Scientology--Faux Religion?

But if you are going to draw a line between good religions and bad religions... I would sure like this to be a sharp line with a clear delineation between the two

To sum up where ever you might draw the line between a cult and a respectful religion Scientology is over that line.

I will (for this example) draw the line of of having members commit mass suicide, where groups that have had its members commit mass suicide (i.e. Jonestown) are cults, and groups that haven't are respectful religions. This is something that Scientology has never done or even talked about. This is an example that disproves your statement.

Let see if you wish to state that a religion movement need to have a mass suicide before being consider a cult then The People Temple was not a cult until the moment that Jones order the suicides?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Freakout

Operation Freakout, also known as Operation PC Freakout, was a Church of Scientology covert plan intended to have the U.S. author and journalist Paulette Cooper imprisoned or committed to a psychiatric hospital. The plan, undertaken in 1976 following years of church-initiated lawsuits and covert harassment, was meant to eliminate the perceived threat that Cooper posed to the church and obtain revenge for her publication in 1971 of a highly critical book, The Scandal of Scientology. The Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered documentary evidence of the plot and the preceding campaign of harassment during an investigation into the Church of Scientology in 1977, eventually leading to the church compensating Cooper in an out-of-court settlement.

In its initial form Operation Freakout consisted of three different plans (or “channels”, as the Guardian’s Office termed them):
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First, a woman was to imitate Paulette Cooper's voice and make telephone threats to Arab consulates in New York.
Second, a threatening letter was to be mailed to an Arab consulate in such a fashion that it would appear to have been done by Paulette Cooper (who is Jewish).
Third, a Scientologist volunteer was to impersonate Paulette Cooper at a laundromat and threaten the current president Gerald Ford and then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. A second Scientologist would thereafter inform the FBI of the threat.[5]
Two additional plans were added to Operation Freakout on April 13, 1976. The fourth plan called for Scientologist agents to gather information from Cooper so that the success of the first three plans could be assessed. The fifth plan was for a Scientologist to warn an Arab consulate by telephone that Paulette Cooper had been talking about bombing it. A sixth and final plan was added subsequently. It was effectively a re-run of the 1972 plot, requiring Scientologists to obtain Paulette Cooper's fingerprints on a blank piece of paper, type a threatening letter to Kissinger on that paper, and mail it. Guardian's Office staff member Bruce Raymond noted in an internal memo: "This additional channel [the sixth plan] should really have put her away. Worked with all the other channels. The F.B.I. already think she did the bomb threats on the C of S [in 1972]."[5]

On March 31, 1976, Jane Kember telexed Henning Heldt, the Deputy Guardian U.S., to update him on the situation:

"PC [Paulette Cooper] is still resisting paying the money but the judgement stands in PT [present time] ... Have her lawyer contacted and also arrange for PC to get the data that we can slap the writs on her. If you want legal docs, from here on we will provide. Then if she still declines to come we slap the writs on her before she reaches CW [Clearwater] as we don’t want to be seen publically [sic] being brutal to such a pathetic victim from a concentration camp."[5]
Exposure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Snow_White

Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology's internal name for a major criminal conspiracy during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations and thefts from 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates, as well as private organizations critical of Scientology, carried out by Church members, in more than 30 countries.[1] It was the one of the largest infiltrations of the United States government in history,[2] with up to 5,000 covert agents.[3] This operation also exposed the Scientology plot 'Operation Freakout', because Operation Snow White was the case that initiated the US government investigation of the Church.[3]

Under this program, Scientology operatives committed infiltration, wiretapping, and theft of documents in government offices, most notably those of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Eleven highly placed Church executives, including Mary Sue Hubbard (wife of founder L. Ron Hubbard and second-in-command of the organization), pleaded guilty or were convicted in federal court of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property. The case was United States v. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., 493 F.Supp. 209 (D.D.C. 1979).[4][5][6][7]

http://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/bad-cos.htm

Scientology has launched a new censorship attack on the Internet, one designed to clog search mechanisms. By spamming Internet search mechanisms, Scientology will render them slower and much less useful, all in an effort to censor Internet free speech. Scientology hopes flooding search mechanisms with over 100,000 newly created Scientology-based sites, Netizens will be unable to find the two or three hundred sites critical of Scientology. Join the outcry against this action.
Scientology�s War on the Internet

To understand the danger of Scientology�s most recent censorship attack, it is necessary to know about its previous attacks. Scientology�s war on the Internet began in 1994 and has been a well-documented scandal. Scientology has tried to censor critics by shutting down web sites, raiding critics� homes, hiring private investigators, and bringing lawsuits against web hosts, Internet service providers, and cult awareness organizations. The newsgroup alt.religion.scientology (a.r.s.) has been a target of attack through mass cancellations of valid postings followed by mass postings of unwanted spam, and through attempts to remove it from Usenet altogether. Here is a brief history of Scientology Internet abuse:

1.Operation Cancelbunny: Scientology censors alt.religion.scientology

Alt.religion.scientology (a.r.s.) has been one of the most active newsgroups on the Internet, a place where pro- and anti-Scientology netizens hotly debate each other. Beginning in 1994, Scientology operatives began tampering with a.r.s. by surreptitiously canceling postings critical of itself. The source of unauthorized cancellations came to be known as the Cancelbunny, although the Cancelbunny project really involved a number of cancelers. The Cancelbunny (or Cancelbunnies) deleted hundreds of messages using their email accounts at a variety of service providers, including Netcom, Deltanet, University College in Dublin, Ireland, Directnet, Kaiwan, and NetVoyage. All providers responded swiftly to determine the identities of the unauthorized cancelers and terminate their accounts. A group of netizens even joined forces to track down the Cancelbunny; they called themselves the Rabbit Hunters.

While the efforts of the Rabbit Hunters and Internet service providers slowed the Cancelbunny and forced it to jump around quite a bit, the bunny was still going actively in April 1995, 17 months after beginning its cancellations, and still appears from time to time now three years later.

