A key differentiator between Scientology and other self-described religious organizations is how they treat their holy texts. They consider the works which articulate the source of their belief system to be trade secrets, and the organization employs a battalion of attorneys to protect their copyrights on that intellectual property. Which is to say, they're not exactly generous with the big answers.
But why not? Wouldn't it be advantageous to open-source the contents of those sacred texts, and encourage religious studies majors to write papers on the greatest discovery in the history of mankind? Wouldn't this be a great way to promote your phenomenal religion to the open public?
Which brings us to the heart of the matter. Scientology isn't really a religion. At least, not primarily one. A cover story in Time magazine characterized the group this way: "Scientology poses as a religion but really is a ruthless global scam."
Which is something of an over-statement. Who's to say that Scientology is a phony church but the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons are genuine? But Time was correct in this sense: whereas the dogma of most cults originates with some form of alleged divine revelation, the core beliefs of Scientology grew out of the business venture launched by a conniving bullshit artist.
It was in 1953, after profits began declining from his Dianetics franchise, that science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard slapped a veneer of spirituality on his self-help racket. It was a cynical effort which allowed him both to exert monopoly control over his invention, as well as limit the government's ability to tax and regulate him.
In composing sources of enlightenment for his oh-so-secular church, Hubbard generated 500,000 pages of text, 3,000 recorded lectures, and more than 100 films. These materials, produced over a span of decades, comprise the scriptures establishing the Scientology faith. Devout members shell out cold cash to cover the fixed donations required for the privilege of receiving these revelations, which are doled out in sequential installments. Members are required to consume the materials incrementally, and only under the supervision of a church elder.
It works like this. Members join the church, begin following the procedures outlined in Dianetics and other introductory coursework, and eventually purge themselves of what they term the "Reactive Mind." This is the self-defeating portion of your psyche, which springs into action at inopportune moments, triggered by traumatic memories. This feat is accomplished through an interactive process called "auditing." which is a strangely non-rational mixture of psychotherapy and confessional. The subject is compelled to relive painful and embarrassing episodes, which are duly taken down by an "auditor" and included in the subject's permanent record. The record is maintained and stored by the church. Therefore, the church collects extensive files containing accounts of its members' most shameful moments, things a person would go to great lengths to avoid being made publicly known. For instance, any and all homosexual encounters (defined as "deviant" behavior, and determined to be correctable).
The auditing process is accomplished through the use of a specialized electronic gizmo exclusively manufactured by and for the church. The device is called an "electro-psychometer" or E-Meter for short. The E-Meter measures galvanic skin response -- fluctuations in electrical resistance on the surface of the skin -- and is pressed into service as a crude lie detector of sorts. (A genuine polygraph machine measures blood pressure and rate of breathing, in addition to changes in skin resistance.) Before he transformed his business into a religious organization, Hubbard marketed the E-Meter as a bona fide piece of medical equipment. He claimed it could be used to cure a variety of diseases, until the Food and Drug Administration cracked down on his quackery in 1963. Nowadays, E-Meters carry the following disclaimer, engraved on a little plaque on the underside of each unit:
"By itself, this meter does nothing. It is solely for the guide of Ministers of the Church in Confessionals and pastoral counselling. The Electro-meter is not medically or scientifically capable of improving the health or bodily function of anyone and is for religious use by students and Ministers of the Church of Scientology only."
Using the E-Meter, Scientologists unburden themselves of the Reactive Mind. Once you have successfully accomplished this feat, you are declared "Clear." After becoming a Clear, you now possess a genius IQ, as well as a perfect memory, ideal physical health, and an inability to cause accidents. At which point, you are enticed to progress beyond Clear, into the advanced levels ascribed to Operating Thetans. Hence, the first stage is called OT I, the second OT II, and so on up to OT IX. The spiritual path is called "The Bridge to Total Freedom." At each step of The Bridge, you will accumulate increasingly powerful and extraordinary gifts, including the power to fly, turn invisible, perform astral projection, control matter and energy with only your mind, telepathy, ESP, etc.
In other words, Operating Thetans are capable of violating physical laws of the universe. In ecclesiastical terms, they can work miracles just like Jesus Christ. In fact, according to Hubbard, Jesus was simply an ordinary mortal who had somehow managed to bring himself "a shade above Clear." So Scientologists are in good company. (Of course, LRH also claimed the King of Kings was a boy fucker. Maybe not such good company after all.)
