trip around
the sun
(53) of 52 – Additional visit to
Several people have asked if I had visited the
During the week:
An atheist writes about her daughter in school (
They are on “The Crucible.” The teacher now asked how
many kids
believe in the devil. All of the people in my area
are shouting Baptists. All the kids raised their
hands. My daughter raised hers out of shear fear.
She knows how the teacher got mad when she thought
that someone was calling her a pagan. My daughter didn’t want the
teacher to think she was a
pagan, so she raised her hand. “Don’t worry,
Mom,” she told me after, “I don’t believe in any devil.”
Another sends:
Matthew 6:5-6: And when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of
the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into
thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly.
Not only are Christians going against their own teachings with the
National Day of Prayer, but endorsement of the event by elected officials
amounts to excessive entanglement between state and church.
A friend writes concerning women in
Yep. That's exactly what I meant. And you know it's real bad
when the women
have to walk around like ninjas with only eye peepholes.
Another friend responds:
Quite. But it's funny how the Western
governments only manage to give the
tiniest bit of a damn about the enslavement and torture of women when they
want to get their hands on some oil or land or political power. The rest of the
time
bride-burnings, female genital mutilation, stoning to death of 'immoral'
females, etc, is called "cultural differences that have to be respected.”
Someone sent:
"I believe that he [Jesus] is Lord of the government,
and the church,
and business and education, and, hopefully, one day, Lord of the press. I see
him involved in everything. And that´s why I don´t want to stay just in the church, as such. I want the
church to move into the world." [Pat Robertson] (I hope he runs – like Nader did.)
Someone sent:
Just blow the damn city up....
This is funny as hell: "Residents told reporters they were troubled by
soldiers who gaze on Fallujah women, and some
believed the Americans'
goggles or binoculars could "see" through curtains or clothing. " These
people are retarded.
Response:
Ha - If you had been in infrared physics as I was for many years - you might
know that these night vision devices (the ones which are infrared) appear to do
just that. They look at a temperature profile - the clothing is cooler than the
body parts, so you see the body parts. I knew quite a few who enjoyed looking
with these at people. They appear a bit like a negative of a nude.
I know the military - we even send them nude or almost nude photos to
"support" their egos and as “rewards.” Remember the “pinups” in past
wars? We send scantily clad women to entertain them. Believe me – it is highly
likely that some of them look with these infrared devices. More than 60 years
ago, when my Dad was released from a ship for shore time, condoms were passed
out as part of the kit.
Now - that said – this may all seem trivial to us - but we are over there - and
some manners are probably much to our advantage – and in order besides.
Regarding the IQ's of Iraqis, (calling them retarded) - my guess is that the
bell curve in similar to our own. They most probably have some retarded
citizens - but most are not.
Those who are retarded, as my little niece in our own country, should still be
respected.
Besides, retarded evil people are generally much less evil
than smart evil people.
In our own country, adultery and fornication and blasphemy
are legal in all fifty states. In their countries, all of these can be
punishable by up to a death penalty. For them, murder is a lesser sin than
these three. (Culturally – but not as individuals – they are at least socially
retarded.) When they “catch up,” all three of these will be entirely legal.
Someone said:
Show Me the Body (Regarding "Big
Foot.")
Response:
No - don't show me. If you actually find one of these, I'll
read about it in every newspaper - see it on every television station - read it
in scientific journals, etc.
In the mean time - don't waste my time. Even if you call me on the phone and
tell me you have one in your living room - I won't take the time to come over.
From an atheist friend:
Chuck: I noted in yesterday's LA Times that the Mormons are
the most philanthropic
of all religions. Do you suppose that is because of the mandates of the
church to help other Mormons in a time of need? Is it because Mormon's
might have a lot more money than some of the other religions? I have read
that the Catholic church is the wealthiest of all
religions but they seem
to hang on to their do-re-me. Trivia.....thought you might have some
insight.
