Scientology Visit

So I just got back today from a tour of the Scientology Church of Los Angeles off of Sunset Blvd. This center was HUGE. We had a couple of staff members take us there to learn more about the sociology and culture of LA. If you want to learn about that, then Scientology cannot be left out of the equation.

This was a mind blowing experience. Definitely not like I thought they would have been, but then again it was. The guy that took us on a tour was named Tim. Tim was a very nice guy, clean cut, and very approachable. Upon entering the center you enter through this big foyer and bookstore FILLED with books, DVD's, and CD's of Ron Hubbard's writings and such. You have absolutely NO idea how much this man has written. He is the creator and founder of Scientology.

At its essence Scientology means "knowing about the word". It is very philosophical and humanitarian based. We watched a 45 minute video interview with Ron Hubbard and it is apparently the ONLY interview from him ever. He died a few years ago in case you didn't know. The video went through all aspects of their belief system: afterlife (apparently Ron can prove there is an afterlife but he wouldn't say in the interview), ethics, the Divne, medicine, the spirit realm...and so on. After the video we has a Q and A that lasted about an hour and a half because we all had so many questions.




There is so much more to Scientology than I could have ever thought. It is too much to get into, but if you are really interested to just know more you can google the name Scientology and check them out on their main website. There are a lot of things that conflict with Christianity, yet also there are many things to agree upon. This would kind of shake me while watching the video when Ron would spit out things I believe as a Christ-follower, not a self-help human follower. The best part of this experience was after the tour/Q and A was over. Our group went out to lunch and had a debrief of what we had just taken in. We critiqued what they had to say and how they approached questions. We then compared this too our own faith. This is what blew my mind. Christians are not much different than the Scientologists. Not even in how we share our faith. They are so easily able to take these deep theological questions and make them so simple and then take the answer in the direction they wanted them to go and never fully just giving an answer. Yet, we do the same when asked hard or even easy questions about our own beliefs and faith do we not? It was scary to turn the tables on ourselves and see the aspects we relate to Scientologists on. In their eyes, they can co-exists with any faith and that is what they call themselves a denominational religion. Its all about bettering yourself to help others and create the best in whatever you hold to be the highest calling in your life. They have every kind of religion that is apart of their faith. They are very relevant to LA and KNOW how to appeal to their audience and do a GREAT job at it. That is why they are so successful. We thought the Church in general could actually learn a lot from them because they are great at community and outreach.

I am just so enthralled with my experience today. Makes me reflect and question my faith that much more. It makes me more confident to stand firm in my belief and how to relate to others of Scientology even better. I want to be approachable and loving and at least understand where others are coming from in a setting of different faiths. It makes me question my motives, life goals and passions, and what makes a Christian stand out and more true than something else. Lots of thinking about this and a great challenge in my faith. I hope this may even do the same for you. And hey, if you have any questions about them please ask me! I love talking about this stuff and I know so much more about it now.