can anybody tell me more about this scientilogy church thing of many hollywood stars like john travolta and especially tom cruise, who seems to be very active in this church. In Europe scientology has not big inflouence, and i apreciate that, but it seems in america its different. The more i see tom cruise in TV, the more he is weird. Has this something to do with this religion? After all, john travolta seems to be normal. In Europe scientology cant name herself church, its a decision of the European court, who dont see scientology as a religious community but more a business model. Whats the essence of scientology? This church was always very strange to me and probably always will be.
[question posted by AlexanderS2]
responses and comments:
IMO Scientology is a cult more than a religion...Ron Hubbard (the creator) was a nutcase as far as I'm concerned and i personally have serious issues with their beliefs and methods as well as the demands on their followers....If you want to learn more about it though check out this link http://www.religioustolerance.org/scientol.htm [Ravenladyj]
i also have serious issues more with the practise they do than the belief. thanks for your answer [AlexanderS2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology Scientology is a body of teachings and related techniques developed by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard began Scientology in 1952 as a self-help philosophy, an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system, Dianetics, and later described it as a new religion. He said that it offered an exact methodology to help humans achieve awareness of their spiritual existence across many lifetimes and, simultaneously, to become more effective in the physical world. The name "Scientology" is also used to refer to the often controversial Church of Scientology, the largest organization promoting the practice of Scientology, which is itself part of a network of affiliated organizations that claim ownership and sole authority to disseminate Dianetics and Scientology. Hubbard stated that a goal of Scientology is to rehabilitate the thetan (roughly equivalent to the soul) to regain its native state of "total freedom." Church spokespeople and practitioners say that Hubbard's teachings (called "Technology" or "Tech" in Scientology terminology) have saved them from many problems and enabled them to better realize their potential in business and in their personal lives.However, former members and outside observers—including journalists, lawmakers, and national governing bodies of several countries—have described the Church as an unscrupulous commercial enterprise that harasses critics and defectors and exploits its members.Although Scientologists are usually free to practice their beliefs, the organized church has often encountered opposition due to their strong-arm tactics against critics and members wishing to leave the organization. While a number of governments now view the Church as a religious organization entitled to the protections and tax relief that such status brings, others view it as a pseudoreligion, a cult, or a transnational corporation.More recently, in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights held that the Church of Scientology is entitled to recognition in Russia as a religious organization and that Russia's refusal of such registration "had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)". The judgment of this highest European court is valid for all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. There is a lot more information available on the page if you follow the link. [TeresaK]
wow, you are quite an expert. thank you for all these informations [AlexanderS2]
I've thought it's a strange cult indeed! I honestly haven't truly delved into it and found out the ins and outs but I am interested, simply because of the recent onslaught of celebs seem to have found it. I'm just interested in what they TRULY believe because you hear so much about it but truly know nothing from what you hear. [hockeygal4ever]
this is exactly the problem about this issue. you hear so many things, and never know what you can believe or not. [AlexanderS2]
I've been a Scientologist for over 20 years. For me, Scientology is not a matter of "believing" in something or "having faith" or such - it is simply a set of principles and concepts that help me lead a better life and be a better person. I feel it has helped me in my life. The concept of Scientology, as developed by L. Ron Hubbard (www.lrh.org) was to combine Asian wisdom with Western scientific thinking. Scientology comes from the words "scio" (knowledge) and "logos" (study of) - it means a study of knowledge. The idea is that the answers to life and our role in the Universe are knowable. The goals of Scientology are to improve the individual and thus improve society and the world. You cand find out more about Scientology on my site www.liveandgrow.org (links, articles, news, etc.) best, Greg Scientologist and proud of it http://www.liveandgrow.org [LiveAndGrow]
well, i appreciate that you have the strength to say that you are scientologist. i have to admit i have strong doubts about this community. i dont care if people believe this strange theory from mr.hubbard as you can read in this discussion (with the alien and other stuff), people believe very strange things in general, but i do care about some practise of scientology, that is not acceptable. they try to make pressure on people who want to leave this community! this reminds me very much on jevhovas witnesses. you can say about the catholic church, where i am a member of, also many thing what is not good, but if you leave the church, you just leave the church. Thats it. And this is a behaviour oif many so called religious communites, who really get in rage if somebody has the will to leave them and especially if this someone trys to inform other people about whats going on inside this community. Besides its quite a strange thing for a religion, that you have to pay quite a good money to get all the knowledge about this community, even if you are member of. you should not be poor if you want to be scienbologist. So mr. hubbard is for me really not as exciting as jesus christ or buddha, but he is for sure much better in making money. Nevertheless, i believe that you may also not agree to this practise of pressure ex-members, and respect your honesty and decision to chose the religion or theory what fits best to your life. Thank you for your answer. [AlexanderS2]
Ah, a subjest where I'm almost an expert. I go through these waves where I'm very interested in something and research it feverishly. Here's the scoop (or some of what I know: L. Ron Hubbard was a sci-fi writer, but not a very successful one. He tripped out on drugs once and woke up gong on about thetans and whatnot. His trip brought about some kind of vision about the universe that provided the answer to LIFE ITSELF!!!!! Apparently, an evil galactic overlord named Xenu had a unique approach to the overpopulation of various planets in the galactic federation (I'm not kidding). He kidnapped a bunch of different alien beings and brought them to Teegeeack (us unenlightened ones just call it Earth). They were programmed with a bunch of lies (like religion, psychiatry, hygiene, freedom), then they were freeze dried and placed in volcanoes. The volcanoes exploded and sent their souls flying up. These soul bits are called Thetans. Ah, but Xenu was a clever madman and had placed giant soul-bouncing satellites (or something) in the sky. This trapped the soul bits on Teegeeack/Earth and forced them to attach themselves to early man. This is why man has problems and believes in fakey religions like... any religion that is not Scientology. Now, you wouldn't learn these fundamental truths before reaching OT7 like Tom Cruise. What is OT7, you ask? Why it means operating thetan seven. You have crossed the bridge of knowledge and have almost dropped the thetans weighing you down. It costs A LOT of money to reach OT7, so I just saved ya'll a bunch. I'd go into the inner workings of the cult and the sea org and how scray all of it is, but I'd be writing all night. Watch the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet" to learn more, then go to xenu.org to learn more than you ever wanted to know. [apeface29]
But it's true. It's part of L. Ron's body of teachings. They don't reveal it at first because too many people would not join and then how would they make their money? ou don't learn these "truths" until you work your way up their hierarchy (ot7 or some nonsense). After that, you can't tell the secrets and you may as well believe them because you've paid a LOT of money for your brainwashing. [apeface29]