What are your views on Church of Scientology and Anonymous?

Ann O'Nymous says:

About Ivan so-called facts:
* Scientology is a 100% drug free community.
There is a policy on that, but it remains to be seen if it is implemented fully. This policy goes beyond illegal drugs, so that people who might need medical drugs are prevented to do so, with sometimes terrible consequences.
* Most Scientologist live very successful and happy lives.
Scientology staff are paid a pitance, have often a second job to pay the rent and the food. Little insurance, no retirement plans.
* Scientology is the only successful non-Judeo-Christian religion created in the 20th century.
In my opinion, scientology is very similar to the raëlians.
* Scientology is a world wide movement with global impact…
It is a little like the tobbaco companies: looking to new markets to compensate the losses here.
* When you count all the Scientologist from all the planets (sic) its numbers are in the millions.
They count everybody, even those who took one course one day. More serious estimates are 50′000 - 100′000 worldwide.

A Scientologist says:

Thirty year old allegations coming to surface again is not exactly cutting edge activism. Anonymous is overwhelmingly young kids who have been roped into helping with a bigoted attack on a religious group. They are coached to say they are not attacking the Church yet the original videos specifically aim to destroy the Church.
The Church of Scientology is a group of people, just like any other Church. It is the membership and the people involved. I personally knew several of the people who are on the Why are they dead list and they were friends who died of cancer after long battles, medical treatments, and hospitalizations. Being a Scientologist, unfortunately, does not exempt one from getting ill and dying. I also know many Scientologists who have successfully beaten cancer and other medical problems. Scientologists are urged to go to the doctor and work with a medical specialist to cure their disease, if they have one. To see names of friends who have battled cancer valiently and lost is extremely hurtful and unfair.
Anonymous seems to not want to be bothered with the facts but very willing to jump on any old allegation as “the way it is”. Scientologists who defend their faith and find happiness in the Church are scorned and only those few ex-members who have a tale to tell are listened to.
People who actually want to know and care should tour a local Church and see for themselves, meet Scientologists and ask their experience, rather than reading internet stories which are often untrue or extremely biased. One story I read was a girl who was from a wealthy family, had many priviledges, private school, college paid for by her parents, whatever she wanted from her parents but she had a fit when her mother talked to a friend about Scientology! What a horror story (money, private school, friends, parents asking her what she wanted to do, college fully paid for). I wish I had such a terrible childhood.

Chuck Beatty says:

Scientology is L. Ron Hubbard’s creation. He has written so many books, and it is such a huge amount of material to deflect off the simplicity of the subject, that it ensnares with it’s huge long runway of hope for higher spiritual abilities and an improved life.

In my 27 years in the movement, I didn’t even learn of the full theology of Scientology, which is only secretly dispensed with strict muzzling to members who rise up to the levels called OT 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

There are truly some huge problems the movement is faced with due to L. Ron Hubbard’s irreconcilable rules the members are forced to observe.

The two biggest problems are the rules requiring members to label and declare other members and members of the public as “suppressive persons”. This causes the family splitting problem. The simple solution to this most major problem the movement faces, is to declare an “international amnesty” (which they can do, and have done in the past) and un-label all “suppressive persons” which would instantly make family reconnection allowable!

Their second most major problem is the “body thetans” theology. “Body thetans” are the surplus souls/spirits which don’t have bodies, which roam earth today and affix themselves into our bodies, so that in fact, per Scientology/Hubbard theology, the average person has tens of thousands of these body thetans infesting all of us, most of the time. Through Hubbard’s spiritual procedures called OT 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Scientologists detach and free these “body thetans” from their bodies, resulting in spiritual improvement for the Scientologists.

That’s ALL there is to Scientology besides the tons and tons of self help advice.

There are huge penalties for Scientologists to freely tell the public about the spiritual procedures OT 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and to discuss how the “body thetans” overpopulation of earth came to be. How the overpopulation of surplus “body thetans” came about is simply that 75 millions years ago a space leader named Xenu committed a massive genocide on earth, and the dead souls of the humanoids he ordered murdered are trapped here on earth, doomed to roam and infest us.

Scientology’s long range goal is freeing each of us up as a spirit ourselves, so that we can freely “exteriorize” (out of the body travel) and longer range “operate” free without a body at all.

All the inbetween doctrines are filler.

The inbetween introductory catechism of Scientology, like their “New Slant On Life” is all beginner stuff.

Once hooked on the intro self help catechism of Scientology, the new Scientologists is guided up the “Bridge to Total Freedom” and the top end of the “Bridge” is OT 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 where the Scientologists get rid of their loads of “body thetans”.

Chuck Beatty
ex Scientology staffer (1975-2003)
412-260-1170 Pittsburgh, USA (anyone call me anytime!)
http://www.freewebs.com/chuckbeatty77/
http://tinyurl.com/295khy
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05205/542899.stm
http://tinyurl.com/38ptz8 buffalo video
http://tinyurl.com/ywhgaf buffalo poster

A Mom says:

The mere question posed here is indicative of what Scientology is. It’s a product, and a deeply flawed, expensive and dangerous one. I vote thumbs down on it, and Consumer Reports would definitely not give it a “Best value” rating.

