What Scientology is all about!

Dear Readers;

Since it is Sunday and time to write my weekly religion column I thought a few comments on the divorce thing between Tom Cryuise and his wife would be appropriate.

As you probably know by now, she bailed out to get her daughter away from all the nut-jobs in Scientology.

I have some personal experience with these people, and  I talk about them in my book; "A Brief History of Western Religion!"

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Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by Science Fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. (1911–1986)

It Started in 1952 as a successor to his earlier selfhelp system, Dianetics! Hubbard, a hack sciece fiction writer, characterized Scientology as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey.

(Rumor has it he started Scientology as a bar bet with Robert A. Heinlein, that starting a religion is the best way in the world to make money. He won!)

Scientology’s method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counseling known as auditing, in which practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects.

Study materials and auditing courses are made available to members in return for specified donations.

Scientology is legally recognized as a tax-exempt organization in the United States and some other countries, and the Church of Scientology emphasizes this as proof that it is a bona fide religion.

In other countries, notably France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Scientology does not have comparable religious status.

The Church of Scientology is often been described as a cult that financially defrauds and abuses its members, charging exorbitant fees for its spiritual services.
The Church of Scientology has consistently used litigation against such critics, and its aggressiveness in pursuing its foes has been condemned as harassment.

On a personal note, I briefly became involved with Scientology in the late sixties, but had the good sense, or good fortune, to recognize it as a scam and got the hell out.

I was in the Canadian headquarters in Toronto when Ron

Hubbard was visiting from his yacht in the Caribbean, (Sea Org) and I overheard him talking to the guy running the local show.

I don’t know the exact content of the discussion, but what I did hear was the local guy saying to Hubbard; “Common Ron, we can’t tell them THAT! They’re not completely stupid you know!”

To which Hubbard replied………..! “Well, let’s just see how stupid they really are!

That was the day I decided I had enough of Scientology..., and most religions!