From: pjs@reimari.uwasa.fi (Peik J Strômsholm) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,talk.religion.misc,alt.religion.christian Subject: LRH AND JESUS CHRIST (upd. repost with refs) Date: 28 Sep 1996 20:25:27 +0300 Organization: University of Vaasa
Added reference to sound clip of "Assists" tape and cleaned up for HTML 3.2
Jens Tingleff, Sept 25th, 1997
I have heard it said that a Scientology spokeswoman stated that Scientology is "not a turn the other cheek religion". How true, indeed. This article contains an updated repost of this comparation between Christianity and Scientology, which many found quite revealing. Now also references.
| Christianity | Scientology | |
|---|---|---|
| On revenge and enemies | "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also." - Jesus Christ, Luke 6:27-28, Matthew 5:38-39 | "An enemy... may be injured by any means or tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed. [...] Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press." - L. Ron Hubbard, HCO Policy Letter, 18 Oct 67 and HCO Policy Letter, Attacks on Scientology (Additional Pol Ltr), 25 Feb 66 |
| About telling the truth | "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." - Jesus Christ NT: Matthew 5:37 | "Handling truth is a touchy business ... Tell an acceptable truth." - L. Ron Hubbard, The Missing Ingredient, 13 August 1970. |
| About using religious deception | "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them." - Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:15 | "Churches are looked upon as reform groups. Therefore we must act like a reform group." - L. Ron Hubbard, 1966, According to Jon Atack's The total freedom trap |
| About greed and money | "Give to everyone who asks you, do not demand it back." - Jesus
Christ, Luke 6:30
"Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." - Jesus Christ, Luke 18:22 | "MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY." - L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL 9 Mar 72 |
| About the price charged for religion | "Freely you have received, freely give." - Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:8 | "PROCESSING MAY NEVER BE GIVEN AWAY BY AN ORG. Processing is too expensive to deliver." - L. Ron Hubbard HCO PL 27 Sep 70 (Issue I) |
| About the judicial system | "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court." - Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:25 | "The law can be used very easily to harass... the purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win." - L. Ron Hubbard, The Scientologist - A Manual on the Dissemination of Material", reprinted in The Technical Bulletins of Dianetics and Scientology volume 2, pp.151-171, 1979 printing. |
| About redemption in Christ | "... I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - St. Paul, Galatians 2:20 | "Christ died for his own sins." - L. Ron Hubbard, (Uncertain ref; Saint Hill tape #12 or such. Readers are urged to post the correct ref, if possible). |
| About using religion to make money | "... men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain." - St. Paul, 1 Timothy 5:5 | "I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is." - L. Ron Hubbard to Lloyd Eshbach in 1949; quoted by Eshbach in Over My Shoulder. |
| About being open-minded | "Test everything. Hold on to the good." - St. Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 | "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. |
| About society in general | "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." - St. Paul, Romans 13:1 | "If we place the government on our chart of human evaluation we find a craven psychotic .... Governments are insane." - L. Ron Hubbard, Ability Magazine, Issue No. 5 |
| About the great "knowledge" of cults | "Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith." - St. Paul, 1 Timothy 6:20-21 | "This is useful knowledge. With it the blind again see, the lame walk, the ill recover, the insane become sane and the sane become saner. By its use the thousand abilities man has sought to recover become his once more." - L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology: A History of Man. Foreword. |
| About the reality of Christianity | "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life." - St. John , 1 John. 1:1 | "I don't know how they found it; either by watching madmen or something. But since that time they have used it. And it became what is known as Christianity. The Man on the cross. There was no Christ!" - L. Ron Hubbard, Class 8 Auditor's Course (Confidential), taped on the ship Apollo in Corfu, Greece. Aka "Assists" tape, authenticated by a legal representative of the RTC - if one believes in e-mail as a means of serving legal papers... |
| Jeff Jacobsen: | ||
| About who will own the universe | "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." (Jesus Christ, Mat. 5:5) | "The universe is a rough universe. It is a terrible and deadly universe. Only the strong survive it, only the ruthless can own it." - L.Ron Hubbard, Scientology: A History of Man, p.38) |
| Perry Scott: | ||
| About lawsuits | "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also." - Jesus Christ, Matt 5:40 (KJV) | "The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win...The law can be used very easily to harass, and...will generally be sufficient to cause [the enemy's] professional decease. If possible, of course ruin him utterly." - L.Ron Hubbard, Magazine articles on Level O Checksheet, American Saint Hill Organization 1968. |
| Leisa Goodman: | ||
| About forgiveness | "And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other;" - Jesus Christ, Luke 6:29 (KJV) | "We are not a turn-the-other-cheek religion." - Leisa Goodman, in a post to alt.religion.scientology. |
Perhaps it's useless to compare statements from the Bible with Hubbard's blasphemous views on the subject. The shocking differences are all too obvious. It's difficult to resist the temptation, when Scientology publications state that "you can be a Christian and a Scientologist at the same time".
Comparing such statements might have relevance for Christian readers of a.r.s. and the crossposted groups, but it seems like all people, regardless of their belief, should remember this description of dangerous cults: "They come to you in sheep's clothing...."
stromsho@helsinki.fi Student of Theology, Law Student U of Helsinki
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