1. It works. Plain and simple.
There are a lot of these sorts of assertions made by scientologists. If you ask for proof, they have pat answers to this too — commonly a few anecdotes “I couldn’t talk to women and after some auditing I was then able to do so”. It is the lead pitch every scientologist uses, and it can be effective on a surface level. It is hard to argue with personal testimonials and experience and every scientologist has a few prepared. The implication if you challenge or seem unconvinced by these assertions is that you doubt the veracity if the person telling these stories, or even worse you are an intolerant bigot.
2. If you have any question about life, this universe or other people, there IS an answer in it to each and every question you may have.
This is another pat scientology pitch. But this one is harder to swallow unless 1. above has been established. Scientologists will assert this with Tone 40 intention and try to get you to buy it simply based on the certainty with which they assert it. If you don’t buy in, they will revert to 1. above.
3. It’s not dogmatic (meaning it doesn’t tell you that you must believe this or that to be one of “us”).
OK, now we are getting into the outright lies category. They feel it is necessary to assert this because scientology is absolutely dogmatic. Brazenly and proudly so once you are “in” but they claim otherwise in order to get you to stick your toes in the water. Anyone reading Hubbard’s foundational dogma Keeping Scientology Working is left in no doubt that scientology is not merely somewhat dogmatic, it is fundamentally dogmatic to it’s core. It is Hubbard’s way or no way. Even down to finding misunderstood words to explain why his gibberish in fact makes sense.
4. It saved my life.
See 1 above
5. It puts order into life.
See 1 above
6. It handles confusions in life.
See 1 above
7. I am a successful business owner today because I used the tools of Scientology. Many people have found steady employment in my business which makes me all the happier.
See 1 above. And I would add that a fundamental lie often perpetrated in scientology is correlation equates to causation. Scientology takes credit for all that is good in a person’s life, and everything bad is attributed to “failure to apply the tech” or “misapplying the tech.” Scientology is ALWAYS success, NEVER failure. If this guy had driven a business into bankruptcy by handing over all his money to the IAS he would claim that he “failed to apply the tech properly” — it would NOT be scientology’s fault. Not even remotely.
8. Scientology does not discriminate in who it helps. It literally can help anyone: the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the Democrat, the Republican and on and on and on…
Yeah, sounds good in theory. See how long this lasts when you run out of money. Or end up in hospice care. Or are gay. Ever visited a psych. Are in the FBI or CIA. Work for the media. You are “open minded”. Read this blog. Watch The Aftermath. Have FB friends scientology doesnt like. etc etc
9. It has not been altered from its original findings and form and therefore isn’t subject to fads over time. Scientology is in its pure form, unaltered.
Not sure what this is supposed to accomplish. This is not necessarily a GOOD thing. Old ideas are not necessarily good ones. Paper files? Nuclear radiation stopped by niacin. Not smoking enough causes lung cancer. But it’s a corollary of 3. above. Hubbard’s writings must be kept pure and not “squirreled” and so scientology can never reform even its most barbaric, antiquated and ridiculous beliefs and practices. Hubbard said the Piltdown Man existed in 1952 when he, like everyone else bought into the hoax. His “tech” could never be changed, so to this day “History if Man” still asserts this is a real thing.
10. Its research and findings are available to everyone in any Church of Scientology or public library.
Well, to an extent. Not sure why this is an argument to “choose scientology” but it really is not true when it comes to a bunch of Hubbard’s writings and utterances about “OT” and how to destroy enemies an$ ramblings about psychiatry and who the “enemies” are. And as for “research” this consists entirely of Hubbard pontificating about his “research” and no actual research at all.
11. If I have a problem I am looking to solve in life, I can always find a solution in Scientology. And the solution always works. This does not mean I have no problems (impossible) but if I am determined to handle any problem, I can, with the help of the tools in Scientology. This frees me up to concentrate on bigger and better things in life.
See 1 above.
12. Life is no longer a problem or a whole mess of problems to me: it’s a game.
Huh?
13. I have seen countless friends and other family members helped with Scientology.
See 1 above.