If we have to tell people not to use a hairdryer while sleeping or in the bathtub, Scientology definitely deserves a six-page warning in the product documentation.

If we have to recall Aquadots because children unknowingly ingest and are poisoned by hallucinogenic chemicals in the liquid, then Scientology deserves a recall.

Why doesn’t the Consumer Products & Safety Commission compel the Church of Scientology to have warning labels?

Examples:
This product is a cult.
Do not use if you value your sanity.
Makers of this product practice false advertising and deceptive trade practices.
This product will split up your family.
This product will severely damage you, your children, and your ability to function as citizens of the broader community.
Use of this product may cause you to be arrested and convicted of stalking, RICO violations, tax evasion, espionage, theft, or kidnapping.
This product will send you into bankruptcy.
This product is dangerous for your physical health, because you will receive no medical care, no psychiatric care, and will be receiving hypnotic suggestions and regular mild electroshocks while using the E-meter.
Training aboard the Freewinds will expose you to asbestos, a known and very carcinogenic substance.
Use of this product requires signing a long “Lisa McPherson” clause that denies you all legal protections, as well as peer-reviewed and scientifically supported medical care.

The E-meter deserves its own warning section in its product documentation. Where is the Underwriters Laboratory when you need them?

If the average citizen were more aware of what Scientology really involves, it would cease to exist for lack of willing consumers.

Ex-Scientologist says:

A current Scientologist in this thread states: “Thirty year old allegations coming to surface again is not exactly cutting edge activism. Anonymous is overwhelmingly young kids who have been roped into helping with a bigoted attack on a religious group. They are coached to say they are not attacking the Church yet the original videos specifically aim to destroy the Church.”

Actually they are not thirty year old allegations, they are facts that are shown to be incidents of things still occurring with the “church”, such as disconnection from families and the harassing of public critics with private investigators and slander. But that the “church” believes Anonymous is just kids who have been coached is something I personally hope they keep believing. In fact the comments about not being against the beliefs but being against the policies of the “church” that keeps children from seeing their parents and has operating prisons inside their compounds TODAY come from an active conscience and an effort to do the right thing.

“The Church of Scientology is a group of people, just like any other Church. It is the membership and the people involved. I personally knew several of the people who are on the Why are they dead list and they were friends who died of cancer after long battles, medical treatments, and hospitalizations. Being a Scientologist, unfortunately, does not exempt one from getting ill and dying.”

In the first place this is not what the “church” actually implies. Their mailed literature (which I still receive) promises freedom from disease and a link to one’s personal rebirth of a native spiritual ability to change the functions of matter itself. There is active innuendo given by people trying to sell you the courses and the auditing that you will be able to separate your spirit from the body and operate fully conscious of your surroundings, completely “at-cause” over matter, energy, space and time. It is instructive to note that L. Ron Hubbard does 20 years ago with psyche drugs in his system per a coroner’s report anyone can access.

“I also know many Scientologists who have successfully beaten cancer and other medical problems. Scientologists are urged to go to the doctor and work with a medical specialist to cure their disease, if they have one. To see names of friends who have battled cancer valiently and lost is extremely hurtful and unfair.”

Many people beat cancer if their condition is caught in time. If the use of Scientology is the specific reason they have been cured then why has the “church” never allowed independent testing and peer review of the methodology? What is of more concern is the amount of people who have died who were not allowed to get competent medical or psychiatric treatment whose stories ended in tragedy.

“Anonymous seems to not want to be bothered with the facts but very willing to jump on any old allegation as “the way it is”.”

This is not an argument, it is an opinion. I hold the same opinion of you, so we can disregard this ploy.

“Scientologists who defend their faith and find happiness in the Church are scorned and only those few ex-members who have a tale to tell are listened to.”

In the first places there are literally thousands of ex-members out in the world. Some have been threatened by the “church” not to speak out against them, and others who have spoken out must experience harassing phone calls, threats of legal action, or even an actual stream of real lawsuits meant to silence and destroy, not to correct an injustice. What is most telling are the amount of ex-members who, having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to attain the “church’s” highest levels have left and rejected what they’ve learned and are actually currently in the forefront of the criticism.

“People who actually want to know and care should tour a local Church and see for themselves, meet Scientologists and ask their experience, rather than reading internet stories which are often untrue or extremely biased.”

The problem is what will happen to you if you do that. You will be on that mailing list and that call sheet for life, even decades after having asked them to remove your information. That is probably, even, the sole purpose this comment is added here. “Bodies In” is an actual stat they keep.

“One story I read was a girl who was from a wealthy family, had many priviledges, private school, college paid for by her parents, whatever she wanted from her parents but she had a fit when her mother talked to a friend about Scientology! What a horror story (money, private school, friends, parents asking her what she wanted to do, college fully paid for). I wish I had such a terrible childhood.”

It is quite possible, considering all the answers provided above, that the girl’s reaction to her mother’s interest was one of concern for her mother’s life, health and sanity.