2.Operation Delete a.r.s.: Scientology attempts to off the newsgroup

In January 1995 Scientology attorney Helena Kobrin unilaterally instructed Usenet servers to delete the whole a.r.s. newsgroup. Kobrin sent emails to the servers with the "remove" instruction usually used to delete newsgroups. Fortunately, her instruction was not followed, and three years later a.r.s is still very active.

3. Operation Raid: Scientology raids Internet users� homes

Scientology�s 1995 raids of Internet users� homes comprise one of the most atrocious chapters in the history of Scientology�s censorship war on the Internet. A great deal of information surrounds the raids. Briefly:

*February: Scientology raided the home of former Scientologist Dennis Erlich, seizing numerous items including computers and disks. Erlich " along with Tom Klemesrud, the operator of his bulletin board system (BBS) and Netcom, his Internet service provider " was subsequently sued by Scientology for "copyright infringements."

*Early August: Scientology raided the home of former Scientologist Arnie Lerma for posting to the Internet a widely-available federal court document known as the Fishman Papers. The papers included excerpts of Scientology�s "secret scripture." Scientology then sued Lerma, his service provider Digital Gateway Systems, and even the Washington Post for including 46 words from the Fishman Papers in an article on the incident.

*Late August: Again claiming copyright infringement, Scientology raided the home of Lawrence Wollersheim and Bob Penny, the then-directors of FACTNet, a nonprofit BBS (now a web site). With federal marshals standing by, Scientology seized computers, disks, files, and more. Naturally, Scientology then sued FACTNet.

*September: "Scientology agents, accompanied by a locksmith, local police, and two U.S. `computer experts', entered the premises of XS4ALL (xs4all.nl), an Internet service provider in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Scientology demanded that XS4ALL remove a copy of the Fishman Papers from a customer's web page. (XS4ALL refused to do so.) Dutch Internet users protested Scientology's action by putting over 100 copies of the Fishman Papers on web sites all over the country. Scientology responded to this cyber-civil-disobedience campaign by suing four Dutch Internet service providers (including XS4ALL) as well as well-known Dutch writer Karin Spaink, who helped initiate the campaign. They withdrew this lawsuit on December 12, but filed a much larger suit, against 23 separate parties, on January 31. A court hearing was held on February 26, and a verdict was rendered on March 12, giving a total victory to the defendants." [Written by Scientology critic Ron Newman].

4.Operation Anonymous Remailer: Scientology sues and squashes

Starting in January 1995 Scientology launched an attack against anonymous remailers and posters. In January a letter was sent to anonymous remailers demanding they not allow anonymous postings to a.r.s. or alt.clearing.technology. At this point, such prominent entities such as Electronic Freedom Foundation, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post reported Scientology�s Internet abuses.

Later, in the Spring of 1996, in an attempt to attack anonymous postings by "Scamizdat," Scientology filed suit against a.r.s. poster Grady Ward and then Keith Henson. In connection with the suit, the Finnish anonymous remailer anon.penet.fi was ordered to reveal the identities of two of its users. The remailer�s administrator, Julf Helsingius, refused to disclose the names. Instead, on August 22, 1996, he closed anon.penet.fi, an action that shocked the Internet and was widely reported in the media.

5.Operation Spam Attack: Scientology clogs a.r.s.

Scientology�s abuse of a.r.s continued via a new method from May to December 1996. During this time, Scientology bombarded a.r.s. with thousands of spam messages taken verbatim from the Scientology web site. This action paralyzed the purpose and effective use of the newsgroup.

6. Operation Netizen: Scientology threatens netizens at large

Scientology has sent numerous emails to Netizens threatening litigation for posting even short excerpts of Scientology�s copyrighted material, despite the fact that copyright law allows such excerpting. Netizens and their families have received threats by email and fax, visits by Scientologists and private investigators, and slanderous phone calls.

Most recently, early in 1998 web hosts Tilman Hausherr and Ray Randolph were threatened with litigation. Scientology considers Hausherr�s parody of "$cientology" and Randolph�s domain name www.scientology-kills.net infringements of the Scientology trademark. To most observers, it seems that both uses are legal, since Hausherr�s parody and Randolph�s domain name constitute satire and commentary on Scientology rather than attempts to be mistaken for Scientology. The latter would be trademark infringement; but it would be difficult for anyone to mistake "$cientology" or "scientology-kills" for Scientology. Randolph has received the support of the ACLU and EFF, both of which will handle his litigation if Scientology follows through on its threat.

Negative reaction to Scientology�s war on the Internet has been loudly expressed by a large and varied group of individuals and organizations. Netizens, Internet service providers, and other net-dependent corporations such as search mechanisms should be outraged that Scientology has hampered the smooth operation of the Internet through false cancellations and spam. People and organizations concerned with censorship such as EFF are concerned that Scientology so blatantly and automatically attempts to censor those who criticize it. Internet critics whose homes were raided and their property confiscated question what free speech means in supposedly free nations.

Despite vocal and powerful opposition to Scientology�s Internet abuses, and the fact that each censorship attempt resulted in even more widespread flaming anti-Scientology postings, Scientology has continued its Mafia-like tactics. One might hope Scientology had learned its lesson by now. Not so. As of this month, it has launched its newest censorship attack.

Scientology�s Newest Attack

Scientology�s next escapade has just begun and might turn out to be the most abusive ever. The City of Night reports that Scientology�s new plan is to send Internet web site templates to 116,000 Scientologists, so that the Scientologists can set up pages that appear to be their personal home pages. City of Night says, "Church officials hope that by creating many, many web sites that link to Scientology's home page, Scientology can clog search engines and prevent information critical of the Church from reaching those interested in learning all about Scientology." [City of Night, March 19 - 25].

