Scientology in the Tribune

Interesting articles in the Tribune about the Scientologists attempts to conquer Tampa and Hillsborough County

Scientologists Spreading Into Plant City, Beyond
What Is Scientology?
For Better Or Worse, It Changed Clearwater
Timeline: Scientology In Clearwater
Map Of Church-Owned Buildings
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"The church aims to expand its outreach into smaller towns and among the black and Hispanic communities, which critics say is an effort to make inroads among those with little knowledge of its controversial past"

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essays on scientology

HOW TO TALK TO A SCIENTOLOGIST an excerpt from a 2003 copyrighted article by Michael Leonard Tilse . Read the full article for best understanding.

"It is the internal conflicts I experienced within Scientology that broke the spell for me. So if I were now talking to a Scientologist, I would talk to them about these things:

Get them to explain about the powers of an operating thetan, the higher levels in Scientology. And then ask them if they knew of people on those levels getting sick or getting cancer or dying or just leaving the church. Get them to think how the reality they observe differs from what is promised. Even for people who have been in Scientology for years. Tell them you are confused; if these magnificent powers existed, how then could critics of the church continue to write or even to exist? Couldn’t a top level Scientologist just wish them away?

Get them to describe the ideals of Scientology ethics and justice and how Scientologists are supposed to be honest and straightforward. Find out if they know any Scientologists who won’t pay back loans, who have trouble with paying their rent, who have done a lot of Scientology but still seem shady or involved in schemes. If they have been around awhile, they will know some or will have heard of many such things.

Get them to explain "having to have before you can do" and have them tell you about what Scientologists are told they need to do to before management releases the next "O.T." levels. Then wonder, if it is so important that these levels be done to ensure the hope of the future, why are there things that have to be done first?

Find out if they experienced the misapplication of Scientology justice themselves. Get them to talk about it.

Find out what they think about Hubbard’s writings being revised over 15 years after his death. Does it make sense to them?

See if they will talk about their feelings that it is "just them" having trouble, but that Scientology really is good. It is very common for people to go for decades wondering privately why they are not getting the promised gains from Scientology while outwardly defending it to the death.

These kinds of questions and getting them to think about what they experienced and observed as compared to what they are taught and led to believe are a key to breaking the kind of spell they are under.

So, I think that you should talk with a Scientologist completely nonjudgmentally. Get them to talk about what they have observed themselves in fellow Scientologists, organizations, management and activities as compared to what they are given to believe from Hubbard’s writings and the promises of management. This way you open the door far enough that they will begin to read and compare the stories and experiences of ex-Scientologists with their own. "