The Scientology Comparative Theology Page
Exemption of CST Under Section
501(c)(3)
CST (Scientology's parent corporation), October 1, 1993.
"..as a practical matter Scientologists are expected to and
do become fully devoted to Scientology to the exclusion of other
faiths",
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Scientology and Judaism
No other Gods before Me
Scientology, through auditing, seeks to unburden man from his reactive
mind, allowing him to attain God-like powers. This end is not compatible
with Judaism, both in tradition and in Law. It is probably not by
coincidence that the first commandment given to Moses (Exodus 20:1) is
"I am the LORD your God who brought you out of bondage in Egypt. You
shall have no other gods before me." Thus, the worship of self by making
oneself into a god ala Scientology is forbidden by the Law.
The history of the Israelites, from Exodus to Kings, contains many
examples of false gods, and the consequences of worshipping them. The
Golden Calf. The utter destruction of the false gods of Jericho and
Canaan. The temptations of the false gods of Babylon. The desecration
of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes during the Maccabean period.
Throughout history, the Israelites differentiated themselves as a
culture from the Gentiles through steadfast worship of one God.
Scientology has been criticized for its emphasis on money. Internally,
Scientology uses money as a statistic for many measures of success -
gross income, donations by IAS members, the size of the "war chest",
the size of Sea Org reserves, etc. HCO PL 9 Mar 1972 contains the
instructions: "MAKE MONEY.... MAKE MORE MONEY.... GET OTHERS TO MAKE
MONEY. Scientology's worship of money and possessions (graven images
of heaven, earth or sea) is idolatry and a direct violation of the Law
in Exodus 20.
While Scientology officially denies it, L. Ron Hubbard is venerated
to near-deity status. Even though Hubbard is dead, every Org has an
office for him, just in case he returns. There is a picture of him in
every Scientology Org. Shouts of "hip hip hooray" (the closest
Scientology ever comes to "worship") are directed at it. To advance in
Scientology, one must study Hubbard's words (and there are a lot of
them compared to the Torah), which competes for the Scientologist's
time sometimes to the exclusion of all other study.
Knowledge is only from God
Scientology is a systematic revealing (or gnosis) of mystical knowledge
whereby the thetan's powers are unlocked. Jewish tradition teaches that
knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge, comes from the LORD alone.
The prophets, both major and minor, are shown as having knowledge from
God, and not of themselves. For example, the Book of Daniel contains
examples in nearly every chapter that the power and knowledge of God, as
revealed through Daniel, is superior to the false gods of the Chaldeans
and Babylonians. The Chaldeans and magicians are repeatedly unable to
interpret dreams, solve riddles, or prophesy like Daniel who speaks the
word of the LORD.
Hubbard dabbled in Middle Eastern magic with the OTO and Golden Dawn,
and some of the conepts were incorporated into Dianetics: the Modern
Science of Mental Health. Bits and pieces of Chaldean magic as
recorded in Daniel creates a background of mysticism in Scientology.
(More on the OTO and Golden Dawn in the Christianity section).
Creation
If the Jewish creation account is contrasted with that of Scientology
(Incident 1), the Operating Thetan levels can be seen as an attempt to
undo the effects of mankind's progressive downward spiral and
re-establish the thetan's latent powers over MEST. In Jewish terms, the
Scientologist seeks to be God of Creation. Genesis 3:4-6 records
Mankind's first sin - the sin of wanting to be gods:
4 And the serpent said to the woman, you surely shall not die: 5 For God
knows that the day you eat of the tree, your eyes shall be opened, and
you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of the
tree and ate, and gave it also to her husband with her; and he ate.
Scientology holds that many gods (thetans) brought the world into being
by mutual agreement. These thetans are not to be worshipped, since
everyone is a thetan. Judaism holds that heavens and earth were
created by the LORD alone. The LORD is to be served to the exclusion
of all other gods.
The Sabbath
Scientology does not recognize a Sabbath for its staff. Again, the
emphasis is on "production" and money. This is a direct violation of
the Law of Moses.
Reincarnation
While Scientology teaches that people have been reincarnated billions
of times, there is no such tradition in the Torah.
Hubbard Maligns Judaism
Hubbard on YHWH
"Then, a lot of people will say carelessly, "Well, God is everywhere".
Remember, that this was an idea which was introduced rather latterly[sic]
in Christian religion[sic]. The god of whom they speak continually is
"yawah". Lord knows how it's pronounced, because it is so secret that
nobody really is supposed to be able to pronounce it, so they omitted
all of the vowels in the word and they spell it only with its consonants.
So, lord knows how this word is to be pronounced, but more agreed upon
pronunciation amongst scholars, so they can talk about it, is "yawah".
