# Scientology **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692 "2003-08-12T18:06:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KontagiousKaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee59a6/32.png) [@KontagiousKaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KontagiousKaren)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/1 "2003-08-12T18:06:06Z")
My friend and I were discussing Scientology the other day. We both have tried to look stuff up about it and find out what the beliefs are, but all we could find is “scientology is a religion based on scientific facts”. So I was wondering if anyone could please give me some information on it or a website, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/2 "2003-08-12T18:10:22Z")
Unka Cecil’s take on [Scientology](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_134.html) My advice? Stay far far away from it. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/3 "2003-08-12T18:20:14Z")
Another site: [http://www.xenu.net/](http://www.xenu.net/) And Qadgop’s advice is sound, unless your morbid curiosity takes over. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/4 "2003-08-12T18:20:16Z")
[Operation Clambake - The Inner Secrets of Scientology](http://www.xenu.net/) - good reading on how it costs $300,000 for a grade-A brainwashing. Scientific facts, huh? > [@](#): > > The head of the Galactic Federation (76 planets around larger > stars visible from here) (founded 95,000,000 years ago, very > space opera) solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet, > 178 billion on average) by mass implanting. He caused people to > be brought to Teegeeack (Earth) and put an H-Bomb on the > principal volcanos (Incident II) and then the Pacific area ones > were taken in boxes to Hawaii and the Atlantic area ones to > Las Palmas and there “packaged”. > > His name was Xenu. He used renegades. Various misleading > data by means of circuits etc. was placed in the implants. [http://www.xenu.net/archive/ot3.html](http://www.xenu.net/archive/ot3.html) QtM gives good advice. ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/5 "2003-08-13T00:28:36Z")
In addition to the excellent sources cited above, there have been at least a couple of lengthy discussions on this topic in General Questions already. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/6 "2003-08-13T01:30:19Z")
Thou all shalt face the wrath of Xenu for your blasphemy! ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/7 "2003-08-13T02:42:00Z")
Heathens, all of you! Thou shalt be audited and found unworthy! Sorry **Revtim** , couldn’t help adding on to the dig. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/8 "2003-08-13T07:12:56Z")
Oh, the CoS, everyone’s least favorite criminal organization. We know all about them here. [First, let them speak for themselves](http://www.xenu.net/archive/co_pls.html): > [@](#): > > ENEMY SP Order. > Fair game. > May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed. > –Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter of 18 October 1967 L. Ron Hubbard created Scientology and ran it like Stalin ran the Soviet Union: He established a cult of personality around himself and gave full reign to his paranoia and violence. Another little gem: > [@](#): > > […] > If there will be a long-term threat, you are to immediately evaluate and originate a black PR campaign to destroy the person’s repute and to discredit them so thoroughly that they will be ostracized. > […] > -L. Ron Hubbard, “Handling Hostile Contacts / Dead Agenting” Basically, the CoS is quite willing to discredit anyone who speaks out against them. They will dredge up someone’s history to form the basis of wild accusations, simply to try to make sure the accuser becomes the victim of a Scientology-lead witch hunt. Of course, they aren’t above lying, as long as they can run you into the ground. Oh, and what is a `dead agent’? It’s a concept found in _The Art of War_ by Sun Tzu (Heard of it? Pretty well-known.): > [@](#): > > Expendable spies—are employed to spread disinformation outside the state. Provide our expendable spies with false information and have them leak it to enemy agents. (When the deceit is discovered, they are murdered or executed.) > –Ralph D. Sawyer (translator), The Art of War. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1994, ISBN 1-56619-297-8, pp. 232-232. Tzu uses the term `expendable spies,’ but it’s just a spelling variation. The concept is the exact same. As for running someone into the ground, you need look no further than [Lisa McPherson](http://www.lisamcpherson.org/). McPherson died in a Clearwater, Florida hotel after having been denied food and water by her Scientologist masters. Feel free to research this further, but be warned: The CoS is happy to lie about itself to gain new members, and it has taken over the Cult Awareness Network. Additionally, the site [religioustolerance.org](http://religioustolerance.org) is either a shill or dangerously naive about how the CoS really operates. Don’t believe what it says. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/9 "2003-08-13T07:28:25Z")
> [@](#): > > solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet, > 178 billion on average) THAT’S overpopulation? Feh! Coruscant, the capital of the Empire, has over 500 trillion (and more likely as much as one quadrillion) sentient beings living on it! (As long as we’re comparing fiction…) ---
**Author:** ![kidneymilk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df788c/32.png) [@kidneymilk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneymilk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/10 "2003-08-13T08:18:06Z")
So, do you think they (scientologists) have some inside-dirt on John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman being used to coax the celebs into promoting this delusional nonsense??? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/11 "2003-08-13T08:21:12Z")
Yes, I’d love to hear some factual evaluation on the kinds of things they allegedly do to celebs - anybody have info on that question? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/12 "2003-08-13T13:41:41Z")
Howyadoin, After reading those excerpts from the ElRon himself, it really makes me wonder… How does a religion founded by a writer have written principles so inferior to those of a religion founded by a carpenter? I don’t have any information that hasn’t already been cited, but I will say that you need to be very careful with these people. They apparently have powerful allies, otherwise their scam “religion” would have been dismantled a long time ago. -Rav ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/13 "2003-08-13T17:12:48Z")
Because the New Testament doesn’t instruct people to go around “Dead Agenting”. Indeed, it even goes so far as to warn people against hurting each other. “As you forgive” and all that… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/14 "2003-08-13T22:29:04Z")
Hubbard started the “religion” almost on a dare. The story goes that, back in the 50’s, he and a bunch of other science fiction writers were talking about how poorly they were being paid (something like a penny a word). Someone, possibly Hubbard, commented that, if you really wanted to rake in the dough, start your own religion. Voila! Scientology! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/15 "2003-08-14T02:51:13Z")
I’ve heard/read the whole “the best way to make money is start a religion” quote, but does anyone have a credible **cite** for it? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/16 "2003-08-14T02:57:40Z")
Scientology could actually make a pretty good novel, but you’d first have to get a competent science fiction writer to do it and not Hubbard. How about Scientology in the style of Asimov’s _Foundation_ series or Niven’s universe? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/17 "2003-08-14T03:17:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Indeed, it even goes so far as to warn people against hurting each other. Well, in parts. In other parts, not so much… ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/18 "2003-08-14T04:47:54Z")
I’ve always found it endlessly amusing that someone who makes his living by writing science-fiction would be able to convince people he knew the Higher Authority or what-have-you. ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/19 "2003-08-14T07:23:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Unka Cecil’s take on [Scientology](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_134.html) > > My advice? Stay far far away from it. \*\* I read Cecil’s article. It was funny as hell. I noticed he mentions being on a radio show ‘swatting flies for 30 minutes’. Anyone know where I can find a transcript or recording of this? I think it would be fun to read what Cecil said. ---
**Author:** ![corndog\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@corndog\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corndog_man)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692/20 "2003-08-14T10:37:20Z")
Scientology is based that we all have problems that we cannot find solutions to, the things that give us problems, the Scientologists (S’s) call them “engrams”. S’s believe in reincarnation, and that all the problems that people inherit comes from all the engrams that we have. So, what’s the answer? Dianetics, Scientology and a load of bullshit. The first meeting you have with an S’s they put you on what’s called an “e-meter” which is two cans that the sucker (uh, person) holds, while the S’s (called auditors) ask questions. Somehow they relieve you of your engrams. L ron started the “church” as a tax dodge. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientology/194692.md?page=2)