A number of these new templates are already on the web. Here are a few:

Benet Ekhammer http://members.aol.com/solovii/
Jason D. Peterson http://members.aol.com/jasondrp/
Teri Milch http://home.mci2000.com/[email protected]/index.htm
Michael Lewis http://www.relaypoint.net/~lewisgroup/index.htm
Grahame Scott-Douglas http://www.relaypoint.net/~grahamesd/
Kathy Weigand http://www.relaypoint.net/~kweigand/index.htm
Denise Palm http://home1.gte.net/cedarlan/new/index.htm
Kevin Brown http://members.aol.com/actinup2/
Tom Humphrey http://members.aol.com/humphreytr/index.htm

The sites are almost identical, and if Scientology is not stopped, there will soon be 115,000 more of them. The web pages provide little information on the Scientologists themselves (other than their feelings toward Scientology), and link directly (and only) to the Scientology web site. It is also significant that they do not include any email addresses with which to contact the web host. So while censoring the entire Internet by jamming search mechanisms, Scientology is simultaneously censoring its members.

Scientology will perhaps say it is simply expressing its religious freedom, but this claim rings hollow. Why would an expression of religious freedom use a technique intentionally designed to clog search mechanisms? And the proportionality is way off: Scientology is posting 116,000 new pages in response to two or three hundred anti-Scientology sites, which makes the size of the attack 400 times the totality of what opposes it. It might also be significant that Scientology officials announced this new censorship attack at a celebration of Scientology�s founder�s birthday.

The message Scientology is sending to the Internet is the same as always: we don�t care about your rules or the reaction you�ve shown us. If Scientology is allowed to continue its censorship war on the Internet, other totalitarian corporate, government, or cult groups will follow. Any issue people care dearly about can be drowned out by one side or the other using this techno-censorship technique. Continued efforts such as this latest ploy will jam search mechanisms, make searches fruitless, and slow down the Internet. It is extremely important that the Internet send Scientology a clear, strong message to stop this Internet abuse.

It is FACTNet�s hope that Scientology�s executives and its $20 million-per-year legal team will realize that change needs to be made. Specifically, Scientology needs to stop its Internet censorship tactics completely. If they do, it will take quite some time to show good faith and for Internet users to re-establish respect for the organization.

If Scientology does not stop, how does it expect to keep going in the 1990s in a world becoming increasingly Internet-based, when it is rapidly becoming the pariah of the Internet and the archetypal example of what not to do in terms of Internet marketing.

What you can do

One does not have to disagree with Scientology to agree that its actions on the Internet are reprehensible. Help us take action against this new censorship attack:

1.Forward this email following net etiquette to all interested Internet users, Internet service providers, and search mechanisms. 2.Forward this email to Scientology�s celebrities urging them to stop promoting an organization that takes such reprehensible censoring action against the Internet. Here are some Scientology celebrity email addresses: John Travolta: [email protected] Nancy Cartright (voice of Bart Simpson): [email protected] Chick Corea: [email protected] Jenna Elfman: 8730 Sunset Blvd, #220W, Los Angeles, CA 90069 or to "Dharma & Greg", 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca 90034

Other Scientology celebrities include Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Kirstie Alley, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, and Kelly Preston. Write to them if you can locate their addresses!

2.Email Scientology at [email protected] and let them know you will not stand for their censoring free speech on the Internet.

Links & notations: further information on Scientology�s war on the Internet

In general: Scientology and the Internet http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/scinternet.htm

Ron Newman�s The Church of Scientology vs. the Net http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/home.html#NON-NET

Marina's Manor, for many of the hundreds of anti-Scientology pages http://www.best.com/~mchong/index.shtml

Yet another "Scientology vs. the Net" Web page http://www.gate.net/~shipbrk/Co$/

EFF Archive: Legal Cases - Church of Scientology http://www.eff.org/pub/Censorship/Scientology_cases/

For details on Operation Cancelbunny, see http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/usenet/cancel.html

For details on Operation Delete a.r.s., see http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/usenet/rmgroup.html

For details on Operati

http://anonireland.com/blog/scientology/recruiting/

Recruiting

Scientology uses three main recruiting tools: 1) Personality Test, 2) Stress Test and 3) Personal Contact. There is a substantial amount of overlap in the methodologies applied in all three cases.

The Personality Test

Also called the ‘Oxford Capacity Analysis’ (despite having no connection to Oxford), this consists of 200 questions. The questions were originally YES/NO questions, but in later years extra choices have been added. The questions used have changed over the years, but the following scans of an old test used by the Dublin Mission gives a good indication of what the questions are like, uncovering such deep personality traits such as question 100 – “Is your facial expression varied rather than set?”:


The whole charade is to build an air of scientific legitimacy, in order to make the whole thing easier to sell to a potential recruit. Finding a ‘ruin’, which is discussed further below, is the name of the game in order to convince the mark that Scientology is the only way for the person to be helped. From HCOPL 28th October 1960 titled ‘New Testing Promotion Section’:

Evaluation of tests should be helpful, wise and very direct. An evaluator should know all HCOBs about test evaluation. Remarks that “Scientology can improve this or that characteristic” or “Auditing can remedy that” or “Processing can change this” or “Training can stabilize that” should be used repeatedly during the evaluation for the sake of impingement.

A clever evaluator can surmise such things as domestic grief, trouble with possessions, etc., much more easily than a fortune teller.

An important aspect to note is that while a personality test can be done by mail or online, the results may only be given in person. HASIPL 15th November 1958 titled ‘Informing Public Of Test Results’ specifies that “no letter may be written containing actual results of tests”. When exploiting ruins it is important that the mark not have sufficient time to think things through, making them easier to exploit.

Delivering The Bad News

Results are often given in the form of a graph. HCOB 1st November 1987 titled “OCA Graphs” gives the following sample graph, which looks all nice and scientific:



No matter who took the test and no matter how the questions were answered – when given the results the person will always be told there is something wrong. The patter is described in HCOPL 15th February 1961 titled ‘Evaluation Script’, which “must be studied and learned by heart by PE Evaluators”:

“Now, Mr. (Mrs., Miss) let us have a look at your tests.” Open folder.

“Your IQ Score was ……

(a) Less than 100.

“This is very low. Less than average and you obviously have great difficulty
solving problems. Scientology training would raise that considerably.”

(b) 100-110.

“A very ordinary score and you have more difficulty than you need in handling
problems. Scientology training would raise that considerably.”

(c) 110-120.