14. Scientology has innumerable success stories from people from all walks of life, across the globe.
See 1 above. But if this IS an argument to commend scientology, how about the innumerable horror stories from people from all walks of life, across the globe? At this point, there are more people who claim scientology harmed, defrauded or abused them than there are those who provide “success stories.”
15. Scientology is all-denominational. That means anyone from any denomination is welcome in Scientology. No strings attached.
Another outright lie. They tell you this until you get to study KSW and the fundamentalist hammer comes down harder and harder as you progress from there. This is one of the oldest pitches there is in scientology. They should just own up (like they were forced to do to the IRS) to their actual beliefs. It’s a sign of their insecurity that they don’t. Trying to be “like others” — this would be like me pitching why I am a Denver Broncos fan and you should be one too “we welcome fans of all teams, no strings attached and you can continue to support the Oakland Raiders while supporting the Broncos” Seriously? This is in fact a self-defeating argument. Do you mean that scientology is NOT the only path to spiritual salvation? (I wrote an extensive blog article about this earlier: Can Scientologists be Christians or Jews Too? )
These are the main reasons I choose Scientology.
I could keep writing on and on and probably reach 1,000 points (maybe more, if I include all my personal successes) but that’s a bit much for one blog.
Well, not likely. Other than repeating 1 above in 1,000 different ways.
Scientology works, plain and simple. And I do hope you get to see that for yourself and use it, if you so choose.
John Logothetis is an entrepreneur, business owner, martial artist, loving father, friend of many and freedom fighter for all. Always one to stand up for what is right and just.
Except when what is right and just is not in alignment with what scientology dictates.
Yikes, Patheos may as well have a write-up on the merits of the Manson Family, if they allow such a dreg “religion” as scientology on their site.
John Logothetis is a STAAD blogger;
https://twitter.com/JLStandLeague
Scientology is based on superficial observation, which is all the basis there is for claims such as “it works.” Hubbard’s “research” was just limited observations, at best, often biased by his strange theories.
The problem is that observations, for instance, lead men from time immemorial to conclude that the earth was flat and that the sun moved around it – and even to persecute those who had made more scientific observations which challenged that. Reliance on casual observation, and untested theory, resulted in medicine adopting mistaken notions about basic things like the functions of the heart and lungs for thousands of years. And phenomenon like optical illusions, trick our fallible senses into seeming observations, that can actually be so faulty as to lead to harm or death.
Come to think of it, a good example might be that of the classic illusory oasis in the desert. How many people have observed such a pool of water “for themselves” (as Hubbard and Scientology like to put it) and walked toward it expectantly, only to find it vanished, and themselves still parched? That’s sort of an analogy for Scientology and its “bridge.”
It’s been a VERY long time since anyone (who’s at all rational) thought the earth was flat. Well over 2000 years. People did think the sun revolved around the earth more recently, but they did not think it was flat. Not only that, but they worked out its size pretty accurately, as Carl Sagan talks about Eratosthenes doing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8cbIWMv0rI
An ex-victim said on a.r.s. “You become a $cientologist when you lie to yourself about $cientology.”
Very accurate Jens. $camology is the opposite or truth.
One may as well say that National Socialism is acceptable.
A Scientologist trying to recruit on Patheos is like someone strapping raw meat on themselves and jumping into a shark tank. Patheos has bloggers with dedicated followers from all types of religions and also from no religions. There are a lot of atheist blogs. A whole lot of people who formerly belonged to destructive cults. (Love, Joy, Feminism is a big one.) It’d be a great place for ex-Scientologists to have blogs, actually.
Not a great place for a Scientologist.
“9. It has not been altered from its original findings and form and therefore isn’t subject to fads over time. Scientology is in its pure form, unaltered.”
Except when Miscavage altered the BC tapes…
His excuse for altering the books was “SP transcribers and newly-discovered writings” and crap like that. But editing the tapes? Nobody likes listening to the Fatman blather on and on, but don’t go saying the crap is unaltered. It’s been altered plenty.
