Scientology: One of the big scams of our time
I got to thinking about this again tonight, and I feel too strongly about it not to post something - so here goes..
For about 15 years, I have known people who have joined Scientology and who are still members and/or have decided to leave after many years. So I have had years of personal observations of Scientology.
If someone had asked me how I'd describe Scientology, this is how I would describe it:
Although Scientology masquerades to the US government as a religion to be exempt from taxes, in reality, Scientology is an organization that sells self-help books and their own brand of spiritual-based psychotherapy to help people with their problems in life. In addition, Scientology is more than that: Scientology is a pyramid scheme that charges their members fees and strongly encourages them to stay and climb the ranks or else face severe consequences.
If the members don't pay, the "church" turns their back on them and does not provide any help whatsoever. I have seen one personal example of this myself. I have also seen instances where, in the face of legal disputes, the church of Scientology has encouraged its members to resolve the issues within the church rather than follow the path of the law and resolve the issue in court. I have also heard stories in the news of Scientology members who have decided to renounce their membership and leave the church, only to be followed and hunted down by church members and treated badly in an attempt to prevent them from leaving the church. What's more, the church's leader, David Miscavige, has a reputation for being a sadist, with a very nasty temper and a tendency for violent outbursts against those who oppose him. For example, this page discusses Scientology members who have come forward with reports of mental abuse by David Miscavige, including punishing members by forcing them to live in tents for days, bathe with a garden hose, and use an open latrine.
From what I have observed, the "church" of Scientology does not discuss God like a traditional church. In fact, if they have any god, they seem to idolize Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard - who happened to be a science-fiction writer before he founded Scientology, authoring such books as Battlefield Earth. And his science-fiction background shows in his doctrine behind Scientology: I've read that only when someone gains a certain level in Scientology, they are told more of the Scientology doctrine that includes a story that says the reason why psychological problems exist is that thousands of years ago, a galactic leader named Xenu imprisoned thousands of criminal souls by locking them up in Earth's volcanoes, and these souls now attempt to co-inhabit the bodies of modern people, resulting in a multitude of problems such as fear, lack of confidence, headaches, etc.. Furthermore, according to the story, Xenu transported these souls to Earth in craft that happened to look almost exactly like Douglas DC-8 jets. In my opinion, it's not hard to see this story as a farce.
Based on all of this information, I have concluded that Scientology is an unethical and abusive organization that takes advantage of people. I especially think one of the biggest abuses of Scientology is that it masquerades as a religion for tax advantages when it is not a religion - something which I'd think would be considered tax evasion and fraud, and thus illegal. Scientology is a dangerous organization, and I believe an end should be put to it before it continues to grow.
For about 15 years, I have known people who have joined Scientology and who are still members and/or have decided to leave after many years. So I have had years of personal observations of Scientology.
If someone had asked me how I'd describe Scientology, this is how I would describe it:
Although Scientology masquerades to the US government as a religion to be exempt from taxes, in reality, Scientology is an organization that sells self-help books and their own brand of spiritual-based psychotherapy to help people with their problems in life. In addition, Scientology is more than that: Scientology is a pyramid scheme that charges their members fees and strongly encourages them to stay and climb the ranks or else face severe consequences.
If the members don't pay, the "church" turns their back on them and does not provide any help whatsoever. I have seen one personal example of this myself. I have also seen instances where, in the face of legal disputes, the church of Scientology has encouraged its members to resolve the issues within the church rather than follow the path of the law and resolve the issue in court. I have also heard stories in the news of Scientology members who have decided to renounce their membership and leave the church, only to be followed and hunted down by church members and treated badly in an attempt to prevent them from leaving the church. What's more, the church's leader, David Miscavige, has a reputation for being a sadist, with a very nasty temper and a tendency for violent outbursts against those who oppose him. For example, this page discusses Scientology members who have come forward with reports of mental abuse by David Miscavige, including punishing members by forcing them to live in tents for days, bathe with a garden hose, and use an open latrine.
From what I have observed, the "church" of Scientology does not discuss God like a traditional church. In fact, if they have any god, they seem to idolize Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard - who happened to be a science-fiction writer before he founded Scientology, authoring such books as Battlefield Earth. And his science-fiction background shows in his doctrine behind Scientology: I've read that only when someone gains a certain level in Scientology, they are told more of the Scientology doctrine that includes a story that says the reason why psychological problems exist is that thousands of years ago, a galactic leader named Xenu imprisoned thousands of criminal souls by locking them up in Earth's volcanoes, and these souls now attempt to co-inhabit the bodies of modern people, resulting in a multitude of problems such as fear, lack of confidence, headaches, etc.. Furthermore, according to the story, Xenu transported these souls to Earth in craft that happened to look almost exactly like Douglas DC-8 jets. In my opinion, it's not hard to see this story as a farce.
Based on all of this information, I have concluded that Scientology is an unethical and abusive organization that takes advantage of people. I especially think one of the biggest abuses of Scientology is that it masquerades as a religion for tax advantages when it is not a religion - something which I'd think would be considered tax evasion and fraud, and thus illegal. Scientology is a dangerous organization, and I believe an end should be put to it before it continues to grow.