Response:
The Mormons are very well off per capita. The Catholics have
about 100 members for every one Mormon, but are poor per capita by comparison.
The total money among Catholics is of course much more than the total among
Mormons. To have left-over money is a per-capita issue.
The past decade or so - the Mormons have sent some of their money to the
Catholic Church for distribution in different parts of the world - for three
reasons. The Catholics have the best distribution system - are trustworthy –
and use the least portion of the funds to get the job done. It is my own
perception that the Catholics have always cared greatly for the poor of the
world.
That co-operation thing feels very good for me - because not
too long ago, Mormons would never have done such a work alongside
another religion.
The Mormons have for a long time had a very effective welfare system to take
care of their own members - when out of a job - injured, etc. It's not nearly
big enough for national welfare or international welfare - but works well
inside the Church. Many Mormons believe their way would be the best for larger
programs also.
The “Bishop’s Storehouse” is always filled with food - and exists in hundreds
of places. People in need either go there and shop
like in a regular grocery store - or someone else shops for them and takes the
food to their houses.
The Church owns its own orange groves - farms of all kinds - canneries for
everything - including tuna for years in our own
When someone moves - a dozen vans, cars with trailers,
and pickup trucks will show up to help.
I knew a family whose roof was leaking - one Saturday a dozen men showed up -
with one who knew what he was doing - and completely roofed that house in one
day.
These are part of the reasons that, though not convinced on all the beliefs, I
value what a good church does in the lives of people. No question - they have
what might be called superstitions - but they are people who care - and maybe
more important - they care for your whole life for 50 years or more without
ceasing.
The Visit:
There was vacillation regarding whether to make this visit
this week or wait ‘til later. It was Stake Conference day. I found out that
Leona was going to go to conference (we have visitors from
I headed for
There was a receptionist – alone in a waiting room – with an
elevator that would lead to the Scientologists. She called up and asked if
someone could come down to take me to the meeting, but she had advised me that
I may be too late – as there is a certain point in the meeting when
interruptions are no longer allowed. She was right; no one came to get me.
I waited about 25 minutes more – there was some reading
material in the waiting room, which I perused.
Then the receptionist called up there again. This time,
almost immediately, someone came. In fact, I heard the elevator operating about
two seconds after the call was made. I thought that perhaps the first call had
been forgotten.
A woman appeared. Her name was Kelly, and she would be my
guide through the facility. She was confident – and interested in being helpful.
As it turns out, Kelly had been in charge of the
Kelly took me upstairs and showed me the facility – the part
on the third floor. There are many rooms for study and exercises that have been
developed by the church. The chapel itself was very small – probably the
smallest of all on the Trip Around the Sun. It was
nice – simple. There was a cross on the wall behind a small lectern – more like
a small table, which held a book that looked like a large Bible.
The cross was ornate in shape – but not decorated otherwise.
I asked, “Since there is a cross, I assume this is
Christian?” She said, “Oh, no. It’s not Christian.” Later she pointed out that
the cross was a religious symbol long before Christianity began.
(I didn’t talk with her about our view of Christianity –
wherein it has always been – and I assume they have it as starting with Jesus
about 2000 years ago.)
She told me that their cross has eight points rather than
the four that are in the Christian cross.
(Now – I’m going to go out on the net and get you a picture
of this cross. Only this time I’m going to save what I’ve written so I don’t
have to write it a third time. Ha.)
The
Scientology cross represents the eight dynamics of life:
1. Self
2. Family
3. Groups
4. Mankind
5. All things living
6. All things material
7. All things Spiritual
8. The Supreme Being.
This is what the cross looked like – appearing to be made of
walnut – not as a single piece – but all the separate pieces you see in the
diagram. About two feet tall.
I got this list of the eight dynamics from the web. Kelly also
listed them, but I’m not sure if it was exactly the same. Particularly
the last one – The Supreme Being.
It appears there is no belief in a being – a creator – but rather a
belief that we are all eternal beings – not one who made the rest.
