# I'm thinking about trying out Scientology. What's your experience with the org? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 24, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392 "2007-05-24T19:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/121 "2007-05-29T21:00:54Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] I think you are confusing two things. I think the quote comes from his Today Show interview. I may be wrong, I’m full of Thetans today. [/QUOTE] You are correct; it was in his interview with Matt Lauer. > [@](#): > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/24/AR2005062401866.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/24/AR2005062401866.html) > > “Psychiatry is a pseudoscience,” he told host Matt Lauer, later saying: “You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do.” ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/122 "2007-05-29T21:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=Tom Cruise] “Psychiatry is a pseudoscience,” [/QUOTE] As opposed to Scientology, which is a scam. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/123 "2007-05-29T21:31:53Z")
**BMalion** , I’m sure it was unintentional, but I’d appreciate if you would ask a moderator to fix your post to give proper attribution to that quote, seeing as how it was said by Tom Cruise and not by me. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/124 "2007-05-29T22:55:35Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] As opposed to Scientology, which is a scam. [/QUOTE] So is most psychiatry. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/125 "2007-05-30T00:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] So is most psychiatry. [/QUOTE] On what grounds? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/126 "2007-05-30T00:08:55Z")
Might I suggest that a new thread on the merits/demerits of psychiatry be started elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/127 "2007-05-30T00:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] On what grounds? :dubious: [/QUOTE] A pill for every emotion. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/128 "2007-05-30T00:53:19Z")
My two contacts. A long time ago the brother of a girlfriend of mine got suckered into them, and started giving them all his savings. Luckily, he was underage, and his parents got it back. The brother of a friend is quite high in the ranks. He was ordered not to let his father be in contact with his children. (Directly ordered or pressured I don’t know - same thing.) Warning: in many of these threads, a Guest will show up, claim that he is not associated with Scientology in any way, but be very familiar with its secret tenets. He’ll defend it, often being very polite. None in this thread, so far. They must be slipping. Oh, and a couple of Hubbard’s stories from Unknown in the early '40s weren’t too bad. He was indeed a hack writer, but he used to have some talent. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/129 "2007-05-30T05:41:40Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] My two contacts. A long time ago the brother of a girlfriend of mine got suckered into them, and started giving them all his savings. Luckily, he was underage, and his parents got it back. The brother of a friend is quite high in the ranks. He was ordered not to let his father be in contact with his children. (Directly ordered or pressured I don’t know - same thing.) Warning: in many of these threads, a Guest will show up, claim that he is not associated with Scientology in any way, but be very familiar with its secret tenets. He’ll defend it, often being very polite. None in this thread, so far. They must be slipping. Oh, and a couple of Hubbard’s stories from Unknown in the early '40s weren’t too bad. He was indeed a hack writer, but he used to have some talent. [/QUOTE] Hubbard was a _professional_ hack. He was quite good at it until he got full of himself latter. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/130 "2007-05-30T06:23:37Z")
Strange, radical new religions tend to get demonized whenever they emerge, and as far as I know Scientology is the strangest, most radical new religion out there. That doesn’t mean you should jump in blindfolded, but if you’re willing to sell yourself out to a goofy religion (and they’re all goofy), why **not** one that people you admire belong to? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/131 "2007-05-30T06:57:06Z")
Mosier, if I had to pick any of a number of goofy religions, I wouldn’t pick the one that tells me I need to cut myself off from my family and all my former friends. Or the one that charges me thousands of dollars just to learn what their creed is. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/132 "2007-05-30T07:02:38Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Mosier, if I had to pick any of a number of goofy religions, I wouldn’t pick the one that tells me I need to cut myself off from my family and all my former friends. Or the one that charges me thousands of dollars just to learn what their creed is. [/QUOTE] Isn’t there a biblical precedent for not fraternizing with non-Christians? Also, I’m unaware of any Scientology directive to “cut yourself off” from anyone. Are you sure that really happens? I suspect it’s more like a little nudge toward the idea of sticking where you belong (just like every other religion) rather than a forced exile. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/133 "2007-05-30T07:33:02Z")
