What is Scientology?

History

The religion of Scientology was started by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer. Ideas pertaining to the religion were introduced in 1938 with his release of the book “Excalibur,” and he later expanded on those ideas with another book titled “Dianetics – The Modern Science of Mental Health.” The book sold millions worldwide. Actors Tom Cruise, Danny Masterson, and John Travolta all practice Scientology. It was even metaphorically depicted in a movie titled “Battlefield: Earth” which starred Travolta. This celebrity attention has spawned a great deal of interest into what this religion is all about.

God

Scientologists claim to believe in God, but His nature in the religion is completely different than the God of Christianity. In Scientology, God is known as the Eighth Dynamic. A Scientologist believes that God is completely knowable, and once we reach a certain spiritual awareness, we will completely understand who God is, what He thinks, and so on. For them, God is not someone to trust by faith. Faith is frowned upon in the Scientologist community. Instead, they say we must wait until we are sure of whether or not there is a God. This realization depends on what spiritual level we may have attained.

Jesus

In the world of Scientology, there is a Jesus, but no Christ. L. Rom Hubbard even stated rather clearly “There is no Christ.” They believe that Jesus was a real person who died on a real cross, but they say He died for His own sins.

Law and Morality

Hubbard said that everything will be temporarily illegal at some point in the future. He uses this logic to say that there is nothing that’s technically wrong, it’s just wrong for the time. Because of this, Scientologists abide by the law, but they don’t show respect for it. Jesus on the other hand says in Matthew 5:17 that He didn’t come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.

Xenu

Scientologists do believe in spiritual warfare. The difference is they attribute it to aliens. To be more precise, they attribute it to an individual named Xenu, who was the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy. He apparently wanted to hold a mass execution on Earth 75 million years ago, so he brought aliens to our planet, lined them up around volcanoes and proceeded to kill them with hydrogen bombs. Now, the spirits of these dead aliens are said to torment the humans as they move about in everyday life.

Money

In Christianity, 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us that loving money is the root of all evil. While having money isn’t wrong, loving it is. Hubbard made a rather clear statement perfectly outlining their stance on the love of money in Scientology. He said, “Make money. Make more money.” That shows loving money is one of the focuses of Scientology, which is the opposite of what God asks in Christianity. Not only that, but Hubbard noted that he started Scientology for the money when he said, “I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is.”

Forgiveness

In Christianity, we are required to forgive others just as Jesus forgave us. In Luke 6:29, Jesus tells us that if someone hits us on one cheek, we should expose the other also. In Scientology, people are encouraged to hit back. “We’re not a cheek-turning religion,” says Liesa Goodman, spokesperson for Scientology.

Conclusion

The study of Scientology reveals page upon page of false teaching. The good news is that these core beliefs of Scientology are obviously wrong, and Christians should have an easy time arguing against them when witnessing. The problem with Scientology is that it makes so many outlandish claims to the point that any real comparison to Christianity would be pointless. Any believer who seeks to witness to a Scientologist needs to be ready to go back to the basics, starting with the Fall of Man and moving into the true story of Jesus.

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Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education.His personal education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971, and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty’s existence. Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean of the School of Religion.Dr. Towns has given theological lectures and taught intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. He holds visiting professorship rank in five seminaries. He has written over 2,000 reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees. Four doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious education and evangelism.

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