And all of this is available for just the low-low price of $380,000. That's the estimated cumulative cost of all the course materials and the many hours of auditing sessions required to reach the spiritual level known as OT IX. But $380k is a small price to pay for invisibility, right?
But why not? Wouldn't it be advantageous to open-source the contents of those sacred texts, and encourage religious studies majors to write papers on the greatest discovery in the history of mankind? Wouldn't this be a great way to promote your phenomenal religion to the open public?
Which brings us to the heart of the matter. Scientology isn't really a religion. At least, not primarily one. A cover story in Time magazine characterized the group this way: "Scientology poses as a religion but really is a ruthless global scam."
Which is something of an over-statement. Who's to say that Scientology is a phony church but the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons are genuine? But Time was correct in this sense: whereas the dogma of most cults originates with some form of alleged divine revelation, the core beliefs of Scientology grew out of the business venture launched by a conniving bullshit artist.
It was in 1953, after profits began declining from his Dianetics franchise, that science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard slapped a veneer of spirituality on his self-help racket. It was a cynical effort which allowed him both to exert monopoly control over his invention, as well as limit the government's ability to tax and regulate him.
In composing sources of enlightenment for his oh-so-secular church, Hubbard generated 500,000 pages of text, 3,000 recorded lectures, and more than 100 films. These materials, produced over a span of decades, comprise the scriptures establishing the Scientology faith. Devout members shell out cold cash to cover the fixed donations required for the privilege of receiving these revelations, which are doled out in sequential installments. Members are required to consume the materials incrementally, and only under the supervision of a church elder.
It works like this. Members join the church, begin following the procedures outlined in Dianetics and other introductory coursework, and eventually purge themselves of what they term the "Reactive Mind." This is the self-defeating portion of your psyche, which springs into action at inopportune moments, triggered by traumatic memories. This feat is accomplished through an interactive process called "auditing." which is a strangely non-rational mixture of psychotherapy and confessional. The subject is compelled to relive painful and embarrassing episodes, which are duly taken down by an "auditor" and included in the subject's permanent record. The record is maintained and stored by the church. Therefore, the church collects extensive files containing accounts of its members' most shameful moments, things a person would go to great lengths to avoid being made publicly known. For instance, any and all homosexual encounters (defined as "deviant" behavior, and determined to be correctable).
The auditing process is accomplished through the use of a specialized electronic gizmo exclusively manufactured by and for the church. The device is called an "electro-psychometer" or E-Meter for short. The E-Meter measures galvanic skin response -- fluctuations in electrical resistance on the surface of the skin -- and is pressed into service as a crude lie detector of sorts. (A genuine polygraph machine measures blood pressure and rate of breathing, in addition to changes in skin resistance.) Before he transformed his business into a religious organization, Hubbard marketed the E-Meter as a bona fide piece of medical equipment. He claimed it could be used to cure a variety of diseases, until the Food and Drug Administration cracked down on his quackery in 1963. Nowadays, E-Meters carry the following disclaimer, engraved on a little plaque on the underside of each unit:
"By itself, this meter does nothing. It is solely for the guide of Ministers of the Church in Confessionals and pastoral counselling. The Electro-meter is not medically or scientifically capable of improving the health or bodily function of anyone and is for religious use by students and Ministers of the Church of Scientology only."
Using the E-Meter, Scientologists unburden themselves of the Reactive Mind. Once you have successfully accomplished this feat, you are declared "Clear." After becoming a Clear, you now possess a genius IQ, as well as a perfect memory, ideal physical health, and an inability to cause accidents. At which point, you are enticed to progress beyond Clear, into the advanced levels ascribed to Operating Thetans. Hence, the first stage is called OT I, the second OT II, and so on up to OT IX. The spiritual path is called "The Bridge to Total Freedom." At each step of The Bridge, you will accumulate increasingly powerful and extraordinary gifts, including the power to fly, turn invisible, perform astral projection, control matter and energy with only your mind, telepathy, ESP, etc.
In other words, Operating Thetans are capable of violating physical laws of the universe. In ecclesiastical terms, they can work miracles just like Jesus Christ. In fact, according to Hubbard, Jesus was simply an ordinary mortal who had somehow managed to bring himself "a shade above Clear." So Scientologists are in good company. (Of course, LRH also claimed the King of Kings was a boy fucker. Maybe not such good company after all.)
And all of this is available for just the low-low price of $380,000. That's the estimated cumulative cost of all the course materials and the many hours of auditing sessions required to reach the spiritual level known as OT IX. But $380k is a small price to pay for invisibility, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment