The Scientology Comparative Theology Page

About the Author

In 1981, the "Church" of Scientology forwarded the claim to me that they were "an applied religious philosophy" and compatible with Christianity. I accepted the claim at face value - "Why would a Church lie?", I thought. Scientology uses this same misleading recruiting approach even today. I signed up for their introductory "Success Through Communications" (a.k.a. "the Comm Course"). I concurrently read Hubbard's Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health as well.

As I read their material, it became clear that a central tenet of Scientology is whole-track auditing. The Whole Track is a thetan's (spirit's) record of past lives, which implies a belief in reincarnation and is heresy in the Christian and Jewish faiths. The never-ending emphasis by Scientology on money made me uneasy as well. At that point, I declined to supplant my own religion with Scientology and drifted away from the Church.

More than a decade later, I found Scientology being discussed on the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology . I began reading messages purporting to be Scientology's upper-level "scriptures", with validation by hi-level ex-Scientologists. These "scriptures" sounded more like bad science fiction than salvation for the soul. As I dug deeper into Hubbard's Advanced Technology and upper-level teachings, I found more and more material that confirmed my decision from a decade before. What I learned was very bad indeed. As a practicing Christian, I feel a responsibility to warn Christians, Jews, and Muslims of the danger presented by Scientology's deceptive recruiting practices.

This website is a summary and analysis of what I learned. It is dedicated to "Rogue Agent", an anonymous poster to a.r.s. whose well-reasoned posts effectively refuted the deceptive information that misled me so long ago. For his efforts, the "Church" of Scientology attempted to uncover his identity and began randomly threatening denizens of the university computer center from which he posted. Rogue chose to withdraw from a.r.s. rather than risk injury to innocent bystanders. For Scientology's underhanded dealing with Rogue, I found some of his old posts and began building this web. Scientology has a doctrine dealing with "pulling it [bad karma] in", which is what they did in this case.

This Web is my response to Scientology's deceptive recruiting practices. Had Scientology told me up front that they were non-Christian, I would have simply moved on. However, as I learned that Scientology exhibits predatory behavior toward Christianity and religion in general, I felt compelled to inform other Christians about the hidden beliefs of Scientology, both because of my own religious background as well as my citizenship rights and responsibilities under the First Amendment of the United States' Constitution.

On a personal note, I am an Electrical Engineer that works for one of the larger Fortune 500 computer companies. As an applied scientist, I know something of the scientific method. I describe myself as a "closet Fundamentalist" Christian, meaning I interpret the Bible literally when possible but don't like beating people over the head with it. I have served on my local parish council, sing in the choir, and lead occasional Bible studies for the church. Friends sometimes say I should have joined the clergy, but I don't think it pays enough for the amount of work involved.

Finally, a note of thanks to all the contributors to a.r.s. which are included here. It has been quite a education. If you happen to be surprised to find your post here and wish it removed, please contact me. I have assumed that a newsgroup post has an implied license to copy.

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