"And this is the Christian[sic] God. But he lives in a trunk with a
leopard skin. That's right, that's the whole story of it.",
Source Unknown
[RealAudio]
Commentary:
- Neither Christianity[sic] nor Judaism teaches that God is everywhere.
In numerous scriptures, God is given bodily attributes and moves to specific
places. If God were everywhere, he would not have to move to specific places.
- While Hubbard thinks he is talking about the "Christian God", it is
quite clear from the context that he is talking about the God of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.
- The name of God is not spoken out of secrecy, but rather out of
respect. In the Middle East, speaking a person's name gives power over
that person. Since no human can have power over God, the name of God is
not spoken.
- Hubbard's comments about vowels and consonants reveal that he knows
very little about Hebrew.
- Hubbard uses the name of the Lord in vain. Twice.
Hubbard on the Creator
"I imagine when we finally manage to communicate with beetles under rocks
and free them, we'll no doubt find the Creator of Heaven who 43 +
Trillion years ago designed and built the Pearly Gates and entrapped us
all.
"Good Lord, I'd hate to be guilty of that overt. But never mind - you
aren't either. That guy is GONE (I hope!)", HCO BULLETIN OF MAY 11,
AD13
Commentary:
- The Pearly Gates refer to the Helatrobus Implants. See "Hubbard on
Heaven". According to Hubbard, heaven is a false memory given to us by
an evil "Creator of Heaven".
- Apparently, the Helatrobus Implants are present in a wide variety
of life forms, including insects.
- Hubbard expects to find the Creator of Heaven under a rock.
- While Hubbard may have meant his reference to communicating with
beetles to have been amusing, one of the final steps for the old OT VII
contains instructions to:
OT7-48
1. Find some plants, trees, etc., and communicate to them
individually until you know they received your communication.
2. Go to a zoo or a place with many types of life and communicate
with each of them until you know the communication is
received and, if possible, returned.
- The number "43+ Trillion years ago" was most likely attained by
using an e-meter to "date" a Whole Track event. In this procedure, the
person asks "before <number>?" and looks for a needle reaction. The
process is repeated until the time of the event is found, sometimes to
the exact second.
- An "overt" is a wrongful act committed by someone against someone
else. For example, the Helatrobus Implant is an overt by ancient
psychiatrists against those who manifest its symptoms.
- "AD13" refers to the 13th year "after Dianetics". D:MSMH was
published in 1950. Hubbard, in a fit of self-aggrandizement, changed
the calendar to revolve around himself.
- Hubbard hopes the Creator of Heaven is GONE.
Hubbard on Hebrew Prophesy
" Old therapies include the 2000 yr ago plus or minus
Aoscuplepian drug treatment (hillabore) which produced a
conclusion and coma, and in which the nut practitioner made
up as a God and "visited" the patient in a "dream". This
outfit was all over the ancient world.
"
- L. Ron Hubbard, Resistive Cases, Former Therapy, HCOB 23 Sep
1968.
Commentary:
- Former Therapy discusses drug-induced events on the Whole
Track which may prevent progression in Scientology. The Whole Track is
Scientology's dogma concerning eternal life.
- Hubbard shows disrespect for other religions which may use
psychoactive elements in their worship. For example, several Native
American tribes of the southwestern United States use peyote buttons.
- Hubbard may be referring to ancient Jewish prophets ("all over the
ancient world"). One of the mechanisms by which the Hebrew prophets
received messages from God was in a dream. e.g. Jer 23:28 "The prophet
that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let
him speak my word faithfully."
- A summary of statements made by Hubbard
describe dreams as being reactive (psychotic) rather than a pathway for
messages from God.
Hubbard on Leadership
"When you move off a point of power, pay all your obligations
on the nail, empower all your friends completely and move off with
your pockets full of artillery, potential blackmail on every
erstwhile rival, unlimited funds in your private account and the
addresses of experienced assassins and go live in
Bulgravia and bribe the police."
- L. Ron Hubbard, The Responsibility of Leaders, HCO PL 12 Feb 1967.
Commentary:
- "A point of power" is Hubbardese for "a position of power".
- Somewhere in this rambling sentence, Hubbard moves from lawful to
the unlawful.
- "Pockets full of artillery" is meant to be threat to others.
- "Unlimited funds in your private account" probably got there through
stealing, which is proscribed in the Ten Commandments.
- "Assassins" is murder or conspiracy to commit murder, again proscribed
in the Ten Commandments.
- "Bribe" is a form of false witness, again proscribed by the Ten
Commandments.
- "For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords,
the great, the mighty, and the awesome God . . . who does not show
partiality, nor take a bribe." - Deuteronomy 10:17
Hubbard on Following the Law
"Use the rules until they prevent you from doing your job. But if these
stop you, then to *hell* with the rules! Get the show on the road."
- L. Ron Hubbard, HCOPL 19 March 1968