“An above average score. You can take advantage of opportunity and when you
apply yourself, you progress fast. However, a high intelligence is only useful so
long as you have data to apply the intelligence to. Scientology will not only give
you useful data, but can raise your IQ even higher.”

(d) Above 120.

Ditto.

“Now let’s look at your personality. This is what you’ve told us about yourself. Understand this is not our opinion of you, but is a factual scientific analysis taken from your answers. It is your opinion of you.”

The Evaluation is given with excellent TR 1. Almost Tone 40. The idea is to impinge on the person. The more resistive or argumentative he is, the more the points should be slammed home. Look him straight in the eye and let him know, “That is the way it is.”

“Above this line is satisfactory but even these points can be raised higher. Also knowledge is necessary to make full use of the best points of one’s personality. That can be gained through Scientology.

“These middle points will get you by, so long as there is no crisis or difficulty in your life.

“Now, this section shows that you are very much in need of help.”

Proceed with evaluation on the low points, column by column. Make a decisive statement about each. If the subject agrees-says, “That’s right”, or “That describes me all right”, or similar-leave it immediately. You have impinged. If he argues or protests, don’t insist. You simply are not talking on his reality level. Re-phrase your statement until it is real to him. Stop as soon as you get through. As soon as you get an impingement, look subject in the face and say, with intention, “Scientology can help you with that” or “That can be changed with Scientology”, or some similar positive statement.

NEVER say it half heartedly, or apologetically!

Don’t bother much with the high points. If he queries them tell him it is the low ones that are the cause of his troubles-and that these can be changed. If several are high you can add that because of these it will be easier for him than for most people, to use Scientology to improve with.

When the graph evaluation is complete-which should be done speedily and with certainty-pick up the meter check sheet and say:-

“Well, that tells us how you are and how you have been in the past. Now, let us look at your future.”

“You have had…and you inevitably will again.

“You have been…..and in your domestic life and in your job, you will find, etc, . . . .

“With those low points on your personality graph, you are going to….

(Here, you use what you know of Scientology and assess this.)

“Not a very bright prospect is it? Unless you care to change it.”

At this point the evaluator leans back in his chair, puts down his pencil on the chart, smiles and says:

“Well, Mr. (Mrs., Miss)-That’s what your tests show.”

“Thank you very much.”

The Evaluator does not reach or try to sell any more than this. If the job has been done well, the person should be worried and will probably ask a question as to what he can do about it all. If so, the Evaluator says:

“That is very commendable, wanting to do something about it. A point in your favour.”

“There are many things you can do. There are all sorts of things that people go in for. In the past they tried psychology, psychoanalysis, Dale Carnegie, Confidence Courses, Mental Exercises, read books, but these things had a very limited application and you could get yourself terribly involved in mysteries, expenses and wasted time, before you found any solutions to your difficulties. All across the world today, people are coming to us, to find simpler, more straight forward answers.”

(Here the Evaluator grows confidential)….

“Look, I’m technical staff here. I don’t have anything to do with sales or courses, but if you’d like a confidential tip, there are all sorts of courses and services going on here all the time, but your best bet is to spend £l (or cost of PE) on a Personal Efficiency Course and discover what Scientology can offer you. That will save you from getting involved. Go and see that lady over there and tell her you only want the Personal Efficiency Course, so that you can find out what Scientology is about.”

Then route the person to PE Registrar.

NOTE: Evaluators have been found to be afraid of impinging too hard, in case they caused ARC Breaks or committed overts.

It would be an overt.to upset the person-if we did not lead him to a solution.

The only overt that can occur is to fail to get the testee on to the PE Course and thence to Co-audit.

The above HCOPL is present in the 1976 edition of the Green Volumes, but for some reason has been removed from the later editions. This does give a good illustration of how the personality test works. The question and the graph are to give the air of scientific legitimacy, and as the patter shows the goal is to then use that was a platform for caving the mark in. Make them feel really bad, try to magnify their problems, and then when they are really low you offer them Scientology as a way out. It should be obvious at this point why such results are only given in person.

The Stress Test

The Stress Test is virtually identical to the personality test, the only real difference is that instead of a questionnaire the e-meter is used. The following are photographs of ‘cue cards’ that were issued to Scientologists performing stress tests. The text of the cards follows.




STRESS TEST PATTER

”Hello! [handshake] My name is_____ , What’s your name? [tells] ”Nice to meet you!”
[put cans in hands]

“Here is how this Works. I am going to ask you a question, you don’t have to say anything and we’re going to find out what is causing you the most stress in your life. When the needle moves to the right, that shows stress.” [point to the needle so they know to watch the dial]

[Tum the meter on and get the needle on the dial]

”Think of different people and situations in your life.”

”There! [point to the needle falling] That’s stress! What did you just think of?”
[Make a big deal out of the read and say this with impact so that it impinges on them]

[Get in comm. If no real ruin, give them a good and appropriate ack and say] ”Think of something else causing you stress.”

[Get in comm. If still no real ruin, check over the following areas, one at a time, if they haven’t already come up: work, family, relationships, health.]

——

[If you have still not found a ruin, then look a them with good TRs and high intention and say,] “Let me ask you a question, what is the one thing that is really messing up your life?”

[once you have found the ruin, ask] “How long has this been going on?”, How is this affecting you life?” or “How does this affect you?” to make it real

[once done, give them a very good acknowledgement and take the cans away and show them the Dianetics book] “Let me show you something. Have you ever heard of this book?” [Put the book in their hands and have them read the first two paragraphs of the inside flap of the cover. Let go while the read it. Take the book away when done.]

”What you just told me about, Where… [repeat the ruin back as exactly as possible] …this book will show you exactly why that happens and how to fix it.” [When you say, "...how to fix it,” put the book into their hands and let go.]

[Then immediately without comm lag, start to hardsell the person Make it your own.]

