Scientology Has Apologists, Too!
Comments(0)A poster going by the name of “ppederson” seems to be an apologist for Scientology. He has challenged my interpretation of this article, which I briefly touch here. Since I don’t have a name for him, assuming that he is male, I’ll call him our friendly “Scienpologist” for the time being. I’ve always wanted to interact with an apologist for Scientology, since it is one of the false religions that I speak against and I’ve never been able to find one on my own. But mainly I wanted to use that “Scienpologist” joke. I’ve been waiting for almost a year for that.
Our friendly Scienpologist (I’m the only one who finds this funny, aren’t I?) informs me that the pastor in the CNN.com article was using The Way to Happiness, which is written by L. Ron Hubbard but is not Scientology per se. I disagree. The cover gives it away: the road leading to the bright sun? That is Scientology symbolism very similar to the bridge leading to the bright sun that they use in their actual Scientology materials.
Scientologists have a history of deception to acheive their ends.
The Way to Happiness has 21 precepts for living a better life. The pastor from my previous article adopted these, found Scriptural support for each one, and uses The Way to Happiness in his sermons. His daughter is quoted as saying that they are “Pentecostal Scientologists.”
Most of the precepts are good. But there are a few that aren’t Christian. The precepts in question are “Do not harm a person of good will,” “Respect the religious beliefs of others,” “Try not to do things to others that you would not want them to do to you,” and “Try to treat others as you would want to be treated.” These may have some Biblical support, but each–followed to a logical conclusion–should be rejected by the church.
Before I show why those should be rejected, the final precept in The Way to Happiness is worth special mention. “Flourish and prosper” now puts the supporters of this pamphlet square into the prosperity gospel. God does not want us to flourish and prosper–at least not all of us. God created a world where it is simply not possible for everyone to get everything that they want. This sort of mentality causes greed. Look at this article and pay attention to some of the purchases that these prosperity preachers have made. More about prosperity theology here.
Do not harm a person of good will. That sounds excellent. Most people will be honestly surprised to read that I don’t believe that this is Biblical. Why? Because it doesn’t go far enough, that’s why.
Jesus rejected this notion. He said:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mat 5:43-4 
I echo the Lord’s rhetorical question: If you do not harm those of good will, what are you doing that is so different or better than anyone else of this world?
Respect the religious beliefs of others. The problem here is that, to some extent, nearly every religion (except for the more New Age ones like Scientology or Unitarian Universalism) teach some sort of exclusivity. Logically, if all roads led to God, what freedom have we? I’ve argued previously that if there was never an incorrect choice, then we wouldn’t truly be free-willed creatures. Without true freedom, there is no responsibility for our decisions. This means that there is no logical possibility of sin. At this point, almost every part of the Bible is wrong.
Jesus drew a line in the sand when He claimed to be the only way to God (Jn 14:6). A Christian who honors this precept is not being true to the gospel.
Try not to do things to others that you would not want them to do to you and try to treat others as you would want to be treated. “Try” has the built-in notion of failure. Jesus doesn’t want us to try; He wants us to do.
Yoda told Luke Skywalker the wisest words ever spoken by a puppet: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Jesus isn’t asking us to try: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat 5:48). Jesus, again, is calling us out on our lifestyle choices. All the Scientology pamphlet is asking us to do is to give it a shot. If we fail, then at least we tried.
“. . . and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
