"Never permit an 'open-minded' approach. [...] Never let them be half-minded about being Scientologists..."
- L. Ron Hubbard, Keeping Scientology Working, HCO PL 7 Feb 65, reissued in 1980, 1991 edition.
Our organizations are friendly. They are only here to help you.
-L.Ron Hubbard, "Dianetic Contract" (23 May 1969)
The Objection
At each and every level of scientology, a member is promised specific benefits. In order to obtain those benefits, however, the member must take part in regular activities, express their self in specific ways, and must be able to pass what amounts to a cheap lie detector test while showing that they are doing so. There's no option to stand up during the hymns and mumble along in order to fit in; if you can't twist your mind into imagining ridiculous and contradictory situations (breaking down your viewpoint of what is and is not real), without showing tension on the E-meter, you cannot progress.
Featured Paper: Professor Kent, University of Alberta
While most of the features given on this journal take the form of videos, this is one hell of a paper. It's long, but fairly definitive. The author, Professor Kent, teaches Sociology at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. He is a noted expert on the study of cults, and has been called upon by the police in such matters. He was also flown to Germany to testify in their court proceedings regarding Scientology.
>>Read The Paper Here.
Featured Video: Fishman
The following video is part of a collection called "the Fishman depositions". When these videos were released online, they were greted with lawsuits attempting to remove them - not for slander or libel, but for copyright infringement and revealing trade secrets.
Additional References:
1. The Australian Government Report, 1965, on Scientology, may be found HERE.
2. The site FACTnet has a some significant articles on this topic, which may be found HERE.
3. A list of indoctrination techniques which are generally used by Scientology may be found HERE.