Universe and what he has or has not been through the picture is
just incredibly wild...it's just too fantastic for words, so of course,
nobody would believe it."[40]
If we recall Hubbard's teaching on the material creation we remember it is
an illusion: "The MEST universe can be established easily to be an
illusion...."[41] It is not that the universe does not exist, rather, it
has no objective, independent reality. It is a frivolous mental game
created and played by thetans. Conventional reality simply results from the
primordial thetan agreement ("mock-up") and no more.[42] Thus, "objective"
reality is simply a temporary subjective manifestation of the mind of
thetans.
Such a universe, of course, cannot give true objective knowledge about
things, for things per se have no independent existence and are capable of
endless manipulation by an aware thetan. For Hubbard, only an unaberrated
thetan (i.e., one who by means of Scientology is truly enlightened) knows
things as they really are and, apparently, Hubbard was the most enlightened
thetan of all. Thus, for Scientologists who agree, that which Hubbard
_says_ is true is that which really _is_ true, no matter how fantastic or
disharmonious with currently accepted knowledge.[43]
SCIENTOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY
Despite the fact that as late as 1971 (close to 20 years after the Church
of Scientology was founded) at least one book by Hubbard carried the
straightforward claim that "Scientology...is not a religion,"[44] it has
become a religion and one in competition with the Christian church.
Consider a survey conducted by the Church of Scientology itself. This poll,
which involved over 3,000 members, determined that the background of
Scientologists is predominantly Christian (roughly 40 percent Protestant
and 26 percent Catholic). A full 70 percent of those with Christian
backgrounds affirmed that they still considered themselves practicing
members of their Christian faith, which means that almost half (47 percent)
of those polled still consider themselves Christian.[45]
These findings combined with the additional facts that 37 percent of those
surveyed had received college degrees and 80 percent were from the middle
class indicate that Scientology constitutes an appealing and powerful
organization with an educated class of people, most of whom have been
recruited from Christian churches. And yet the response of Christianity to
this situation has been almost nonexistent. Just as the Scientologist who
considers him or herself a Christian does not recognize the inconsistency
of that position, the Christian church has not yet recognized the risk
Scientology poses to its own fold.
In a rational universe two contrary religions might be false, but both
cannot be true. Thus, if the Christian world view is true (and I have shown
elsewhere how this may be reasonably established on revelational-empirical
grounds -- using the strict measure of legal criteria[46]), then that which
contradicts it cannot be true.
In the area of theology, there are several key issues that people have
pondered most consistently -- and most personally. They concern the area of
theology proper (the existence and nature of God) as well as the questions
of revealed theology (does God exist for me?), anthropology (who or what am
I?), soteriology (how can I be saved?), and thanatology (what happens when
I die?).
These questions raise the issues of the nature of God, man, salvation, and
death. No issues are more fundamental or important -- for to answer these
questions in error will, like a philosophical leaven, spread corruption
throughout one's world view. Below we will briefly compare and contrast
Scientology's answers to the questions with the answers provided in the
Bible.
God
As noted, Scientology is fundamentally panentheistic. It teaches that there
are a multitude of thetans who, "collectively" with all life, could be said
to comprise the Supreme Being (_see_ note 9). This contradicts the biblical
teaching that there is only one sovereign and perfect Creator God from all
eternity -- without beginning or end, immutable, who exists in three
Persons, and is infinitely holy, just, and loving (e.g., Gen. 1:1; Isa.
43:10-11; Acts 5:3-4; Isa. 61:8; Mal. 3:6; 1 Tim. 2:5; Titus 2:13; 1 John
4:8-10).
Man
Scientology teaches that man is an immortal spirit like the _atman_ in
Hinduism. As in Hinduism, man may be considered a deity of sorts who has
forgotten he is divine.
The Bible rejects the idea that man is an ignorant god who needs only
enlightenment or self-realization. Man is a creation of God, made in God's
image. His problems do not result from engrams or boredom, but from sin and
self-centeredness (Rom. 3:10-18; Eph. 2:1-3).
