Commonwealth Times

Media Credit: Rachel Larue Church of Scientology buliding in Carytown [Click to enlarge]

The Church of Scientology, best known for its celebrity members, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is planning to open a church in Carytown.

It will be the first established Scientology church in Richmond.

The church could open by December and will offer introductory lectures, meetings and a book store, said Sylvia Standard, director of external affairs for the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C.

Scientologists enter the religion as beginners and progress to higher levels as they increase their religious knowledge, according to the Web site scientologytoday.org.

"Parishioners of the religion begin with introductory services and advance to higher levels. Similarly, there are different levels of Scientology churches that mirror this graduated scale - from those that solely deliver introductory courses to Advanced Organizations, which deliver the upper level services," the Web site states.

It is as yet to be determined what level of a church the one in Carytown will be.

Science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard founded scientology in 1952. The religion is said to be based on the belief that 75 million years ago, aliens were banished to Earth by a warlord named Xenu. Their souls, or "body thetans," then stuck to humans, causing many of humanity's problems, both emotional and social.

Some surrounding business owners are worried about the church.

"I'm extremely uncomfortable with (the church being so close). I find them really creepy," said Mistie Roundtree, who works at Carytown Teas, located right behind the proposed location.

Scientology has caused controversy based on its opposition to psychiatric treatment and secrecy about its beliefs.

In a book published in 1972, an ex-member Robert Kaufman wrote about the secrecy and exclusivity of the religion.

"Access is not automatic, nor is it dependent solely upon donations. It is by invitation only. This is so that people of ill-will with motives antipathetic to Scientology cannot use the materials for purposes contrary to the goal of spiritual freedom, which proper use of these religious works brings about," Kaufman stated in the article, "Inside Scientology: Or How I Found Scientology and Became Super Human."

Scientologists' views of psychiatry make them distinct. They are strictly opposed to medication prescribed by psychiatrists of any kind, seeing the use of such services as a spiritual flaw that will have dire impacts, even in the afterlife.

"At best, psychiatry suppresses life's problems; at worst it causes severe damage and irreversible setbacks in a person's life and even death," states a quote from a Scientology Web site, faq.scientology.org/psychtry.htm. It is unclear whether the religion espouses many of these teachings, as church teachings are not given to non-members.

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THE TENETS OF SCIENTOLOGY

Scientologists believe in the teachings of the deceased L. Ron Hubbard, who was a popular science fiction writer born in 1911. In 1950, he wrote "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health." In the book he describes the human mind, what it is and how it operates. Hubbard's writings state

» Humans are immortal spiritual beings » The human experience extends well beyond a single lifetime » The capabilities or humans are unlimited even if not presently realized

He states in "OT III"

» Alien warlord Xenu, who ruled this part of the galaxy 75 million years ago, froze the people, put them on a spaceship, flew to Earth and dumped around volcanoes. » Xenu and his air force then bombed them with hydrogen bombs. » This vaporized their souls, which were then trapped by Xenu and put into movie theaters built by Xenu, where they watched films for days that implanted the captured souls with a false reality. » Those souls then stuck to humans, causing them to believe in a false reality.

Scientologists work to free themselves from these false realities through the audit process. This involves an electropsychometer, or E-Meter, which measures the mental state or change of state of a person, helping the auditor locate areas of spiritual distress or travail so they can be addressed and handled in a session.

Sources: » scientology.org » xenu.net

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Media Credit: Rachel Larue Church of Scientology buliding in Carytown [Click to enlarge]

The Church of Scientology, best known for its celebrity members, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is planning to open a church in Carytown.

It will be the first established Scientology church in Richmond.

The church could open by December and will offer introductory lectures, meetings and a book store, said Sylvia Standard, director of external affairs for the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C.

Scientologists enter the religion as beginners and progress to higher levels as they increase their religious knowledge, according to the Web site scientologytoday.org.

"Parishioners of the religion begin with introductory services and advance to higher levels. Similarly, there are different levels of Scientology churches that mirror this graduated scale - from those that solely deliver introductory courses to Advanced Organizations, which deliver the upper level services," the Web site states.

It is as yet to be determined what level of a church the one in Carytown will be.

Science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard founded scientology in 1952. The religion is said to be based on the belief that 75 million years ago, aliens were banished to Earth by a warlord named Xenu. Their souls, or "body thetans," then stuck to humans, causing many of humanity's problems, both emotional and social.

Some surrounding business owners are worried about the church.

"I'm extremely uncomfortable with (the church being so close). I find them really creepy," said Mistie Roundtree, who works at Carytown Teas, located right behind the proposed location.

Scientology has caused controversy based on its opposition to psychiatric treatment and secrecy about its beliefs.

In a book published in 1972, an ex-member Robert Kaufman wrote about the secrecy and exclusivity of the religion.

"Access is not automatic, nor is it dependent solely upon donations. It is by invitation only. This is so that people of ill-will with motives antipathetic to Scientology cannot use the materials for purposes contrary to the goal of spiritual freedom, which proper use of these religious works brings about," Kaufman stated in the article, "Inside Scientology: Or How I Found Scientology and Became Super Human."

Scientologists' views of psychiatry make them distinct. They are strictly opposed to medication prescribed by psychiatrists of any kind, seeing the use of such services as a spiritual flaw that will have dire impacts, even in the afterlife.

"At best, psychiatry suppresses life's problems; at worst it causes severe damage and irreversible setbacks in a person's life and even death," states a quote from a Scientology Web site, faq.scientology.org/psychtry.htm. It is unclear whether the religion espouses many of these teachings, as church teachings are not given to non-members.

--- ---

THE TENETS OF SCIENTOLOGY

Scientologists believe in the teachings of the deceased L. Ron Hubbard, who was a popular science fiction writer born in 1911. In 1950, he wrote "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health." In the book he describes the human mind, what it is and how it operates. Hubbard's writings state

» Humans are immortal spiritual beings » The human experience extends well beyond a single lifetime » The capabilities or humans are unlimited even if not presently realized

He states in "OT III"

» Alien warlord Xenu, who ruled this part of the galaxy 75 million years ago, froze the people, put them on a spaceship, flew to Earth and dumped around volcanoes. » Xenu and his air force then bombed them with hydrogen bombs. » This vaporized their souls, which were then trapped by Xenu and put into movie theaters built by Xenu, where they watched films for days that implanted the captured souls with a false reality. » Those souls then stuck to humans, causing them to believe in a false reality.

Scientologists work to free themselves from these false realities through the audit process. This involves an electropsychometer, or E-Meter, which measures the mental state or change of state of a person, helping the auditor locate areas of spiritual distress or travail so they can be addressed and handled in a session.

Sources: » scientology.org » xenu.net

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