“GET IT1 READ IT 20 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE. YOU’LL SEE WHY. JUST READ IT.
GET THE BOOK AND READ IT. WHY SHOULD I TALK? THERE’S HOW BIG IT IS, IT ‘S GOING TO BLOW YOU AWAY. BUY IT. IT’S____ DOLLARS, TAKE YOUR CHANCE. IT’S GOING TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. IF IT DOESN’T, FINE. IS THAT WORTH ___ DOLLARS TO YOU? TAKE THE BOOK.” [Continue to hardsell the person as long as needed until they get the book.]

Ruins

According to the Scientology admin dictionary, a ruin is described thusly:

Ruin, before you can save someone from ruin, you must find out what their own personal ruin is. This is basically – what is ruining them? What is messing them up? It must be a condition that is real to the individual as an unwanted condition, or one that can be made real to him.

In practice a ruin is an insecurity, a psychological button that can be used against a person to make that person think they need Scientology. The methods used in the Stress Test and the Personality Test are based around this idea.

Finding Ruins

The material quoted in this section is taken from a 1998 edition of the book ‘A Scientologist Guide To Dissemination’, which is generally studied by FSMs. The essay titled ‘Finding A Ruin’ illustrates the central ideas used (based on HCOPL 15th December 1979 titled ‘Surveying For Department 17 Services’):

What you’re looking for is the thing that is ruining a person’s life: the thing that if he could get handled, he would want handled; the area of his life that he is effect of instead of cause over; the major complaint he’s got about his life; the one dynamic that is pulling down all the rest of his dynamics. You get the idea?

You want to find out what service, if available, will bring an individual into Scientology: It’s a matter of locating the correct buttons that will elicit agreement and response. If you have the correct name for a Dept 17 course then the public will be in agreement with the fact that that is a ruin and then they will respond by signing up for the service.”

Some examples of how you would apply this survey tech to finding ruins are:

Example 1: (raw public)

BE: If you could be anything, what would you want to be?

DO: If you could do anything, what would you like to do?

HAVE: If you could have anything, what would you like to have?

What would have to happen for you to (be, do, have) that?

Example 2: (raw public)

(If you want to know) What in your life do you really want handled?

(You would ask) What concern do you have in your life which you’d like to remedy?

Example 3: (raw public)

(If you want to know) What is ruining your life?

(You would ask) What in your life really needs change the most?

Example 4: (new public)

What did you come into Scientology to get handled?”

“In example 1, you find out that an individual would like to be a successful businessman and what he’d like to do is travel all around the world and he’d like to have a new car and house. Well, it’s quite obvious that in order for him to have the money to travel and buy the new car and house, he would have to be a success as a businessman so you ask him ‘What would have to happen for you to be a successful businessman?’ He’d tell you something like, ‘Well, gee, I’d have to know how to succeed in the business world’ or ‘I’d have to be able to handle my finances.’ From this data you know that if this person knew that he could go into the local Scientology organization and take ‘How to Succeed in the Business World’ or the ‘Financial Handling’ course, he would be very easily gotten into the org for such a service.”

There is even a listing of common ruins, and guidelines on which courses to target against those ruins:


Exploiting Ruins

The general method is illustrated in the ‘Dissemination Drill’, which is part of the Hubbard Dissemination Course (one of only two courses that can be done for free). It is from HCOPL 23rd October 1965 titled ‘Dissemination Drill’:

The Dissemination Drill has four exact steps that must be done with a person you are disseminating to.

There is no set patter, nor any set words you say to the person.

There are four steps that must be accomplished with the individual, and they are listed in the order that they should be done:

1. Contact the individual: This is plain and simple. It just means making a personal contact with someone, whether you approach them or they approach you.

2. Handle: If the person is wide open to Scientology and reaching, this step can be omitted as there is nothing to handle. Handle is to handle any attacks, antagonism, challenge or hostility that the individual might express towards you and/or Scientology. Definition of “handle”: to control, direct. “Handle” implies directing an acquired skill to the accomplishment of immediate ends. Once the individual has been handled you then-

3. Salvage: Definition of salvage: “to save from ruin.” Before you can save someone from ruin, you must find out what their own personal ruin is. This is basically-What is ruining them? What is messing them up? It must be a condition that is real to the individual as an unwanted condition, or one that can be made real to him.

4. Bring to understanding: Once the person is aware of the ruin, you bring about an understanding that Scientology can handle the condition found in 3. This is done by simply stating Scientology can, or by using data to show how it can. It’s at the right moment on this step that one hands the person a selection slip, or one’s professional card and directs him to the service that will best handle what he needs handled.

These are the steps of the Dissemination Drill. They are designed so that an understanding of them is necessary and that understanding is best achieved by being coached on the drill.

The remainder of the above HCOPL goes on to give details on how to coach the drill. Later on the Hubbard Dissemination Course there is the following checksheet:

Hubbard Dissemination Course

To: Supervisor

From: _____________________Date: ____________

Repeat the preceding practical assignment, but this time get the person to arrive at the local church or mission where you are studying and get him signed up and started on a Dianetics or Scientology service. Do this until you can successfully and without any uncertainty find a person new to Dianetics or Scientology and disseminate to him using the Dissemination Drill and other skills you learned on this course and select the person onto the proper service. By the time you have completed this assignment you must have brought a minimum of three new people into the local church or mission who have signed up for and started a service. (Any new public whom you may have selected onto a Dianetics or Scientology service while doing earlier drills on this course can be credited toward this assignment.) When done, write up what you did and the results.

There are range of such drills Scientology recruiters must do in order to learn how to find and exploit ruins. An example of such a drill this is taken from the booklet ‘Dissemination Drills, Golden Age Of Tech Style’:

NUMBER: DSM-4

NAME: GAINING ACCESSIBILITY

PURPOSE: To increase the attendee’s skill in disseminating by drilling in the tech of how to gain accessibility to an individual per LRH lecture of 18 Jan. 51, “GRADIENTS OF ACCESSIBILITY”:

“If you have ever in the past failed to be able to sell somebody Dianetics convincingly, if they have not bought it, you have failed in one little tiny quarter there of gaining accessibility to this individual. You didn’t gain accessibility. Now, this is practically all there is to salesmanship: gain accessibility to the idea that the other person has a need which you can fill. That would be salesmanship.”