Mosier - what is this biblical precedent you speak of for not fraternizing with non-Christians? Never heard of it. You say that you’re unaware of any Scientology directive to “cut yourself off” from anyone. How familiar are you with Scientology directives? This is what I’ve heard from first-person accounts (granted, people that have left the church). In any case, charging thousands of dollars just to learn their creed seems sufficient reason not to get involved with them, even if you disagree with the first two points. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/134 "2007-05-30T11:58:14Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] Isn’t there a biblical precedent for not fraternizing with non-Christians?.. [/QUOTE] Nope. There’s the “unequally yoked” phrase from 2 Corinthians 6:14 > [@Bible](#): > > “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” This is generally taken to refer a warning that a Christian should not choose to marry a non-Christian. In many other places the Bible encourages Christians to be good employees of non-believing bosses (Colossians 3:23), if they are already married when they come to faith they should strive to be good spouses of non-believing people (1 Corinthians 7:12-14), and Jesus himself dined with non-believers several times (Mark 2:15-17). ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/135 "2007-05-30T12:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] **BMalion** , I’m sure it was unintentional, but I’d appreciate if you would ask a moderator to fix your post to give proper attribution to that quote, seeing as how it was said by Tom Cruise and not by me. Thanks. [/QUOTE] Sorry, my mistake. :smack: You were quite right. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/136 "2007-05-30T13:16:05Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] In any case, charging thousands of dollars just to learn their creed seems sufficient reason not to get involved with them, even if you disagree with the first two points. [/QUOTE] Especially when you can learn it just by watching South Park. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/137 "2007-05-30T13:25:30Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] You say that you’re unaware of any Scientology directive to “cut yourself off” from anyone. How familiar are you with Scientology directives? This is what I’ve heard from first-person accounts (granted, people that have left the church). [/QUOTE] I have read Dianetics, and a couple of years ago I shared rent with a guy who was casually (yes, casual Scientologists exist) involved with Scientology. We’re still good friends now. His father went wayyy over the deep end with it though, living like he had given some kind of Scientologist nun vows and was obligated to live in the church and devote his life to it. He had no job, no self esteem, and was generally a pretty miserable person, though, so I’m pretty skeptical of the self actualization the original poster is attributing to the religion. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/138 "2007-05-30T14:09:56Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] Strange, radical new religions tend to get demonized whenever they emerge, and as far as I know Scientology is the strangest, most radical new religion out there. That doesn’t mean you should jump in blindfolded, but if you’re willing to sell yourself out to a goofy religion (and they’re all goofy), why **not** one that people you admire belong to? [/QUOTE] You know, the only one I’ve never heard some really crazy stuff about is the Bahai. I don’t know of anyone who really hates them. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/139 "2007-05-30T14:20:43Z")
> [@](#): > > You know, the only one I’ve never heard some really crazy stuff about is the Bahai. I don’t know of anyone who really hates them. I’ve heard that the Baha’i get rough treatment from Muslim fundamentalists in places like Afghanistan and Iran. The reason is that the orthodox view is the Mohammed is the “Seal on the Prophets”, and that there are no prophets after him. Yet this, of course, is precisely what Bah’ullah claimed to be, in the very recent past. (Muslims also take a dim view of the Mormons’ Joseph Smith, for the same reason). ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392/140 "2007-05-30T16:27:04Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I’ve heard that the Baha’i get rough treatment from Muslim fundamentalists in places like Afghanistan and Iran. The reason is that the orthodox view is the Mohammed is the “Seal on the Prophets”, and that there are no prophets after him. Yet this, of course, is precisely what Bah’ullah claimed to be, in the very recent past. (Muslims also take a dim view of the Mormons’ Joseph Smith, for the same reason). [/QUOTE] Sure, the Muslims don’t accept anything that came after. One of my favorite stories is about how a Saudi Imam issued a Fatwa against anyone who said the Earth was round, until a Saudi prince went up in the Shuttle Discovery, came back and told him that he saw definitively that the Earth was in fact round. IMHO, this is part of the Muslim problem with modernity, so many scientifically demonstrable proofs that Mohammed had nothing to say about. Though, I think the concept of being a ‘seal’ on the prophets isn’t only a part of Islam. Gotta create the brand loyalty and all. Doesn’t Baha’ullah say something about being the last prophet? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-trying-out-scientology-whats-your-experience-with-the-org/405392.md?page=8)