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Cult

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A "binary trap" is a question posed with two possible answers which are NOT mutually exclusive. Sort of like asking my wife is smart of pretty. Well, she is both! And Scientology is both a religion AND a cult. However, weighed on the scales of warning people, the term cult is more useful.

Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, an American science fiction and self-help writer. In 1950, his best-selling book "Dianetics" helped launch a popular self-enhancement movement which, in turn, spawned the Church of Scientology in 1952

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Most Scientologists maintain that it is compatible with religious movements like Christianity. However, Hubbard described Christ as only 'a shade above Clear,' which in Scientology means that he wasn't even an Operating Thetan. He also wrote that the central event of Christianity - the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection - was a legend implanted in our psyches by alien overlords.

The name Scientology means "knowing how to know." Scientologists believe experiences in this or previous lives result in "engrams" being recorded in the brain. When activated by certain stimuli, they cause inappropriate and self-defeating behavior. The practitioner, guided by Scientology leaders supposedly learn to clear themselves of these engrams and release the essential, spiritual self called the Thetan. One who has advanced in this practice is call a Clear. One who has not is called a Pre-Clear.

The organization has a history of conflict with many governments (e.g. the U.S., Great Britain and especially Germany) because of concerns of manipulation of individuals and issues of tax evasion. Former Scientologists often complain of the church's controlling nature. Information about the movement is doled out in small doses on a need-to-know and pay-as-you-go basis. Scientologists use techniques such as hypnosis, dietary alterations, group suggestion and the process of auditing (including a device called an E-meter) that may put people in an altered state where reality blurs. The process is full of potential for exploitation.

One Scientology policy, "Fair Game," says a "suppressive" person "may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist [A suppressive] may be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed" (High Command Office Policy Letter, Oct. 18, 1967). A number of court cases have found that Scientology still operates under these aggressive principles. The California Supreme Court found Scientology guilty of intentional and negligent infliction of severe emotional harm in a 1989 case. The court wrote that Scientology's "policy of Fair Game by its nature was intended to punish the person who dared to leave the Church."

Financially, the price for being cleared of engrams is often steep. Each auditing and training session can cost whatever the counselor decides. Scientology auditors determine how many engrams need to be cleared. Once begun, the price tag can add up quickly. As a Pre-Clear advances, auditors frequently ask for information about bank accounts, credit cards, investments and insurance. During altered states of consciousness a person's life becomes an open book rife which may be easily used to harm.

Scientology a controlling, world-view of questionable spiritual value. Beware the lies which make it up, the damage it can do and the potential for oppression it presents. If you are considering the Scientology or know someone who is involved, research it thoroughly and consider how you might yourself or others escape its cultic grip.

Learn more about this author, Donald Moore.
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