If there is one supporting pillar of Scientology upon which everything
rests, it is the concept of thetans. Nearly everything of importance in
Scientology is predicated on the existence of thetans and their conforming
to the status Hubbard has given them. Obviously, if there is no thetan as
Hubbard defines it, the practices of Scientology are without justification.
Consider the biblical view. There is only one eternal God in the universe
(Isa. 43:10-11). He created man (body and spirit) as a finite creature at a
point in time (Gen. 2:7). Hence it is impossible that divine beings such as
Scientology's thetans can exist. _Biblically_ then, Scientology's
philosophy, techniques, solutions to problems, and final goals are based
upon underlying presuppositions that are inherently incorrect.
Put more simply, if no thetan exists, then most of Scientology is based on
error. For "almost the entirety of Scientology consists of discovery and
refinements of methods whereby the Thetan can be persuaded to relinquish
his self-imposed limitations."[47]
Nevertheless, because Scientology deals with the mind and certain practical
considerations (e.g., communication skills) it may also use or discover
relevant information about human psychology. Unfortunately, if such data is
placed into an overall world view that is false or questionable, even
though the data may be true, it may be misused in support of an errant
philosophy.
For example, during Scientology counseling, the auditor (counselor) may
extract certain feelings or information from the initiate that indicate an
irrational fear of falling and a problem with vertigo. This observation may
be true. But because the more enlightened auditor has already interpreted
the initiate as a thetan ignorant of its many lifetimes, and because his
E-meter has supposedly "located" an engram (the incident related to
experiencing dizziness) from ten trillion years ago, the auditor may
interpret such information wrongly -- as a past-life incident where the
person is falling out of a spaceship.
If we realize that the entire purpose of Scientology is to help a
(biblically) nonexistent thetan realize its true nature, we must conclude
that it does not deal in the realm of reality. If no thetan exists, what
else may a Christian inquirer into Scientology conclude?
Salvation
Salvation in Scientology progresses from personal ignorance and bondage to
matter into gnostic enlightenment and freedom from the MEST body and
universe. At an ultimate cost of tens of thousands of dollars, one is
progressively "saved" from engrams by knowledge (Scientology beliefs)
through good works (Scientology auditing and practice, etc.) to arrive at
the highest state of "operating thetan."
The Bible, on the other hand, teaches that salvation is a free gift. One is
redeemed from sin on the principle of grace, simply through faith in
Christ's atonement (Eph. 2:8-9; John 6:47; Heb. 11:1; 1 John 2:2).
Death
Scientology claims that death is endlessly repeatable through reincarnation
and is hence almost inconsequential. Death, however, is at least
potentially beneficial in that it may permit the release of the soul from
the prison of the body.
Biblically, death is a one-time event that carries either the most sublime
of blessings (eternal heaven) or the most horrible of consequences (eternal
hell). Death leads to an irreversible fate for both the saved and the lost
and thus human beings have _one_ lifetime only to make their peace with God
(Heb. 9:27; Matt. 25:46; Luke 26:19-31; Rev. 20:10-15).
In conclusion, Scientology does not conform in basic world view or
particular teaching with Judeo-Christian revelation in any sense; indeed,
examined as a whole, it fundamentally rejects Christian faith. Hubbard
rejected Christ's deity and mission as figments of unenlightened minds and
therefore Hubbard's philosophy "is not interested in saving man, but it can
do much to prevent him from _being_ 'saved.'"[48]
We may observe that Scientology does entertain a fine goal in attempting to
improve the world and man's lot within it, whether materially or
spiritually. Many practitioners are dedicated and selfless in seeking such
ends. Nevertheless, each Scientologist must weigh the scales of his or her
own conscience to determine the best manner in which to achieve such goals.
If man is not a thetan as Scientology claims, but a fallen being in need of
redemption as Christianity teaches, what will have been the fruit of a
lifetime of work?