Oh – I remember specifically that the second one was
different. Kelly listed the second one as a relationship between two people. I
remember this because my thought was “Oh – an interpersonal relationship,” – of
which there are 21 in a family of seven.
Dad has a relationship with Mom and with each of five
children (6)
Then Mom has additional relationships with each of the five
children (5)
Then the first child has four additional relationships with
the other children (4)
The second child another three (3)
Plus two more for the third child (2)
Plus one more for the fourth child (1)
(The fifth child is already represented in each of the above
six lists.)
Each person in the family participates in six interpersonal
relationships.
Total of 21 interpersonal relationships – and every single
one needs to be healthy for a fine-tuned family dynamic.
During home teaching, I used to take pictures of each of
these relationships – 21 pictures with two people in each picture - for this
particular family size.
In a case wherein a divorce was proceeding, we used these
pictures to point out that among 21 relationships – only one was being
dissolved – and that all the rest should continue to be nourished..
Kelly took me around to see several rooms that were set up
for certain learning exercises. There were lots of books for study also.
The whole facility was impressive – not much like any other
church – more education and less worship oriented. It was like our own church
if there were no chapel and no recreation room and stage. It was all class and
study rooms, but for the very small chapel.
Later, I saw some other parts of the facility – which I will
describe later.
She asked if I would like to see a short film that was
designed for initial orientation.
There was a nice little theatre room – perhaps 25 seats. I
sat in the front row – the lights were turned off – very dark – hard to take
notes – and I watched the movie.
It was a full report of all the functions of the church –
with impressive facilities around the world. It showed the globe – and lights
to show where the religion was active. It looked much as our missionary maps
look – all over the globe. The religion started in
There is no question this was a sales pitch – very well done
– with many testimonials at the end.
If I can read what I printed in the dark – here are a few of
the testimonials. There were probably more than 50 altogether.
“Once I found Scientology, I quit struggling
with life, and I started playing with it.”
“Before, I was always considered serious; now
I have fun.”
“Scientology makes work fun.”
“I now have control of my life.”
“There’s no part of my life that Scientology
hasn’t helped.” – John Travolta
“Every hundred years or so, a genius comes along and changes
the way we do something important – but this change – this Scientology – has
happened only once.”
“Some genius rises – and life is changed.”
“It is not our mission to save the planet – but to free
you.”
“You are eternal – you are on the threshold of the next
trillion years.”
“What is true is what is true for you.”
“It is up to you – it is you that counts.”
“You can ignore all of this. Of course you can – and you can
also choose to jump off a bridge, but it would be very stupid to do either one.
Do not miss this opportunity!”
(It appeared contradictory to me – the urgency
– along with the teaching that we are eternal beings about to embark on “The
next trillion years.”)
(The principle of eternal progression along with urgency has
always affected me the same way – as a contradiction. In my own way of handling
the metaphors of our religion, I have it that no one can fail forever. It makes
more sense to me – people suffering in any way forever – is not sensible
to me. Suffering can be useful – but only if it has an end as changes
are effected.)
This all brought to mind a couple questions I wanted to be
sure to ask before my visit was over.
Kelly retrieved me from the theatre – and took me down to the
second floor to show me the rest of the facility.
There was a nice table of food set up there in a nicely
appointed visiting area. Here, all that had attended the Sunday meeting had
just eaten – and there was plenty left. I was invited to partake – which I
gladly did. There was a large platter of watermelon chunks – one of my
addictions.
(I’m a little confused on the orders of things – this may
have happened before the theatre – and not sure what was on what floor. I get
saturated in thought during these visits – trying to soak it all in.)
Another nice woman joined in our conversation. She was most
enthusiastic, and when she found me to be a Mormon – was excited about that.
She told me about a recent co-operative effort between the Scientologists and the
Mormons in France – where there was an effort afoot to outlaw proselytizing by
either group in their country. (I’m going out on the net to try to find
something on this - - - save - )
There was lots of stuff on France and Scientology.
