A Question of Faith

We are in D.C. again with students. I love to see the students experience "new things", as I enjoy seeing others learn, as well as learning myself.

In light of my love for learning, yesterday we went to the L.Ron Hubbard house to take a tour. For those that don't know who he is, he was the founder of "Scientology", a mind/thought/spirit cult. My husband and I were the only ones there to take the tour and the tour guide was a young man who had grown up in the cult. Before reading more about "Scientology" after getting back to our room, I was intrigued with his presentation. But, honesty is not the best policy when coming to marketing a cult, nor is it "important" when others seek to subvert "righteousness". Real motivations take time to evaluate.

Scientologists believe that one can "control persons, environments, and organizations". When I inquired about this quote of Hubbard's, as it concerned me. Our tour guide explained that "controlling others was not really about coercion, as giving them what they want'. It is, in other words, manipulation, marketing, and dominating another for the purposes of one's own agenda. After, reading more on the internet about many nations wanting to outlaw this cult, I became convinced that the "jargon" that was given to us in the tour was only a means of luring someone into a "cultish mentality". But, their marketing scheme is under the name of "rationality". There were many "truths", which do "work", but at what costs?

Scientology has infilterated business training, education, and healthcare to mention only a few. They have a hierarchal "scheme" of promotion in the "processing' (trainee) and informing (auditor). One is trained to "become" under the influence of another's "expertise" and advice. I find that this can be similar to some "discipleship" programs within the Christian faith. It is the "theology of glory" that Luther spoke out against. And it is really warmed over gnosticism, at least that is what it seems to me. I found it espcially interesting that the guide promoted Hubbard as a humanitarian, who was concerned about human rights, while he promoted groupism and a group think.

When we were about to leave, I saw another quote about trust, which I found interesting and questioned our guide about "naive trust" in a world that does not speak that language. Trust is something that should be earned, as others should respect proper boundaries around the "other", whether nation or person.

Dianetics is the "program" and it sounds so "promising", but practically, it is a dangerous brain-washing, which promises success, health, and "wisdom". These promises appeal to all men, who desire "power", but this kind of power does abuse the "law", whether the law of Christ, or the law of Moses, or the law of boundary maintenence.