It would be wise for Scientologists with a Christian background (indeed,
for _all_ Scientologists) to listen to the words of Jesus afresh:
"For what will a man be profited if he gain the whole world and forfeits
his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26)
And, "This is eternal life, to know Thee, the only true God and Jesus
Christ, whom Thou has sent." (John 17:3)
NOTES
1 John Warwick Montgomery, _Faith Founded on Fact_ (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1978), 152-53. 2 L. Ron Hubbard, _Dianetics Today_ (Los
Angeles: Church of Scientology of California, 1975), III; and LRH Personal
Secretary Office, ed., _What Is Scientology?_ (Los Angeles: Church of
Scientology of California, 1978) 209; cf. Christopher Evans, _Cults of
Unreason_ (New York: Dell, 1975), 17-134 for early problems and
controversies. 3 L. Ron Hubbard, _The Creation of Human Ability_ (Los
Angeles: The Publications Organization Worldwide, 1968), 189. 4 _Ibid.,_
177. 5 _Ibid.,_ 180; cf. Church of Scientology Information Service,
Department of Archives, _Scientology: A World Religion Emerges in the Space
Age_ (1974), 3-17. 6 Impact or injury must be involved for an engram to
register. "The engram is the single and sole source of aberration and
psychosomatic illness." (Hubbard, _Dianetics Today,_ 43, 47; cf. 37-106 and
especially 38-59.) 7 E.g., Hubbard, _Dianetics Today,_ 947-51; L. Ron
Hubbard, _The Volunteer Minister's Handbook_ (Los Angeles: Church of
Scientology of California, 1976), 551-52; cf. the comments of former
14-year member Cyril Vosper in _The Mind Benders_ (London: Neville
Spearman, 1971), 164-66, and member Peter Gillham in _Telling It Like It
Is: A Course in Scientology Dissemination_ (Phoenix: Institute of Applied
Philosophy, 1972), 26. 8 _See_ L. Ron Hubbard, _Scientology: A History of
Man_ (Sussex, England: L. Ron Hubbard Communications office, 1961), 12-76,
especially 53-60 for a discussion of alleged evolutionary dynamics and
their impact on one's current life. Cf. the discussion in Evans, 38-47 and
Roy Wallis, _The Road to Total Freedom: A Sociological Analysis of
Scientology_ (New York: Columbia University Press, 1977), 103-4. 9 On
panentheism _see Scientology: A World Religion Emerges,_ 21-24; L. Ron
Hubbard, _Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary_ (Los Angeles:
Church of Scientology of California, 1975), 429; L. Ron Hubbard,
_Ceremonies of the Founding of the Church of Scientology_ (Los Angeles: The
American St. Hill Organization, 1971), 41; _Reality_ magazine, no. 121, 3;
Hubbard, _The Creation of Human Ability,_ 277; _Advance,_ no. 35, 14-15;
no. 36, 6. 10 Hubbard, _What Is Scientology?_ 200. Wallis (112n.) observes
that God "does not figure greatly in either theory or practice." 11 _See_
notes 8 and 9. 12 _Scientology: A World Religion Emerges in the Space Age,_
21-24. 13 _Ibid._ Cf. Hubbard, _The Creation of Human Ability,_ 9-21;
Hubbard, _Technical Dictionary,_ 432; and L. Ron Hubbard, _Scientology
8-8008_ (Los Angeles: The American St. Hill Organization, 1967), 106-8. 14
_Ibid._ 15 _Ibid._ and L. Ron Hubbard, _Scientology: The Fundamentals of
Thought_ (Los Angeles: American St. Hill Organization, 1971), 91, 98;
Edward Lefson and Ruth Minshull, comps. _When in Doubt Communicate:
Quotations from the Works of L. Ron Hubbard_ (Ann Arbor, MI: Scientology
Ann Arbor, 1969), 73, 123; _Advance,_ no. 19, 114. 16 E.g., cf. L. Ron
Hubbard, "Death," _Advance,_ no. 24, 9, 22 and L. Ron Hubbard, _Have You
Lived Before This Life?_ (Los Angeles: The Church of Scientology of
California, Department of Publications Worldwide, 1968), passim. 17
"Penthouse Interview: L. Ron Hubbard, Jr.," _Penthouse,_ June 1983, 113
(CRI files). Cf. Brent Corydon and L. Ron Hubbard, Jr., _L. Ron Hubbard:
Messiah or Madman?_ (Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart, 1987), 307, 333. 18 Corydon
and Hubbard, Jr., 256. 19 E.g., Wallis, 122; Harriet Whitehead, "Reasonably