“10. Its research and findings are available to everyone in any Church of Scientology or public library.”
The reason they put this in their article is because one of the complaints outsiders have is that you can’t know the secret OT stuff , and they charge the church with being secretive or even shady because of it. Also it makes them feel lesser, unworthy, because they can’t know the OT materials yet only upper church members can know it. My mom, a non-Scn, told me all this and I tried to rebut it as best I could. But now all these years later, I can see it through her eyes and she is right. It is a non-inclusive religion with secrets. And one of their biggest secrets is the Disconnection policy that still exists and is practiced every day.
IRL, it’s “research and findings” are available NOWHERE, si nice there was no research other than “Try THIS and see what happens.”
This is what Scientology been doing for decades; creating “religious bona fides “ for the primary purpose of insulating it from criminal and civil responsibility for the destruction that inevitably ensues in the wake of it’s “standard application.”
The best kept secret in all of Scientology is that most countries do NOT recognize this thing (Hubbard’s belief system ,Scientology) as a religion.
So typical of them to not allow comments under the blog. Most Patheos bloggers allow comments and will interact with the commenters. But of course Scientology doesn’t because they can’t defend against any of the actual facts.
Scientology – probably one of the more successful real estate cons ever to exist…but definitely not a church, and not religion unless you worship money.
Money isn’t wealth, it’s just the means we use to trade the goods and services that actually constitute wealth.
Zola, it’s a financial con, but not necessarily a real estate one. Their real estate dealings have been disastrous in many cases, and Miscavige’s general strategy has lead them to put huge amounts of money into specialized and lavish renovations of properties, that can mostly never be recovered.
I point that out, because I think it’s important to properly understand what they’re up to. And it’s the financial wealth they have also hoarded that may allow them to hold on to the property far longer than might be expected, subsidizing even empty and money-losing locations instead of having to sell them.
I’d like to know how david miscavige (or any of his followers) can claim “it’s in its pure form unaltered.”
It has been altered over time and since Hubbard died. In fact, all tech and admin volumes have been removed from the orgs because supposedly new and improved tech and admin volumes are coming soon. Yea right. Scientology used to be what LRH said and now it’s what david miscavige says LRH said – almost 34 years after his death.
Mary Kahn, what you write is so true. How can a student on a Scn course check to see if something has been altered if the Tech Volumes and the Management Series volumes are MISSING, removed from the course rooms. This is like the book “1984” where they simply erase all news that isn’t propaganda and their political line and thus rewrite history. Now Scn is what david miscavige says LRH said.
DM claims it with a straight face.
Not if you pinch him really hard. He’ll cry like a baby.
Mary Kahn:
“I’d like to know how david miscavige (or any of his followers) can claim “it’s in its pure form unaltered.”
by lying, of course. That’s the only thing keeping scn (somewhat) afloat. The problem with that, of course, is that the TRUTH is out there on the Interwebz, more accessibly and literately than scn’s lies.
Point well made, Jere!
A few things actually worked for me back in the 60s. ARC triangle, the conditions formulas and doing the TRs. I used these in life and often had huge gains and realizations. And all was accomplished by myself only. And without having to pay big bucks either!!!
Training and auditing never brought any of the results that the grade chart promised. Never! But I stayed in the bubble paying huge sums hoping somehow I’d get something. 45 years later I mustered the guts to confront the truth, take responsibility for all money, time and hope I wasted and just walk away.
And THAT brought me eternal freedom, happiness and peace. And no cult required!
Glenn, without criticizing you or your choices, I’d like to make the point that in general the ARC triangle and the positive end products of the TRs can be learned in couple of community college classes, or learned from general reading at a public library. But what one does not get from searching for answers outside the COS is the pseudo-hypnotic, repetitive commands that lead one to 5, 25, and 45 years of handing over money for false promises. As for the Tone Scale, that’s pure Hubbard-think designed as a source of control of his admirers, and without the command intentions developed in the other COS items mentioned it would not hold water.
Yea Glenn, that’s pretty much my story also. Tr’s were great. A lot of good basic stuff that I still use.
