I dunno, a person who calls themselves a bitstream might like to be part of a machine.
AFAIKS, the vast majority of the religions of human kind, 200 000 B.C. to date, do not use friendship as a missionary tool. Christianity and Islam isn’t the only religions invented by man, but of course the are reason why those (together with other world religions) are the biggest to day. In fact, looking at the thosands of religious systems of human kind, there are but a handful which would try to make you believe what they believe; to most, that would be a strange attitude indeed.
So what is your personal experience, and what do you know are lies?
I mean, why pay money for dubious auditing? get your own e-meter (do they sell tem on EBAY?), and a copy of Hubbard’s books, and study “the tech” yourself!
Then you can get an idea of just how crazy this thing ($cientology) is! Face it, the "tech’ teaches that:
-the universe is thousands of billions of years old
-XENU transported the souls of millions of people to earth (via wingless DC-3s), and blew them up in volcanos
-you have thousands of "thetans’ stuck top your mind-only their removal will make you “clear”
-once clear, you will have an IQ > 180, be happy, and have financial success
-L. Ron Hubbard was a successful scientist, naval officer, and a first-rate writer (in reality, he was NONE of these).
But heck, it MIGHT work for you! just be aware, you will likely end up broke.
You make a clear or become clear by having your engrams erased - look it up in Dianetics.
Where did you get the IQ data? If you are clear you do not automatically have an IQ of 180. There is no quarantee that you’ll be happy or have financial success.
Is that more, equally, or less crazy and laughable than “I swear I’m a virgin. It’s God’s baby!” when your husband starts to notice that you’re seven months pregnant?
As far as religious foundations are concerned, I’d say L. Ron’s fantastic claims are among the most tame.
Why do they charge you so much money to be “clear”, then?
Do you have nothing to say about the other points, such as thousands of alien “thetans” inhabiting your mind, Xenu, spaceships, and the false claims that Hubbard made about himself?
Oh, and what is your personal experience concerning Operation Clambake, and what parts of the website do you know are lies?
Wow. A Protestant Scientologist.
How do they do that? Nail 99 Theses to the front door of Tom Cruise’s house?
His closet door, actually.
He was a naval officer, just not a very good one (spent some time blowing up stuff not related in any way to the Japanese war effort in WWII) The scientologists on Wikipedia spent some time trying to edit that one out, but it seems they were beaten in the end.
I think ralph was extending the “successful” to cover “naval officer” when he said that he wasn’t one. (Which agrees with your statement that he wasn’t a good one), so you’re both right.
Having read Miller’s bio of Hubbard, and the Naval documentation at xenu.net, I have to agree.
One thing I do sympathize with Hubbard about (odd to say that, but true) is the way his written reports were rejected by the Navy. Here’s a guy who’s a well-published professional writer, but the Navy complained about the way he wrote his reports. They said, in effect, that they read too much ike pulp fiction. Which is, of course, what Ron wrote, and was successful at. But he needed to get used to the less flamboyant , more business-like Navy style.
No. He said that another Prophet would not come for at least 1,000 years. I cannot locate my Kitab-i-Aqdas (Holy Book) right now, so cannot find the exact line and paragraph. But it was pretty apparent that He said there would be another Prophet, just not for a good long while.
[/hijack]
OK, so I was wrong about being "clear’-so what is this exalted state supposed to do for you? You get rid of your engrams and thetans-and spend a fortune-what’s next? it seemes to me, that Hubbard kept inventing ‘new’ ways to ascend the bridge-what isn’t clear is, what happens when you get there?
Is John Travolta a “clear”? his acting doesn’t seem to have improved because of it. or Tom Cruise-he’s just as wacky as ever.
or take hubbard himself-he died a grumpy old man-what did the "tech’ do for him?
oh-and his naval career-what a hoot! the harbor patrol craft he commanded actually shelled a mexican island! I’m sure that was a BIG contribution to the war effort! he laso fough a running battle with a non-existent japanese submarine! yeah-he’s righ up there with Admiral Farragut! 