Fantastic: Some Perspectives on Scientology, Science Fiction and
Occultism," in Irving Zaretsky and Mark P. Leon, _Religious Movements in
Contemporary America_ (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1974),
582. 20 _See Reader's Digest,_ May 1980, September 1981; _Newsweek,_ 20
November 1978; _Christianity Today,_ 20 February 1975. 21 Among the
official government reports are those by Australia (1965), Britain (1971),
South Africa (1972), and New Zealand (1969). Popular press reports include
_Today's Health,_ December 1968; _Life,_ 15 November 1968; _Parents_
magazine, June 1969; _Christianity Today,_ 21 November 1969; _The Nation,_
22 May 1972; _Reader's Digest,_ May 1980, September 1981; as well as _The
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, London Sunday Times, Los Angeles
Times, St. Petersburg Times,_ etc. Among critical books are Corydon and
Hubbard, Jr., _L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman?_ Vosper, _The Mind
Benders;_ George Malko, _Scientology: The Now Religion;_ Robert Kaufman,
_Inside Scientology;_ and Evans, _Cults of Unreason._ Among television
investigations are _ABC News Close-Up, New Religions: Holiness or Heresy?_
2 September 1976, and _NBC Primetime Saturday,_ 14 June 1980. Scholarly
treatments include Wallis, _The Road to Total Freedom._ 22 _What Is
Scientology?_ 5. 23 The tremendous extent of Hubbard's claims can be found
in _ibid._ and L. Ron Hubbard, _Dianetics Today,_ VIII, 94, 108-15, 618,
962; _Handbook for Preclears_ (Los Angeles: The American St. Hill
Organization, 1971), 5-6; L. Ron Hubbard, _Self-Analysis_ (Los Angeles: The
Church of Scientology of California, 1968), 178; Evans, 78-79; L. Ron
Hubbard, _Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought_ (Los Angeles: American
St. Hill Organization, 1971), 119; L. Ron Hubbard, _Science of Survival_
(Sussex, England: L. Ron Hubbard College of Scientology, 1951), 3;
_Advance,_ no. 25, 4, 16; Hubbard, _Dianetics Today,_ 115; _Advance,_ no.
43, back cover; no. 25, 4-5, 16; no. 55, 18; _What Is Scientology?_ 199;
Evans, 78-79; L. Ron Hubbard, _Scientology 8-80,_ 7; L. Ron Hubbard,
_Scientology 8-8008_ (Los Angeles: The American St. Hill Organization,
1952), 47. 24 _See_ "Book Review," _Journal of the American Medical
Association,_ 29 July 1950, 1220-2; _Post-Graduate Medicine,_ October 1950;
_Newsweek,_ 16 October 1950; "Dianetics," _Consumer Reports,_ August 1951;
"Questions and Answers," _Today's Health,_ November 1950; Robert Lee Smith,
"Scientology," _Today's Health,_ December 1968; Anderson, 94-97. 25 Lord
Chancellor Hailsham, "The Door Wherein I Went," _The Simon Greenleaf Law
Review_ 4, 1984-85, 51. 26 E.g., John Ankerberg and John Weldon, _The Facts
on the Occult_ (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992); L. Ron Hubbard, _The Book
of Case Remedies,_ Clearing Series 2, expanded ed. (Los Angeles: American
St. Hill Organization, 1971), insert A3 (after p. 24); L. Ron Hubbard,
_Dianetics 55!_ (Los Angeles: The American St. Hill Organization, 1973
edition), 157-59; Hubbard, _Scientology: A History of Man,_ 50; Hubbard,
_The Creation of Human Ability,_ 1, 134, 171; Hubbard, _Dianetics Today,_
466, 933; Vosper, 98. 27 Anderson, 12, 83, 92, 126, 133; Hubbard, _The
Creation of Human Ability,_ 149, 175-76, 241, 267; Hubbard, _Scientology
8-80,_ 52-53; Hubbard, _Dianetics 55!_ 167-69; cf. Hubbard, _Scientology: A
History of Man,_ 75; Hubbard, _Dianetics Today,_ 535, 623; Robert Kaufman,
_Inside Scientology: How I Joined Scientology and Became Superhuman_ (New
York: Olympia Press, 1972), 153, 160, 164, 200-201, 219-24, 241; _Book of
Case Remedies,_ Second Series, expanded ed., 29; _Technical Dictionary,_
209-10, 365; Hubbard, _Have You Lived Before This Life?_ 170; _Reader's
Digest,_ May 1980, 89; September 1981, 28; _Willamette Week_ (Portland,
OR), 3 September 1979, 15. 28 E.g., Vosper, 78-79; Anderson, 95-97, passim.