POSITION: Attendee and coach seated across from each other. Coach has a copy of this drill.

INSTRUCTIONS: The attendee is coached by another on this drill.

The attendee is to apply the following datums from Lecture 18 Jan. 51, GRADIENTS OF ACCESSIBILITY, in doing this drill.

For this drill, the attendee is a person disseminating and the coach takes the role of the public individual being disseminated to.

The attendee applies the data they read in the excerpt of the LRH lecture in doing the following steps:

a. Start up a conversation with the person on Dianetics or Scientology.

b. The person demonstrates that he is inaccessible, such as by not paying attention to what you are saying and changing the subject, etc., per the following:

“We have to consider then, reconsider perhaps, our definition of accessible. Did you ever try to talk to anybody about a subject that you had to talk to him about, and he didn’t pay any attention to what you were saying, he just kept changing the subject? This man could then be said to be inaccessible on this subject. You have seen people who will sit there with their ears flapping and listen to you when you try to tell them about Dianetics, and they say, ‘Well, I don’t believe anyth.ing like that exists,’ and so on and so on and so on. This is actually an inaccessible case.”

c. Find another subject that you can get any level of agreement on at all in which you are really interested, per the following:

“In a very inaccessible case, talk golf, anything that you can find any level of agreement on at all, in which you are really interested. Don’t sit there bored to death. Did you ever try to get anything off of a case that you were bored with? Try to cover it up, try to cover it up; you’re not going to.”

d. Shift over to that subject you found agreement on and increase ARC with the person per the following:

“Let’s not consider that we are being completely challenged by this individual because of Dianetics. Let’s find out how much agreement there is on some other subject. Don’t tell him so, just shift the subject over to something else, and shift it over here, and talk to him about this and that. One of two things will happen: you’ll find a point of agreement somewhere on the band; your agreement starts into an interchange. It isn’t that the point of agreement there is going to get better particularly, but affinity will pick up, which picks up the agreement. And then communication will pick up, which picks up the agreement and the affinity. Just start working him up – ARC, and then swing it back onto Dianetics.”

e. Once you have picked up the level of agreement, swing the conversation back onto Dianetics or Scientology.

“This Is really throwing a guy a curve, because if you work it on the band back and forth, first thing you know, you pick up his level of agreement and there he is. Then you talk to him about Dianetics. And you’ll find out that at this time his accessibility has picked up as far as you’re concerned, and that’s what you’re working for. His accessibility is higher.”If you’re a salesman then you just do this: you pick up ARC on anything before you get it over to a subject on which you want agreement, you’ll be able to sell. I think you could sell Brooklyn Bridge to the US government if you did it well enough.”

TRAINING STRESS: The coach must improve the attendee’s ability to get in communication and raise ARC on some subject to gain accessibility and then switch the conversation back over to the subject of Dianetics or Scientology.

This drill is continued until the attendee can gain accessibility easily and smoothly by getting in communication, finding a subject on which there is agreement, increase ARC and then swing the conversation back onto Dianetics or Scientology.

PASSING STANDARD: This drill is passed when the attendee can easily and smoothly gain accessibility by applying this data.

END OF DRILL

Another drill which is worth noting teaches how to handle objections, with the following being objections being used as examples for training:

* “I heard that Scientology services were expensive. I don’t have a lot of money and wouldn’t be able to pay for the services.”
* “I don’t know why you are asking me such personal questions.”
* “I think you’re just after my money.”

Re-Recruiting

Aside from having policies and procedures for recruitment, Scientology also has policies and procedures to re-recruit those who have left Scientology. People can leave due to financial stress, refusal to bow to disconnection threats, disillusionment, etc. None of these reasons are considered by Scientology. HCOPL 25th June 1972 titled ‘Recovering Students And Pcs’ insists the reason for students leaving are:
1. Misunderstood words (or no materials).
2. No help or W/C Method 4 from the Supers (or no Super).
3. Interference from the Supers that stopped them from getting on.
4. Personal out-ethics resulting in a W/H.
5. Simply booted off for reasons best known to God or Registrars (like suddenly saying, “You must now buy Method 1,” etc., thus violating the “deliver what we promise” rule).

The same HCOPL gives the reasons for Pcs leaving thusly:
1. Out-lists.
2. No auditing.
3. Invalidation of case or gains.
4. Told they’d attained it and hadn’t.

As the same HCOPL says “…don’t bother to listen to the natter. The above actions are the reasons”. It is important to understand what is going on here. The Scientology re-recruiter has studied the above reasons and been drilled on them. They will not hear comments about finances or disconnection or whatnot, they will completely ignore such ‘natter’ as they have been trained to do. An illustration of this training can be seen in the ‘LRH ED 339R Implementation Program’, which was sent out to all the Missions in 1996 and which contained the following drill as part of a recovery workshop:

RECOVERING STUDENTS AND PCs DRILLS

NUMBER: REC-l

NAME: RECOVERY PATTER DRILL

PURPOSE: The purpose of this drill is to teach the Workshop Attendee to accurately rattle off the 9 reasons why students and pcs blow without hesitation or having to think what these 9 reasons are.

POSITION: Workshop Attendee does this drill seated facing a wall.

INSTRUCTIONS: Sit facing the wall with this drill in your lap. Give the 5 reasons a student blows and the 4 reasons a pc blows to a wall in order, over and over, maintaining good TR-O and TR-l.

PASSING STANDARD: This drill is done until you are able to give the 9 reasons why students and PCs blow verbatim without any slightest comm. lag and without reference to the drill. Then receive a checkout from someone else as a final verification that you have achieved the standard.

Another drill from the same series further illustrates how the re-recruiter is trained to ignore any ‘natter’:

NUMBER: REC-2

NAME: RECOVERY STANDARD TECH PROCEDURE DRILL

PURPOSE: To train the Workshop Attendee on the tech of recovering a blown student or PC so he knows it cold and will apply it in any situation to effectively recover someone.

POSITION: Workshop Attendee and coach seated across from each other.
Coach has a copy of this drill.

