Starting From The Beginning

"The human psyche is, by nature, religious."---Carl Jung

And so it begins. As stated in my earlier post, my interest in Scientology grew out of a curiosity. It is one of the fastest growing religions and yet, I don't know anything about it. I spent the last few years of my life researching Judaism. I realized I had known Jewish people my whole life and never stopped to ask them about their faith.
I am not a religious person. I am a free thinker who views things through his own set of glasses. I have taken time in my life to study various religions out of sheer curiosity. Let's face it, whether you are religious or not, religion is all around us. I figured I'd better at least do some research on as many of them as I can. Some people think I'm paranoid, but I can assure you I have made lifelong friends of various faiths. I don't believe religion is out to get us. I do believe they are out to push their own agendas, but that's for another blog.

WHAT IS SCIENTOLOGY?

It seems to be the million dollar question when studying this rather unique religion. I've studied countless hours of You Tube footage posing the same question. Their answer is the same every time: "Come into the church and find out." It's rather auspicious to me, but they do have a website for those who want to visit.

http://www.scientology.org

I have said over and over again to people I have e-mailed that I don't live anywhere near a Church of Scientology in order to go in and ask questions. From what I can tell, Scientology is an experiment in one's self awareness and self understanding. It was founded on a book called Dianetics, which was written by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church. To put it bluntly, Dianetics is an expanded version of Sigmund Freud's theory of the reactive mind. I know Scientologists would hate to hear my opinion on this since they despise psychologists and psychiatry, but they probably haven't studied Freud enough to know what I am saying.
Basically, the belief is to attain a higher spiritual self. When you reach certain levels, you can ultimately rid yourself of all fears, emotions, anger, etc. Hubbard himself has said he healed himself of scars he attained in war while serving in the Navy. He has also claimed people have healed themselves of asthma, learning disabilities, etc. Actor Tom Cruise has said repeatedly he was cured of a learning disability.

SCIENTOLOGY SPEAK

Another interesting, and sometimes very confusing, aspect of Scientology is the way they speak. They talk in codes. They will talk of an SP or comment on a WOG. They all say they are OT's. What does all of this mean? Well you and I (and probably over half of the human world) are both WOGs and SPs. WOG is the name they give to everybody who is not a Scientologist. Hubbard described WOGs as "common, everyday garden-variety humanoid ... He 'is' a body. [He] doesn't know he's there, etc. He isn't there as a spirit at all."
An SP is a Suppressive Person. These are non-believers of Scientology. SPs are often labeled enemies of the church. All former Scientologists are considered SPs.
OT stands for Operating Thetan. When you enter the church you are considered at the lowest levels to be an OT. As you move up you become an OT1, OT2, etc. At last check, Tom Cruise was an OT8 and he's been in for almost 30 years now. What is a thetan? Well, I will save that for another blog. To explain Hubbard's version of it is quite interesting and will take some time to examine. In the meantime, here is a website which acts as a glossary and dictionary for the Church of Scientology.

http://www.anti-scientologie.ch/dictionary.htm

I will post items through this series of blogs and these words will be used. You may have to refer back to them when necessary.

PAYING FOR SPIRITUALITY

One final uniqueness about Scientology is the way their ideology is taught. When one becomes a Catholic or a Christian they learn the Bible immediately. The Bible is everything to do with that particular religion. Jewish people believe in the Old Testament while modern day Christians follow both the Old and New Testaments.
In Scientology your goal is to move up the bridge. The bridge has many levels. I'm still trying to nail down how many levels are on the bridge. For example you will start as an OT1 and move up. How do you move up? Well, you pay the church to teach you the next level. From what I can tell your amount of payment has everything to do with your status. Celebrities have paid astronomical figures in order to move up the bridge. Regular people have mortgaged houses, given life savings, etc.
I find this to be my first real criticism of the church. Can you imagine a church charging you money to learn about the verses created by Luke or John? Seriously, stop and think about that for a minute. Here you have writings that solidify your faith and belief of yourself and the world around you and you literally have to pay money before you can learn about it. I find it to be absurd.
If I held the true secret to saving the universe and I knew without a doubt the knowledge I held would save lives, people, etc. I could not sleep at night if I charged people money to learn it. I would freely give it to the masses.

HELPING PEOPLE

Like most religions I do believe Scientology has helped people. I think it is safe to say every religion can lay claim to helping people change their lives through faith, spirituality, etc. This is nothing new about organized religion.
Where I question the church firmly is why people should pay to be helped by the church. Is this true spirituality? Is this a scam? Is this an effort to expand their message? I think it is a fair criticism of the church. David Miscavige is the current leader of the church. He said once people start believing in Scientology and the teachings of Dianetics, the money will never be a problem. In essence, he promises a better life. If you want to learn more about him, he has his own website.

http://david-miscavige.com/

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is one of many posts I will make as I continue to research and explore this religion. Many people have called it a cult. Some, including Hubbard's son, have called it a business disguised as a religion. I will continue posting these once a week and let people make up their own mind. Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Reasons Behind This Blog

I started a simple query online about Scientology one day. I have always been a fan of Katie Holmes, so I took some time to sit down and do a little research about her belief in Scientology. Unlike many others on the Internet, I'm not going to use this as a platform to bash Scientology over the head just to prove points. On the other hand, I will dole out due criticism I see with the church or religion.
Why am I doing this? Honestly, I'm fascinated by this whole movement. The Church of Scientology has a very interesting history and, in response, groups have sprouted up to show their disdain for the church's practices. Also, of all the religions in the United States, it is one of the fastest growing religions. All this makes it interesting to say the least.
I welcome all comments and opinions. This is a study of humans in an intellectual setting. I hope to show both sides of this movement so people can be better educated. I believe fully there is information out there which fairly questions this religion and others have credibility issues. I also believe the church has helped people, much like any other religion. I shall start blogging in one week. I decided I can not write one blog of all my discoveries. Instead, I will section them off and talk about them one at a time.