Scientology

It’s a cult, based on the writings of a science fiction writer.

They’re incredibly secretive about their materials, (ab)use copyright law and lawyers to enforce it and to suppress criticism, and encourage their members to cut off contact with ‘the outside world’. Pretty much textbook cult.

Plus, they seriously believe that we’re all infected by ghosts that were created when an alien emperor shipped billions of aliens to earth, stacked them up around megavolcanoes, and blew them up with nuclear bombs. To deal with his overpopulation problem.

utopia: That machine was an E-meter, and it’s one of the ways they convince people to join.

All it really is is a galvanometer meant to measure the conductivity across your skin. It sounds useless, but what it’s doing is measuring the activity of your sweat glands, which tends to change in response to strong emotion (called the galvanic skin response). The galvanic skin response is actually slightly useful, it’s even a factor looked at by lie detectors, but by itself it doesn’t tell you much.

Standard procedure is to hook you up to an E-meter, ask you a bunch of questions, and then show you a graph made using the readings. They’ll tell you that your graph reflects a mind cluttered with many problems, and that Scientology can help you with these. They’ll try to tell you that Scientology isn’t a cult or religion, but just a way to think about things - a kind of self-help process. At this point, they usually try to sell you a book and convince you to attend a meeting.

Experience: I met a scientologist and he asked if I wanted to be evaluated. I thought it would be funny and I was hooked up to a machine by finger pulse probes. He told me not to answer the questions but to listen and the machine (can’t remember what it was called) would evaluate my feelings and needs. He asked about my family, my husband, my job, my children, etc. I remained quiet. At the end of the evaluation he told me that I was very happy in my job (I didn’t have a job), happy in my marriage(my husband had recently died), happy with my children(one of my children had died a year before), unhappy with my church (I don’t attend church). He than asked if I would like to attend a scientology meeting. I took off the probes and walked away. Scientology, like all other cults, is hollow. And the only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of years it has been around.

I personaly hate the word religion because satin uses it to mess everyone up with the real and only way of salvation through Jesus christ the only way to God

A good place to start is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology , which links to other articles on the subject. Particularly this section: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Controversies Also of interest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_McPherson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Freakout http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_snow_white

Scientology is another mind control system, just like most other religions.

I have to laugh at Christians referring to Scientology as a cult. Their own religion is a cult as well - it just happens to be much larger and older.

Yes… and in America, religious organizations/churches/etc. are usually tax exempt. Yet lately, they feel like they deserve to start petitioning for government funding too…

I think its just as unbelievable as any other religion. But its a great way to make money… just like any other religion…

I took some scientology classes about 10 years ago. They were ok. The thing is that they get more expensive each time. The theory as explained in the book Dianetics by L Ron Hubbard is actually a good theory and we all need to eliminate our engrams. I would stay away from it though.

The next thing on the agenda wa for me to do a purification rundown. I had to make a $1500 “donation” before I could do that. Seems to me that if you give money for a service it is not a donation it is a fee.

You could probably find some worse stories than mine, but I don’t intend to be negative. I have done a lot of searching, and Scientology was one place I looked.

I finally found what I was looking for. And that was not it.

Scientology is, at best, a corrupt business that uses illegal bait-and-switch tactics to promise its followers one thing and fleece them with another. At worst it is a criminal conspiracy and a cult that preys on hopes, fears and ignorance to squeeze more money and support out of its believers. While I will maintain with full severity and sincerity that people have the inalienable right to believe as they choose, the practices of the church of Scientology are destructive and malignant. Scientology is a felony, and it must be quelled.

Wow… it sounds JUST like another religion I can think of…

I personaly hate the word religion because satin uses it to mess everyone up with the real and only way of salvation through Jesus christ the only way to God

sigh

Once again… SATIN strikes: the most vile, manipulative, deceitful, wickedly soft bed-sheets…

Scientology is, at best, a corrupt business that uses illegal bait-and-switch tactics to promise its followers one thing and fleece them with another. At worst it is a criminal conspiracy and a cult that preys on hopes, fears and ignorance to squeeze more money and support out of its believers. While I will maintain with full severity and sincerity that people have the inalienable right to believe as they choose, the practices of the church of Scientology are destructive and malignant. Scientology is a felony, and it must be quelled.

ok…

I’m in no way a scientologist, but let’s not spread rumors about the…erm…religion. I know all too well (being mormon) what that’s like and it’s not cool.

I myself can’t say much about scientology. the only thing I know about it are some members that are in the public eye that…well, I think they’re weird. I don’t know if they are a true representation of the…erm…religion, but if they are, then I’m definitely afraid of scientology. (tome cruise and katie homes…need I say more?)

hmmm… I guess it’s something I just need to research for myself, because I don’t want to take things blindly, know what I mean?

sillygirl006: I haven’t read all of ‘robonthunter’s screed, but everything else I have seen isn’t rumor - it’s fact.

I would consider ^ THAT ^ to be spam…

Purely and simply, it’s a cult. Don’t drink the Kool-aid…

yea its strange but to be fair all organized religions are in a way cults.

its a cult, an incredibly destructive cult

I think Scientology is great.