INSTRUCTIONS: The student is coached by another on this drill. The coach reads the first numbered item to the student. He then asks the Workshop Attendee “What do you do?”

The Workshop Attendee must respond with the correct answer. If he does not, it is a funk. Coach then rereads that item and asks the question again and continues on to the next item on the list. Coach and Workshop Attendee go through the entire list in this fashion.

TRAINING STRESS: The whole point is to drill in the data to the point where the Workshop Attendee knows it cold. If the Workshop Attendee is trying to “pass a quiz” he is missing the point altogether, as it is a drill, not a quiz or a test. The drill is done to bring about flawless application on the part of the Workshop Attendee.

PASSING STANDARD: The Workshop Attendee passes only when he has gone through the entire drill with a coach and has answered every single question consecutively without any comm lag or error.

Example questions used in the previous drill are:

1. You are speaking with someone and find out they are blown off The Bridge.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Tell them there are specific reasons per LRH why someone doesn’t continue on their route on The Bridge and you want to go over these with them to help them find out the reason they have not continued. Then find out if they are a blown student or pc and, if they are a pc, rattle off the 4 reasons why most pcs blow or, if a student, rattle off the 5 main reasons why a student blows and find the reason why that person did not continue on the Bridge.

….

11. You are at someone’s house for dinner and someone tells you that “auditing is just not for me anymore.”

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Indicate to him that auditing is for everyone, that there are reasons why someone doesn’t continue on with his auditing and you are going to go over these with him and determine why he didn’t continue. Rattle off the 4 reasons most pcs blow and, using 2 way comm, find the reason they did not continue and indicate this. Then schedule him to come into the org to handle it.

The above drills also feature in the booklet ‘Recovering Students And Pcs Drills – For Field Staff Members’, with FSMs often given the task of recovering those who left.

