1. Religion vs Cults

2. Scientology and the Sea Org

3. Science and Scientology

4. Legislating Cults

Religion vs Cults

“We would rather have you dead than incapable.” L. Ron Hubbard, 1967.

The answer lies not in the formula of cult + time = religion but in the percentage and relationship between clergy and lay members.

How a group can adopt and adjust to a cooperative relationship with secular governments is also indicative.

Scientology is a wonderful example of how a bonafide religion can be created and then that movement can be made into a cult.

The best way to measure how cultish a religious movement is well displayed by the percentage of fanatics.

By definition clergy members are fanatics. They have devoted their life to their cause. But when your lay membership is composed of a large percent of fanatics then you have a cult.

Cults vary mostly from their religious cousins in the jealous hold they have of their members. Because they are a cult and require such devoted participation from every lay member, members are scarce, recruiting is hard and leaving is as impossible as the cult can get away with.

Saying Scientology is a cult as Hubbard’s teachings involve mind control techniques is absurd as there is not a religion in the world that doesn’t practice mind control. If it didn’t have any mind control aspect to it then it would not be a very good religion.

But what do you have to do to have this ‘positive’ mind control? Attend church each Sun and live a more moral life (Christian) or attend classes every night and both weekend days – forever (Scientology).

Therein you can start to differentiate between a cult and a religion. The degrees of dedication that are expected from lay members. Are donations fixed or voluntary? Is attendance considered voluntary or mandatory?

What degree of your time and resources are expected off of lay members?

So if a majority of your members either attend church once a week or once a year on Christmas and you keep a bible by your bed and even pick it up and sincerely draw some moral inspiration from it, you have my vote as being a Christian true to their faith.

Scientology calls this type of religious participation, dilettantism, chasing butterflies and the life of a namby-pampy Mrs Pattycake.

These were the actual terms used by Hubbard when he decided to turn Scientology from a religion into a cult. He wrote a church policy letter called Keeping Scientology Working (referred to by the initials KSW within Scientology). He wrote this in 1967.

He had run Scientology as a religion now for some 13 years. The fad of Dianestics which had started in 1950 had turned into a movement of 100,000s and so now Hubbard decided to take his slice of the pie and it was not to be just money either. It was about power over people.

Of course with such absolute power and intimate control over others comes an opportunity for tremendous abuse. The vechile for this is the enforcers.

Cults normally have an Ethics Branch or Guardian Office or The Gatewatchers, whatever the title, they’re enforcers.

At the same time as issuing this KSW policy letter for the church, he also wrote a book titled Introduction to Scientology Ethics.

‘Ethics Tech’ whole new area of technology his ‘wonderous’ research had led him to. This was given to his newly created Ethics Departments to enforce. The Ethics Officer was born. The Master at Arms. The Product Officer. The Body I/C.

The Body I/C is the worst and is for when someone is just not to be trusted as they may leave at any moment (told you they’re jealous of their membership). So a body I/C is someone who will be with you 24 hours a days. Even to the bathroom. You have someone with you all the time watching you body. This is used for suicides risks as well as flight risks. And the idea is that this person is the ‘In-Charge(manager)’ of YOUR body. Your expected to obey.

So what would be the best way to isolate people most from the world. He took his inner sanctum to sea and thus the Sea Org was born. Short for Organization.

Scientology and the Sea Org

“The purpose of the Sea Org is to remove counter-intentions to Scientology from the environment. Then the purpose is to remove other-intentions to Scientology from the world.” – L. Ron Hubbard, 1967

12 Aug is Sea Org when it celebrates its anniversary and it was founded in 1967. The year Hubbard made his religion into a cult he also took to the high seas.

Science and Scientology

Sorry to tell the remaining Scientologists but it is too easy to debunk. Your ‘religion’ is not conjoined with science at all. It is solely and only based on faith and the sense of community you get from being part of any group.

I think the first ‘proof’ ever was when Hubbard implied the life span of a Dianetics Clear (someone fixed according to this Dianetics book) could not be determined at the time of writing his discovery. The implication is certainly a Clear would live longer.

Then came the promise of curing disease. Both mental and physical.

Later with Scientology Hubbard started to claim he could measure the wavelengths of things like emotions and art. And the number values are comical to say the least.

The stalwart of course of proof of Scientology is the incredible technology that is supposed to be connected with an e-meter. This electro-psychodynamic meter is supposed to measure thought. It doesn’t. It measures how much skin is connected to the cans.

If the auditor touches on a sensitive subject the meter measure twitches in your fingers which alters skin contact. If you’re feeling good and relaxed the meter measures simply your intake and outtake of breath and this resembles what they call in Scientology a ‘floating needle’ on the meter. It just means you’re not stressed at that moment.

Plus the method of research, assume a postulate, test it, if it works accept it as truth… is fine. But it also depends if the others who accept such findings are peers allowed to question you and hold you to ridicule or followers and sycophants hanging on your every suggestion. If it is the latter you can lead the flock down any road of ‘truth’ you pick. Hitler is a prime example of pseudo-science being used to dupe the masses. Germany is a smart country by all accounts, yet fell for it.

Legislating Cults

Any lawmaker should know this, any bonafide religion will be willing to submit to a marked degree to social inspection. Cults won’t.

And by their nature passing any laws on any religious activity is going to stink of draconian methods and it is an aspect of pursuing this avenue that lawmakers should be keenly aware.

But a censor of members would be prudent. Any religion worth it’s salt would oblige a gov in this. Cults will only fight it.

With this in mind the gov should offer an invitation of participation to religions, to assist in further incooperating their own efforts with that of the govt. The govt should be simply seeking cooperation with a religious institution. There should be no talks of fines or enforement in laws. Only invitations to participate.

If the govt invited it and clergy mentioned it with encouragement the flock would be willing enough. 90% of people who carry a religious badge to their name are happy and proud to.

But here’s where the abuses and shere weight of what it means to be a member will be exposed. The Christians, The Muslims, the Buddists can all conscience free do a good job with such a censor. Even the Lord of the Rings religion would happily ask their members to register their faith and why the hell not, Tolkien wrote some very inspiring words of a very high brow religious nature. Why should his books of lore not be revered. And proudly.

I can see the Sceintology, Mormons and Moonies fighting this to their death. Because they are cults and want to abuse their members more than help them.

I’d be signing up to be a lay member of the Jedi religion for sure.

If I was asked I would be happy to volunteer I was in the past a clergyman of Scientology and a fanatic most of my life but my hearts clean on the matter. I have a clear conscience (the whole point of religion) so why should I be cagey about it?

But if such a censor asked a person to give a % to how much of their time and resources they gave to their religion, despite exaggerations you’d end up with a very clear and different picture.