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Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
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"Scientology: From Science Fiction to Space-age Religion" (an
article from the Christian Research Journal, Summer 1993, page
20) by John Weldon.
The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is
Elliot Miller.
-------------
*_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.
-------------
End of document, CRJ0155A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Scientology: From Science Fiction to Space-age Religion"
release A, August 31, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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