Glossary of Terms

2WC - Two way communication.
8C - Good control, usually refers to having control over a body.
Advanced Org - A larger Scientology Org which offers more advanced Scientology courses. These are under control of the Sea Org.
Affinity - The amount of liking one has for something.
Analytical Mind – This was posited by Hubbard to be the computational part of the mind, and that it is a perfect calculating machine.
ARC - Affinity Reality Communication. Raising one point of this triangle is said by Hubbard to raise the other two, and that having ARC gives understanding.
ARC Straightwire - Processing in which the pc is asked to recall moments of ARC.
Auditing – Hubbard’s process by which a person re-experiences past memories, with the hope that engrams in the reactive mind will be re-filed into the analytical mind.
Auditor – A person who audits a pc.
Bank – A pc’s collection of mental images.
Basics - The set of introductory books and lectures in Scientology.
Blow – To disappear or otherwise go away or leave.
Bridge To Total Freedom - The totality of Scientology courses and training all the way to OT8.
Case - The term used to describe a pc’s progress in Scientology.
Clear – A state by which Hubbard claimed a person is no longer afflicted with engrams, and is free of their reactive mind. Clear was also used by Hubbard as a noun to describe people who had attained the state of clear.
Comm – Communication.
Cycle – From the beginning to the end of an action performed intentionally.
Disconnection - The severing of all contact with another person.
DMSMH – Dianetics: Modern Science of Mental Health. This is the first Scientology book written by Hubbard.
Dramatise - To act under the influence of past incidents.
Drilling - Repeating an action over and over and over again until it can be performed without hesitation. Usually done with the assistance of a coach.
ED - Executive Directive. Can also mean Executive Director when referring to a person.
E-Meter – A device used in Scientology auditing. Composed of two steel cans and a wheatstone bridge, and claimed by Hubbard to be capable of detecting mental traumas.
Ethics – The purpose of ethics in Scientology is to remove counter-intentions (i.e. non-Scientology) from the environment and to get Scientology applied.
Ethics Officer - The person within a Mission/Org who job it is to put ethics in.
E-Meter - A device used in Scientology auditing. It consists of two cans (which are placed in the pc's hands) hooked up to a wheatstone bridge. It registers changes in the body's resistence, reputed by Hubbard to detect thought 'mass'.
End Phenomena - The intended outcome of a given action or process.
Engram – A psychic scar caused during a time of pain or unconsciousness.
EO - Ethics Officer.
EP - End Phenomena.
Exchange - In Scientology one must only accept something by exchanging something of equal value. For example, Scientology courses are considered valuable and thus a large amount of money must be paid for them. To do otherwise would be ‘out exchange’.
Extension Course - All the basics books in Scientology have an associated extension course, which consists of asking questions about that associated book.
Facsimile – A mental picture that is part of the time track that was unknowingly created by the pc.
Field Staff Member - The salesmen on Scientology who operate on commission.
Flag - The name given the major Scientology location in California.
Freeloader debt - When on staff courses/services are given for free. When a person leaves staff they are billed for those courses/services, known as a freeloader debt.
FSM - Field Staff Member.
FSO - Flag Service Organisation.
GE – Genetic Entity.
Genetic Entity – The portion of the body that has been carried through time by evolutionary processes, and that is concerned with material survival.
Goal – A prime directive that a pc acts out over lifetimes without being aware of it. This usually occurs as a result of an implant.
Grade 0 - Processing level whose EP is the ability to communicate freely with anyone on any subject.
Grade 1 - Processing level whose EP is the ability recognise the source of problems and make them vanish.
Grade 2 - Processing level whose EP is the relief from the sufferings and hostilities of life.
Grade 3 - Processing level whose EP is freedom from past upsets and ability to face the future.
Grade 4 - Processing level whose EP is moving out of fixed conditions and the gain of new abilities to do new things.
HASI - Hubbard Association of Scientologists International
Hat - A speciality, usually referring to a specific job. When being ethics officer, for example, you would be wearing your ‘ethics hat’.
Hatting - To train someone for a specific job. A person who is trained is said to be ‘hatted’.
HCOB - Hubbard Communications Office Bulletin.
HCOPL – Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter.
I/C - In Charge.
Implants – These are engrams deliberately given to a thetan in order to make them easier to control.
In - To put something ‘in’ is to make sure that something is correctly applied. Eg: He put his ethics in.
INT - International Management.
Hubbard Dissemination Course - The Scientology course where a person learns how to recruit others, including the use of ruins.
L-Rundowns - A series of advanced rundowns that unlock a being’s OT power.
Life Repair - Introductory Scientology auditing.
Line Plot – A sheet which graphs auditing incidents that is kept in a pc’s folder.
Lines - A term used to describe pathways of communication and pathways along which information flows.
Meat Body – This is a person’s physical component.
MEST – Matter Energy Space Time. This is the physical universe.
Method 1,2,3,… - Types of wordclearing.
Mission - This is the smallest of the Scientology franchises.
Mock Up – A picture that is knowingly created by the thetan that is not part of that thetan’s time track. Can be used as a slang term for ‘made-up/fabricated’.
Natter - Snide comments or idle gossip. This term is usually applied to any comments critical of Scientology.
New Era Dianetics - A processing level whose EP is freedom from dramatisation and a return of the ability to act on one’s own determinism.
Operating Thetan - A state above clear where a person is knowingly and willingly at cause over MEST. There are eight OT levels with each having an associated Scientology course in order to attain.
Org – Short for Organisation, this is the name given to a medium-sized Scientology location.
OT - Operating Thetan. Advanced courses in Scientology are referred to as OT1, OT2, etc. all the way up to OT8.
OT3 - The third OT level, which involves the Xenu story.
Out - A state of ‘out-something’ means that the something is not being correctly applied. Eg: Being ‘out-ethtics’.
Over Coming Ups & Downs in Life Course - An introductory Scientology course dealing with PTS/SP concepts.
Overt - An act of omission or commission that inured somebody, a violation of a moral code.
Pc – Short for Preclear.
Pc Folder – A folder containing material relating to the Pc’s involvement in Scientology.
PE, PES - Public Executive, Public Executive Secretary
Perceptic - A memory of a perception. This can include a smell, a pain, etc.
Potential Trouble Source - A person who is connected to an SP.
Preclear – A person receiving Scientology processing.
Present Time – The here and now on a person’s time track.
Processing - The term given to auditing and other processes that a pc undergoes while progressing up the bridge.
Psychosomatic – A condition that is caused by psychological factors. Hubbard claimed that conditions such as arthritis were psychosomatic in nature.
PTS - Potential Trouble Source.
PTS/SP Tech - The portion of Scientology that involves the concepts of SPs and PTSs, and the policies regarding the handling thereof.
Purification Rundown - A programme involving exercise, the intake of high doses of vitamins (especially niacin) and prolonged periods in a sauna.
Qual - Qualification. Usually refers to the qual division, which is in charge of awarding certificates and qualifications.
R3N – Consists of finding a goal and then finding a terminal that matches that goal, while using line plots. This is repeated until the goal has disappeared.
R6 – An implant related to the Xenu story. This includes false ideas about god, the devil, Christianity, Judaism, etc.
R6 EW – Routine 6 End Words, a type of processing to achieve a fourth grade release.
RD - Rundown.
Reactive Mind – This was posited by Hubbard to work solely on a stimulus-response basis, and perceptions experienced during moments of pain or unconsciousness are recorded here.
Reality – To have reality of something is to have agreement with that something.
Restimulated – A re-activation of a past memory.
Reverie – A mild trance state.
Ruin - An insecurity or something that person wishes they could change about themselves. These are used by Scientology recruiters to convince people they need Scientology courses.
Rundown - Term used to describe a series of processes that address a specific area in depth. A series of processes devoted to just a PTS condition would be called a ‘PTS Rundown’.
Sea Org - The more militaristic core of Scientology whose purpose is to get ethics in on the planet and eventually the universe.
SHSBC – St. Hill Special Briefing Course. One of the more advanced Scientology courses.
STCC - Success Through Communication Course.
Somatic – A memory of a perception. This can include a smell, a pain, etc.
SOP – Standard operating Procedure.
SOP 8A – A process used when a pc is uncertain in regard to his/her own mock-ups.
SP - Suppressive Person.
Success Through Communication Course - An introductory course that deals with the basics of Scientology communication, involving introductory TRs.
Suppressive Person - The term given to critics of Scientology.
Theta – The name Hubbard gave to the ‘life force’.
Theta Universe – A universe composed of thought energy, thought matter and thought time that is analogous to the MEST universe.
Thetan – An immortal spiritual being that comprises a person’s consciousness. The thetan is the part of a person that is aware of being aware.
Time Track – The collection of all a person’s memories arranged in chronological order.
Tone – Where a person is on the tone scale.
Tone 4 – The part of the tone scale corresponding to enthusiastic
Tone 40 - Giving a command and just knowing that it will be executed, said with real impingement and impact.
Tone Scale – A numerical scale that Hubbard devised for emotional states. Example values are death, which is zero, and enthusiasm, which is 4.
TR - Training Routine.
Training - The part of Scientology that teaches how to audit and to supervise cases.
Training Routine - See our section on Training Routines.
W/C - Wordclear.
W/H - Withhold.
Withhold - Something not disclosed by the pc to their auditor, usually an overt.
Wordclear - To look a word up in a dictionary in to prevent confusions arising from words not understood. Some methods of wordclearing involve use of the emeter.
Xenu - An evil galatic overlord that forms part of Scientology mythology. More information is here.

If you are going to claim that Scientology is a cult... then it is your responsibility to draw the line between cult and non-cult. If the term "cult" has no clear definition, then it is meaningless.

If you are going to pin labels on religions,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_in_Germany

The German government does not recognize Scientology as a religion. It views it as an abusive business masquerading as a religion and believes that it pursues political goals that conflict with the values enshrined in the German constitution.

You can find equally disturbing propaganda against many modern religions, from Moonies, to Mormonism, to Islam, to Judaism to Roman Catholicism.

disturbing propaganda

Scientology meet the pattern of being a damn cult

By the way when you used the word propaganda are you implying that any of the information I had posted is not true concerning Scientology?

All I am asking is for you to define the "pattern of being a damn cult". Then we can apply the same standard to Scientology and to the other religions.