So the Scientologists were in town yesterday...

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I’m not sure how many of you have heard of the Scientologists, but they’re… Odd. To say the least. They claim to be a religion, but not a religion in that you can “be a Scientologist and a Catholic!”

Anyways, I know they’re obviously misled, but I’ve also been made aware of how dangerous they can be via the website xenu.net

So my question is, how does one effectively talk to a Scientologist? Has anyone here had dealings with them? I want to help them and show them the Truth, but at the same time, many others have been hurt quite viciously (financially, socially, and mentally) by the “Church of Scientology” when they became targets.

Since I’m still somewhat new to the Catholic faith, and to apologetics in general, what should I do?
 
I grew up next door to a Scientologist family - the “religion” has been around for a long time! The dad was just plain nuts - I think he was in it for the money. He did e-meter readings. The mom finally left it, but doesn’t say anything against it because she doesn’t want to alienate her children. The kids (all grown up now) are all still involved as far as I know.

Since they can believe just about anything - there’s no real doctrine - it’s impossible to debate or argue with them. First, pray for them. Then, if you want to converse with them (don’t know why anyone would - hard-core believers are quite strange), just tell them about & explain the doctrines of the Church.

If you can catch someone at the beginning, point out the weirdness & inconsistancies of Scientology. L. Ron Hubbard is considered to be even more infallible than the Pope. One of the things he taught & that stuck in my mind (because I’ve been a LLL leader) was that American women are too “nervous” to breastfeed. He gave a formula that called for cow’s milk, corn syrup & (I think) water. Very, very unhealthy!

One of the things about Scientology that “captures” people is that it isn’t free. It’s the only “religion” that requires payments - & large ones, too - for it’s “sacraments”. The financial investment makes people think they should stay in to get their money’s worth.
 
I would recommend lots and lots of prayer.

I had a co-worker who was way into Scientology. He ended up quitting his job to go live in some sort of commune they set up but even before then he spent all of his free time talking with us about his church.

I’m not sure about the money thing but I remember one time we went out and he complained he was broke and I was surprised because we had just gotten paid and he said he “gave all his money to the Church.” I joked with him and said “What? You guys ain’t never heard of no tithe?” He didn’t get it…

His beliefs were like fog. It was hard to pin him down on anything specific they believed in. I remember asking him one time, “Why should I convert? What do you guys do that is so different from me? I like my life as it is now, what can your church do to change it?” His response was that I should go in for a “reading” and then I would understand. I was tempted, but it just seemed a little creepy. I was also aware of all the groups that claimed it was a cult so I didn’t want to get too close.

It was clear that this religion was the major thing in his life and in a way I have rarely seen in people. I’m inclined to believe it is a dangerous (for the people involved) cult.

Pray like no man’s business!
-C
 
I just went to the website you mentioned. I had forgotten about the evil alien Xenu & his minions. I don’t think that part was in the original stuff. My theory is that Hubbard added that when he realized how gullible his followers were. Either that, or he was going bonkers.
 
It is a cult, not a religion.

It’s difficult to evangelize these people because Scientology is a “religion” of “self” more than anything else (self-healing, self-gnosis). Monsters and alien gods aside, there is no real “faith” aspect to it - nothing they “believe” is grounded in any “faith” like you or I might know it, and certainly not in a monotheistic god. So you can’t approach a Scientologist like you would, say, a Mormon or a Seventh Day Adventist.

I had a very bad experience with them, and I have difficulty shaking the (for want of a better term) demon that was released. And I mean “demon” in its more literal sense, not in the “monkey on my back” sense.

Prayer would be the heavy hitter.
 
I have not had personal experience of Scientology, but one of my co-workers used to audit their courses, do volunteer work for them, etc., even though he wasn’t acutally a member. I tended to put it down to his interest in science fiction (L.Ron Hubbard was a sci-fi author), but one day, after hearing him praise them to the skies, I asked him, “I thought you were Catholic?” “Oh, I am,” he said. “Well, if that’s true, how can you believe all that nonsense?” I retorted. He immediately assured me that he didn’t really believe it, just thought it was fun to talk about and so forth, but I wasn’t convinced.

I’ve never forgotten how a few years ago one of the television newsprograms(on ABC; might have been 20/20) was going to do a program-long “expose” on the church of Scientology. My roommate and I got all settled into our chairs to finally hear the inside workings of these people, and about ten minutes in we lost the feed! After a couple of minutes, the station announced they were having technical difficulties, and broadcast a sit-com repeat instead. They never rescheduled the original program, and as far as I know, it’s never been seen. Sounds suspicious to me!
 
Scientology is a cult like following for those who wish to worship MAMMON instead of God. Its a materialistic outlook based on aquiring “things” and measures ones personal success by ones personal accumulation of “things”…ie…wealth and its trappings…

…oh, and they also believe in space aliens… 😛

I recall a few months back, Tom Cruise was on Bravo…actors studio… all was cool until the end, when in his closing, he got all “scientology” and weird, and almost began a rambling about how L Ron Hubbard changed his life… sad really…he’s such a good actor and seems like an all around nice guy who wants to help people.
 
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Lurker:
I’m not sure how many of you have heard of the Scientologists, but they’re… Odd. To say the least. They claim to be a religion, but not a religion in that you can “be a Scientologist and a Catholic!”

Anyways, I know they’re obviously misled, but I’ve also been made aware of how dangerous they can be via the website xenu.net

So my question is, how does one effectively talk to a Scientologist? Has anyone here had dealings with them? I want to help them and show them the Truth, but at the same time, many others have been hurt quite viciously (financially, socially, and mentally) by the “Church of Scientology” when they became targets.

Since I’m still somewhat new to the Catholic faith, and to apologetics in general, what should I do?
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I know that it was started by L.Ron Hubbard a fiction writer and that he claimed he could start a religion if he wanted to…

I also know John Travolta is a beleiver of that faith…
 
Lason Hurd:
Sounds suspicious to me!
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Have you ever visited:
scientology-kills.org/

then visit the same link without the 'hyphen":
scientologykills.org/

Why would scientology use “scientologykills” as a domain name unless it was to capture a significant number of curiosity seekers looking to find “scientology-kills” insights that condemn the cult?

It gets curioser and curioser.

Peace in Christ…Salmon
 
They’ve also bought out the Cult Awareness Network completely. After driving it to bankruptcy from multiple lawsuits they ended up taking it over.
 
I lived in Alaska and was listening to a radio show hosted by and for Scientologists. They were describing how their pets had ‘souls’ and after they die they would be reunited with the soul of their pet in heaven! I never listened to the show after this though I did listen for several weeks prior to this one.

Nuff said?
 
A&E actually ran a two-hour documentary on Scientology several times over the course of a few months the end of last year. It was scary to say the least, about what troubles, both legal & financial are being put on the people who disagree with them or want to get out. The tactics that they use to silence people sounded more like strong-armed tactics.

After that was when I found the Operation Clambake site and saw how off the wall it really was.

The worst part was hearing people call the CAN, to get out of the group, only to have Scientologists manning the phones.
 
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AmandaPS:
The worst part was hearing people call the CAN, to get out of the group, only to have Scientologists manning the phones.
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Google “Lisa McPherson, Florida, Scientology” and you will read a real sad story of someone who tried to get out and paid with her life.

-C
 
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