by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II Peter 2:1-19<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. There are times that I run into ideas that leave me completely puzzled. People seriously\nbelieve these things?\n
A. I was asked to do a lesson on Scientology since it had been in the news recently<\/p>\n B. The things I learned about it were so strange that I was puzzled where to even\nstart.\n
II. Background<\/p>\n A. Scientology is the creation of a science fiction writer name L. Ron Hubbard in the\n1950s.\n 1. In 1949, Mr. Hubbard is quoted as saying to Lloyd Eshbach, “Writing for a\npenny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars,\nthe best way would be to start his own religion.”\n 2. If true, then Scientology was a success because it is a religion where you\nmust buy your way to successive levels.\n
a. The costs are disguised as training courses and therapy sessions.<\/p>\n b. The religion is divided into a seemingly endless series of levels to be\nobtained – each with their associated costs.\n c. An estimate in 1995 placed the cost to reach the OT8 level to be\nbetween $365,000 and $380,000!\n d. “Make money, make more money” [L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL,\nMarch 9, 1972]\n e. “Processing may never be given again by an org. Processing is to\nexpensive to deliver.” [L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL, September 27,\n1970]\n
(1) Contrast this to Christianity – Matthew 10:8; Luke 6:30<\/p>\n
B. Hubbard initially created a method of psychotherapy called “Dianetics”<\/p>\n 1. It is a form of regression therapy, where the fundamental belief is that past\nevents interfere with your present ability to function.\n
2. The interesting spin is that the past interference includes past lives.<\/p>\n 3. The interference is detected by trained auditors using a machine called an \n“E-Meter” that simply measures electrical resistence in the body.\n
a. It is a primitive lie-detector<\/p>\n 4. There is no evidence that the therapy works, in fact, it is strongly argued\nthat it doesn’t work.\n
C. On this foundation Scientology built as a philosophy and religion<\/p>\n
1. It borrows heavily from eastern religions and even gnosticism<\/p>\n
III. Beliefs of Scientology<\/p>\n A. It is difficult to determine Scientology beliefs because it is deeply enmeshed with\nits own jargon. \n
1. Unless you understand the jargon, what is being said sounds like nonsense.<\/p>\n
2. Even when the jargon is translated, it is still nonsense!<\/p>\n B. Scientology teaches that every person is an immortal spirit which they call a\n“thetan.”\n 1. Of course, the spirits continued to live, and with nothing else to do began\nto create mental universes to play in. They became so engrossed in their\nimaginary world that they lost consciousness of their identity and nature.\nThey became entrapped in the physical world that is really a world of their\nimagination.\n 2. 75 million years ago these souls lived in an overcrowded universe. Unable\nto handle the population, a ruler gathered up billions of these thetans sent\nthem to Earth and then destroyed them with a nuclear explosion. (Now\ndoesn’t this sound just like a science fiction story?)\n C. Hence, Scientology believes that the material universe is an illusion and that each\nindividual is essentially divine with an infinite potential to create.\n
1. It is the old trap that Satan offered Eve – Genesis 3:5<\/p>\n
2. It appeals to pride – Proverbs 16:18<\/p>\n 3. It appeals to people because it is something “new” and scientific sounding –\nActs 17:21\n D. Scientology teaches that as these immortal spirits live through lives they retain\nsuppressed memories of all the bad things that have happened to them, including\nbeing blown up 75 million years ago.\n 1. They have a process of counseling sessions, called “auditing” to help\npeople reconnect with their past lives and thereby work through their\nproblems, which are called “emgrams.”\n 2. The souls were given false memories, why is not clear, which serves as the\nexplanation why there are common beliefs among men. One, called R6, is\nsupposed to include the cross. “Religion does much to keep the assumption\nin restimulation, being basically a control mechanism used by those who\nhave sent the preclear into a body. You will find the cross as a symbol all\nover the universe, and the Christ legend as implant in preclears a million\nyears ago.” [Professional Auditors Bulletins, Vol. 2, p. 26, 1954]\n 3. Members of Scientology start out as “preclears.” As they work through the\nvarious counseling sessions they advance through various levels until they\nare declared “cleared.” They are now called a “operating Thetan.”\n 4. Then they work through a whole new set of levels to learn how to spread\nScientology and become auditors for others. Operating Thetans believe\nthey can leave their bodies and operate elsewhere.\n E. Scientology teaches that it is a supplement to other religions. In other words,\npeople in Scientology believe you can be a Christian, or a Buddhist, or a Jew and a\nScientologist at the same time.\n 1. The problem is that Scientology teaching is in direct contradiction to the\nteachings of the Bible.\n
2. Examples:<\/p>\n a. “An enemy … may be injured by any means or tricked, sued, or lied\nto or destroyed.” [L. Ron Hubbard, HCO Policy Letter, October\n18, 1967]\n
(1) The Bible teaches – Luke 6:27-31<\/p>\n b. “Handling truth is a touch business … Tell an acceptable truth.” [L.\nRon Hubbard, The Missing Ingredient<\/i>, August 13, 1970]\n
(1) The Bible teaches – Matthew 5:37<\/p>\n c. “The universe is a rough universe. It is a terrible and deadly\nuniverse. Only the strong survive it, only the ruthless can own it.”\n[L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology: A History of Man<\/i>, page 38].\n
(1) The Bible teaches – Matthew 5:5<\/p>\n d. “I don’t know how they found it; either by watching madmen or\nsomething. But since that time they have used it. And it became\nwhat is known as Christianity. The Man on the cross. There was no\nChrist!” [L. Ron Hubbard, Class 8 Auditor’s Course\n(Confidential)<\/i>, taped on the ship Apollo<\/i> in Corfu, Greece.]\n
(1) The Bible teaches – I John 1:1-3<\/p>\n (2) “Neither Lord Buddha nor Jesus Christ were OTs accordign\nto evidence. They were just a shade above clear.” [Hubbard,\nCertainty Magazine, Vol. 5 #10].\n (3) In other words, Scientology offers its members a way to\nbecome greater that Jesus, the Son of God.\n