But I surely can’t use all of the bullshit and Kool Aid. And the years of auditing I had? No results. Or I guess I should say bad results. (Cause I’m a lot broker for it). And this bullshit of “We always deliver what we promise”. Yea, I guess that’s pretty easy to do when you don’t really promise anything except 12 1/2 hrs of rambling. Maybe there have been some good auditors. And there are even many ex Scientologists who say they have had some gains. But for me…. a waste of time and money. So I use what worked, and I avoid the rest.
Hi Overrun in California,
I is great to know someone else had experiences similar to mine!! Makes me wonder just how many of “us” are out there. While “in” I never heard of anyone like us. Maybe because it was off policy to discuss case or something. Anyway, good to hear from you.
The 1st time I did TR0 I exteriorized and learned how to stabilize myself in that location. A bit above and behind the body sitting in that chair. Honestly! This experience reminded me I was a spiritual being and to this day it is the MOST validating achievement EVER. Nothing I experienced in the 45 years after compared to or equaled. And, I am a bit embarrassed to admit, I spent about 1/4 million in the hopes of more and even went to the mecca of tech perfection but got nothing there too.
Here’s another validating and rewarding experience I will share. A few months after that TR0 exteriorization I visited a friend at his home and learned he was interested in the comm course I was on. I explained about TR0 and he wanted to do it. We sat in his living room and did the drill. I added bullbaiting and perceived the button he was “sitting on” and pushed it until it flattened. I exteriorized and so did he. We each perceived the other was out of the body and we knew that we each knew that the other knew exactly what we were experiencing. Very, interesting indeed. When I ended the drill we couldn’t stop talking about it all for 4-5 hours. I have NEVER EVER experienced anything like this while “on lines” anywhere. In my final years I asked a supervisor at flag if doing the pro trs course would bring such wins. I got nothing but wishy-washy answers. This along with all I was seeing resulting from DM’s takeover added to the pile of reasons to depart. I mean, if the mecca of technical perfection could not give me what I truly desired then I am done.
Broker. I’ve seen members suffer financially even to the extent of losing homes, jobs, savings and having to file bankruptcy and move into their car.
I too use what I know works and doing so has made life more survivable.
Nice to hear from you.
Glenn, you’re certainly right that it was you. But if you had used some other methodology or framework, with the same intentions, you likely would have gotten similar results – and perhaps even better ones. Plus what “works” about Hubbard’s approaches, are mostly basic well-established principles cribbed from other sources, that are also found at work in better-known and better-grounded programs like Dale Carnegie.
I for instance like the enneagram model of personality, because it helped me realize that I have a personality different from some others, and that I need to take into consideration the characteristics and needs of their personality for dealing with them*; for instance, I deal pretty well with uncertainty and ambiguity, while one of my kids is completely the opposite in those ways, and it’s important to be aware of navigating that so that we get along well. But further research lead me to conclude that the supposed personality type system is not particularly accurate or scientifically valid. it was just a tool that worked for me for increasing awareness. The better known Meyers-Briggs personality test, which I’ve also worked with, is similar.
* In contrast to Scientology and its crude communication techniques, which essentially assume that all people have or should have the same basic personality characteristics – Hubbard’s, of course.
They left out the part where you had to find out from a stranger after the fact that your mother died and Leah had to find out from a stranger after the fact that her father died and Karen had to find out from a stranger that her son died.
Come on, scientology, if you’re going to post what your religion is about, let’s get the info on disconnection up there too.
It’s taken me a while to get it through my head that DM is the sole proprietor of an extremely successful business that he conned the IRS in to granting this business the right to call itself church. Hocus pocus bipppity boppety boo DM can do anything he wants, to anyone he wants and is protected (at least for now). It’s really all quite genius, well, evil genius, but genius. Maybe some day of reckoning it will be evil genius on a stick.
How typically stupid of scamologists. Spam a little known site trying to avoid people outing the insanity of their cult.
Remember, Wynski, they are down to 20,000 worldwide…maybe less. I’d bet on maybe less.