France has long had a contentious
relationship with Scientology, which is fighting to be recognized as a
legitimate religion in Europe. France registers the Church of Scientology on a
list of 173 groups that should be tracked to prevent cult activities.
Among these 173, are the Mormons. It appears that Scientology was most active in
fighting the legislation, which has failed.
There are more than 3,200 Scientology
churches, missions and groups in 154 countries.
A maxim in Scientology is that only those
things which one finds true for himself are true. In Scientology one learns to
think for himself – it is a voyage of self-discovery.
Scientologists do not require or even
advise the leaving of one’s church. This woman (Not Kelly – the second one) was
very interested in the Mormons – almost looked like a missionary opportunity –
she had been so very impressed in
Along with other things Kelly showed me,
she took me back into the chapel to show me a little about what I had missed by
not making the Sunday meeting. I still want to go back for that. There was a
large Bible on the small table at the front – appeared leather bound. It was
not a bible – it was the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of
Scientology.
It appeared so much as a book of
scripture that I began wondering just what position this man holds in the minds
of the followers.
I asked Kelly, “Do the Scientologists
tend to be liberal as opposed to conservative?”
Oh, yes.
I told her that most Mormons are
Republicans – and that I was sometimes a bit of an irritation to them. She
laughed, of course.
But let me write down here – word for
word – a paragraph from the
“Scientology is unique among the major
religions of the world in that all its scripture (my emphasis) is
faithful to the original written and spoken words of L. Ron Hubbard. These
words have been preserved exactly as authored and said – and always will be –
thanks to the technology available in this era, giving Scientologists the
assurance that their religion will remain pure (my emphasis) and
free of alteration.”
This is a stark
conservative statement.
I want to point out some surprises for me
here. This religion does appear to be more scientific in nature than most. I
expected this of the Christian Scientists, and was surprised there to find the
opposite – an almost desecration of the scientific method and no respect for it
at all.
Christian “Science” somehow brought the
expectation of science for me. “Scientology” somehow brought for me the
expectation of something like “metaphysics.” In both cases, I was worng. (Just as I was here in the
spelling of “wrong.”)
Here, among Scientologists, I expected
that desecration – and found instead a more or less logical approach to
religion. But with this one huge exception – the “purity” of what is written.
It would be hard to find a more
respectable and ingenious scientist than Sir Isaac Newton. He invented the calculus
– made sense of gravity mathematically – gave us the fundamental three laws of
motion – wow. But along comes Einstein and cohorts – with new wonderful
discoveries and new mathematical models to describe the way the universe
evidently works – and away with
Why? Because science
has no respect for the past in and of itself. New data is given more
weight than old data. New principles mean more than old, etc. Science is
basically liberal – ever changing. It is always hoped that the changes are for
the better – toward increased truth – making the change process a bit like the
principle of repentance.
What L. Ron Hubbard wrote ought to be
thrown out as new data and understanding supplants the principles, and no one
should feel badly about it, including Hubbard himself - if he is aware in some
other portion of his eternal existence. But this is if and only if
these Scientologists are liberal. I think they may be more conservative than
they realize.
I would like to know more about how they really
function with both feet on the ground.
Kelly showed me more of what she does in
the facility. It turns out that the regular operator of the Sunday meeting was
out of country at another Scientology facility, and Kelly handled the meeting
for her. That’s probably a part of the formula for my inability to attend
arriving late. She was already pretty well loaded on the assignment.
I asked her if she was paid for the work
here. She said no. So I asked, “Then you have to work another job somewhere for
your support? Yes.
So it appears that most of the
Scientology work is done by volunteers, as we do.
There are several levels of leadership
within the organization – I suspect that at higher levels the work is
professional and paid – but I don’t know for sure.
On many attempts – all the way to the
Supreme Court – Scientology has consistently won its position as a church – a
religion – and tax exempt non-profit.
