New Zealand Cults, Sects, Religions, Christian Organisations, and other groups.

Church of Scientology

Other Main Names:

Scientology
Dianetics

L Ron Hubbard (1911-1986, founder, sci-fi author)
David Miscavige (born 30 April 1960, present wordwide leader)
Mike Ferriss (NZ leader)

Beliefs

Scientologists believe that each human was once a Thetan - a godlike all-knowing being who became bored because there were no surprises so gave up its power to enter the material universe. Through their religion, a human can return once more to being an Operating Thetan (OT). [And whereupon get bored again?] Reincarnation and a form of karma are essential beliefs in Scientology.

They believe the mind can record "engrams" when subjected to traumatic events. These events may not be remembered by the conscious mind. After much "auditing," a "preclear" (a person who still has engrams) can become "clear." A further course (for more money) confirms the person really is clear.

From here Scientology has at least 8 OT stages (that get progressively more expensive). Several more are rumoured to be incomplete. Each OT stage has a manual associated with it (strangely resembling cheap science fiction) normally referred to by a Roman numeral. These writings get more ridiculous the higher the level, but these are only revealed to Scientologists as they are able to accept them. An overview of the OT manuals is on Operation Clambake's web site.

The big secrets are revealed in OT III. Xenu is the name of the galactic ruler in L Ron Hubbard's science fiction-like manual who dropped hydrogen bombs (the latest technology when Ron wrote it) on some volcanos 75 million years ago. Scientologists have to pay a lot of money to find out this highly secret name and that their troubles are caused by clustering Thetans. However, note that at any time most Scientologists will not have done OT III and believe the knowledge is deadly to the unprepared (preparation naturally being by expensive Scientology courses). Only a few thousand people have done OT III.

Topic/Belief	Christianity's Position	Scientology's Position
Founder:	Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Widely recognised (by non-Christians also) as the greatest person who ever lived.	L Ron Hubbard, a pulp science fiction writer. He has been called "a pathological liar who hated and despised humanity; a sociopath caught between the conflicting desires to earn the admiration of humanity, and his desire to inflict great pain and misery upon those who ignored him and refused him his self-perceived due measure of honor and reverie."
Recognition or acknowledgement of Jesus Christ:	The only completely good person who has ever lived.	Just an ordinary person, no one special. He was not an OT but instead "just a shade above clear." OT VIII (the manual of one of the highest levels of Scientology) reportedly claims Jesus was "a lover of young boys."
About Christianity:	The ONLY religion where God reaches out to people, thereby enabling them to be saved. ALL other religions involve people having to work to earn their salvation.	A religion: that should be tolerated, along with all other religions (public position); that should be eliminated (non-public position).
About Scientology:	A dangerous mind control cult. According to Mike Ferriss "dangerous" means "full of danger; likely to cause injury, pain, etc" Sounds about right. Check out the subheading "The Harm it Does to a Person" in this overview of Scientology at Operation Clambake.	A cult. Yes, Scientology calls Scientology a cult, although they seem to use the word in a different sense than is normal in such matters. A science. Jon Atack: "They are convinced that it is a science, based upon Hubbard's intense research. This is simply untrue. In thirty-six years Hubbard failed to produce a single piece of work which meets acceptable scientific criteria." (Emphasis added.)
To be "saved" (or whatever):	Accept Jesus Christ as your saviour. That's it.	Slowly work your way up through multiple levels, learning more and more "stuff" that would resemble cheap science fiction if you were still enough in control of your mental faculties to recognise it as such, paying what may amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars as you go. In Scientology there's always more to do, but only as long as you're able to believe it and pay for it.