F. Scientology discourages any inquiry into its teachings or methods<\/p>\n 1. “Never permit an ‘open-minded’ approach … Never let them be half-minded about being Scientologists.” [L. Ron Hubbard, Keeping\nScientology Working, <\/i>HCO PL February 7, 1965]\n 2. “The law can be used very easily to harass … the purpose of the suit is to\nharass and discourage rather than to win. … The law can be used very\neasily to harass, and … will generally be sufficient to cause [the enemy’s]\nprofessional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.” [L. Ron\nHubbard, The Scientologist – A Manual on the Dissemination of Material<\/i>,\nreprinted in The Technical Bulletins of Dianetics and Scientology<\/i>, Volume\n2, pp. 151-171, 1979. Also, Magazine Articles on Level O Checksheet<\/i>,\nAmerican Saint Hill Organization, 1968.]\n
3. The Bible teaches – I Thessalonians 5:21-22; I John 4:1<\/p>\n
4. Regarding courts – Matthew 5:25; I Corinthians 6:7<\/p>\n
IV. The use of gnosticism<\/p>\n A. It is clear from analysis that Scientology is a mixture of borrowed beliefs from a\nvariety of religions, and not always the best selection either.\n 1. But one that stands out is gnosticism. “Gnostic” come from a Greek work\nmeaning “to know.”\n 2. One feature of gnosticism is the control of knowledge. Information is doled\nout piece by piece. Only the inner most circle of believers have the\ncomplete set of knowledge.\n a. Many religions and pseudo-religions share this control of\nknowledge, such as Masons\n B. Scientology uses this layered approach to fund itself. You have to purchase the\nnext layer to advance.\n C. It also makes it difficult to debate because you never know if you understand what\nit is that you are examining.\n D. Interestingly, the original gnostics believed there was a higher god trapped in the\nmaterial world due to a flaw in that god’s wisdom. They believe that Genesis told\nof how the “Jewish god” trapped souls in material bodies. To save these trapped\nsouls, the higher god sent a messenger into this world to inform people of their\ndivine origins. Those who understood the message were empowered to rise above\nthe material world to enter the realm of the higher god. (Sound roughly similar?)\n
V. It makes you wonder how people could be persuaded to believe this nonsense.<\/p>\n A. The answer is that people are looking for a solution and Scientology claims to\nhave an answer.\n B. This is why Scientology opposes the psychiatry community so strongly. They\nmarket an alternative.\n C. Since information is only revealed bit-by-bit and requires heavy personal\ninvestments, people are inclined to continue in hopes of a solution just around the\ncorner.\n
D. II Timothy 2:13-15<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 2:1-19 I. There are times that I run into ideas that leave me completely puzzled. People seriously believe these things? A. I was asked to do a lesson on Scientology since it had been in the news recently B. The things I learned about it were so strange that I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[34,1658],"class_list":["post-63429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-false-teaching","tag-scientology"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62689,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/has-becoming-a-christian-changed-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":63429,"position":0},"title":"Has Becoming a Christian Changed You?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:1-8 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Barna Group has done several surveys on the impact Christianity has on people\u2019s lives. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In May, 2006, a survey showed that 51% said that they had been greatly transformed by their faith. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I found that interesting because of what Jesus said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Morally-Acceptable.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Morally-Acceptable.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Morally-Acceptable.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50592,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/tumbleweed-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":63429,"position":1},"title":"Tumbleweed Christians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Tumbleweeds are a familiar sight in the western United States. A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. Once it is mature and dry, it detaches from its root and then is blown across the landscape by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Tumbleweed.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56405,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-witness\/","url_meta":{"origin":63429,"position":2},"title":"The Witness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant We are all familiar with the role witnesses fill in our lives. If we have a document that needs some verification, we go to a Notary Public and sign it, and then the notary places a seal on it as proof that the notary has been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/moon-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":53980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-never-speaks-to-us-in-verbal-language\/","url_meta":{"origin":63429,"position":3},"title":"God never speaks to us in verbal language","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Peace be with you; We're dealing with God's word, not conversation between two people, so God never speak to us in verbal language. Best wishes. Answer: I left this note as it was sent. I have to admit, I'm puzzled because there are so many wrong concepts presented in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39893,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-of-oprah\/","url_meta":{"origin":63429,"position":4},"title":"The Church of Oprah","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Gatlin For decades, Oprah Winfrey has proclaimed faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, when one examines Oprah's Jesus, he is not the same Jesus found in the New Testament. Oprah's Jesus is not God in the flesh, but merely a \"good man.\" He is non-condemning and tolerant of \"alternative\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50404,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-should-one-seek-counseling-and-when-shouldnt-they\/","url_meta":{"origin":63429,"position":5},"title":"When should one seek counseling and when shouldn’t they?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are your thoughts on counseling? When should one seek counseling and when shouldn't they? Thank you. Answer: I'm puzzled by your question because technically you are asking my advice, which is another way of saying you are seeking my counsel. 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