In some other countries, this is a
tougher call – as evidenced by the fight in
Certainly against the backdrop of
attendance at 52 religions this year, this organization does not appear
“religious,” in the sense of worship. They do consider we human beings as
spiritual in nature – and eternal – and Kelly argues that this is religion. If
there is any subject of “worship,” it is L. Ron Hubbard, but I believe they
would resent that accusation. He insisted he was only a man. It appears he
thought he was an extraordinary one – and he may have been correct. So was
Toward the end of my visit, I told Kelly
that her personality was winning and attractive. I wanted to know if this was
part and parcel of her own lifelong personality – or a
result of Scientology. She thought it was some of both – that the religion has
made her good parts better. There was no embarrassment for the compliment, and
it seems there is a certain comfortable pride in what Scientology has meant in
her life.
She told me that when she first came upon
Scientology, she had a young daughter seriously in trouble at school – getting
F’s on spelling tests, etc. Just a few weeks later – with Scientology, her
daughter’s life and her own were showing real signs of change. Now she has a
twenty year old daughter that she is very proud of, and partly, she credits
Scientology.
(I’m still getting things our of order – I haven’t even taken the test yet.)
It’s called the “Oxford Capacity
Analysis.” It consists of 200 questions – for which there are three possible
answers. Mostly true – unknown or neutral – mostly false.
I answered all as honestly as I could –
quickly – about twenty minutes.
Then the answers are put into the
computer – and a graph is drawn. There are ten categories that are rated –
1.
Stable
2.
Happy
3.
Composed
4.
Certainty
5.
Active
6.
Aggressive
7.
Responsible (Causative)
8.
Correct Estimation
9.
Appreciative
10. Communication Level
An upper area of the resulting graph was
labeled “
Then the middle portion was labeled “
And the bottom area was labeled, “
Two of my nine came out on the high end
of normal – and all the rest in the
Kelly said this looked very good – and
showed me a couple others with no names – wherein there was considerable to
work on – that Scientology could help with.
(I thought – I wonder if this has
anything to do with Mormonism – I mean my lack of need in some of these areas?
I always marvel when the little ones give talks – especially the ones who have
used their own words. The considerable substantive participation in the Church
has to be one of its best strengths.)
I want to look up “Oxford Capacity
Analysis” and see where it comes from. Is it a Scientology thing – or from the
psychology department of
(I did)
Searching on AltaVista.com thusly:
+title: "Oxford Capacity
Analysis" –Scientology
Zero sites.
If I do not allow the inclusion of the
word “Scientology,” the test is shown in no sites at all, so it appears to be
exclusively a Scientology thing – probably nothing at all to do with
Now when I
include the word “Scientology,” there are a dozen sites.
Among the
200 questions – here are six:
Do you
browse through railway timetables, directories or dictonaries just for
pleasure?
Do you get occasional twitches of your muscles, when there is no logical reason
for it?
Do you enjoy telling people latest scandal about your associates?
Do you rarely suspect the actions of others? (On this one – a yes is a no on
being suspicious. Perhaps this is one of their IQ questions?)
Do you often make tactless blunders?
All easy to
answer –
But another
one said, “Are you often careless?”
Does this
mean “Not caring?” [That would be NO – I love people] Or does it mean “Taking chances?” [That would
be YES – I love blasting in the hotrod]
So I answered
that one in the middle just to get rid of it.
I’ll be thinking about this whole
experience for a while – would like to learn a little more – check out the
reality of practice, etc.
Some of the internet sites indicated that
the whole of this religion is to sell courses and make lots of money, but I was
not approached to make any such purchases – I’m told (on those sites) that I
can expect large amounts of mail from now ‘til doomsday. Oh well – if that’s
the case, it’s nothing new. I’ll just tell Kelly to “Stop it,” and then I will
know if members have any power within the system.
(53) of 52 – Additional visit to