29 _Penthouse,_ 113; cf. Corydon and Hubbard, Jr., 270-71. 30 Kevin
Anderson, _Report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology_ (Melbourne: AC
Brooks Government Printer, 1965), no. 9, 95-97. This report is difficult to
locate but contains invaluable information. Cf. Evans, 63-66; Wallis, 197.
31 _What Is Scientology?_ 77. 32 Vosper, 132. 33 _Source_ magazine, no. 22,
1. 34 _See_ Hubbard, _Introduction to Scientology Ethics_ (Los Angeles:
American St. Hill Organization, 1973), 49; Richard Behar, "The Thriving
Cult of Greed and Power," _Time,_ 6 May 1991, 50-57; Eugene H. Methvin,
"Scientology: Anatomy of a Frightening Cult," _Readers Digest,_ May 1980,
86-91 (part 2: Sept. 1981, 75-80). 35 For illustrations see the definitions
in the Scientology _Technical Dictionary._ 36 Compare Scientology theory
with Hubbard's science fiction works, e.g., _Ole Doc Methuselah, Slaves of
Sleep, Death's Deputy, The Final Blackout, The Dangerous Dimension, The
Tramp, Fear, King Slayer,_ and _Typewriter in the Sky._ 37 E.g., L. Ron
Hubbard, _Scientology: A New Slant on Life_ (Los Angeles: The American St.
Hill organization, 1971), 38-39; Lefson and Minshull, 40. 38 Hubbard, _Have
You Lived Before This Life?_ 63-64. 39 L. Ron Hubbard, "Making an O.T. --
Part Two," _Advance,_ no. 33, 6. 40 L. Ron Hubbard, "What's Wrong with This
Universe?" _Advance,_ no. 45, 4. 41 Hubbard, _Scientology 8-8008,_ 133. 42
_Ibid.,_ 106-8; Hubbard, _The Creation of Human Ability,_ 249. 43 _See_
e.g., Vosper, 28-42; Wallis, 249-50. 44 Hubbard, _The Creation of Human
Ability,_ 1971 printing or earlier, 251. 45 _What Is Scientology?_ 246-47;
cf. Wallis, 72. 46 E.g., _see_ John Ankerberg and John Weldon, _Do the
Resurrection Accounts Conflict and What Proof Is There That Jesus Rose from
the Dead?_ (Chattanooga, TN: Ankerberg Theological Research Institute,
1990, esp. section III). 47 Vosper, 31. 48 Hubbard, _Dianetics: The Modern
Science of Mental Health_ (Sussex, England: Publications Organization
Worldwide, 1968), 105. Cf. 408; Hubbard, _The Volunteer Minister's
Handbook,_ 348-49; Wallis, 104.
Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
Go to church of Scientology EXPOSED website
(The interactive Bible is not affiliated with the church of Scientology)
Click Your Choice
Go To Start: WWW.BIBLE.CA
|