Stressed by Scientology

According to The Washington Post, Scientology recruiters have been offering stress exams and a Scientology pitch on a DC sidewalk:

The sign advertising "Free Stress Test" beckoned Marian Prescott as she crossed Farragut Square, and she found herself settling into a chair beneath a yellow tent and taking hold of two metal poles hooked up to a device that the tester said could detect psychic strain.

Then Turrisi handed Prescott a paperback book, "Dianetics" by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, the back of which promised advice for living without "insecurity, negative thoughts, depression and irrational behavior." All Prescott needed to own this trove of wisdom was to fork over the "suggested" donation of $8.

And so the bait and switch begins. 

The “free stress test” is the hook to get them to purchase (excuse me – it’s just a “suggested” donation) the Scientology book. The book will suggest Scientology training courses. These are free until it is revealed you need more advanced courses that have to be paid for and… er, you get the idea. I wrote about Scientology’s bait and switch before.

It gets better. Here is the famous Scientology “technology” you hear the likes of Tom Cruise blathering about:

Among those tools are the electrometers, which come with an array of dials and a roving needle. Taylor described the device as a "religious artifact used as a spiritual guide," not a "psychological or scientific instrument."

This “electrometer” (E-Meter for short) Scientologists use in their “auditing” is just a Wheatstone Bridge – a device to measure electrical resistance. How can such a device measure “psychic stress” (or any kind of stress for that matter)? It can’t. From What The Meter Does we learn that although Scientologists believe the E-Meter can measure an individual's emotional state and thoughts, the idea is just L. Ron Hubbard’s pseudo-religious science-fiction, supported by zero evidence:

In other words, ``This stuff is not supposed to be factual; it may well be rubbish. Don't try to hold us responsible. Hubbard wrote it; we publish it.'' From the same page:

The Hubbard Electrometer, or E-meter, is a device which is sometimes used in Dianetics and Scientology. In itself, the E-meter does nothing. It is not intended or effective for the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of any disease, or for the improvement of health or any bodily function.

And yet “auditing” with the E-Meter is a fundamental part of Scientology’s Dianetics “technology”. 

Did you know members of Scientology’s elite Sea Organization sign billion-year contracts with the organization? Thus their future reincarnations are also obliged to be Scientologists. How do they enforce these contracts, I wonder? More to the point, where is El-Ron’s reincarnated entity? It should be held accountable for “Battlefield Earth”, if nothing else.

Comments

[Thomas]

I've seen these guys. They also offered free "therapy" 6 months or so ago.

[Eric]

I'm proud to say that my name is on the list of blocked terms in the Scientology internet browser that they give to members:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~johanw/CoS/crack.list.html

[outeast]

The Church of Critical Thinking has had some excellent and in-depth debunkings of Scientology. Among the most substantial are this piece on the e-meter (http://www.churchofcriticalthinking.com/archives/000184scientology_media_re.html) and this one (http://www.churchofcriticalthinking.com/archives/000185scientology_media_re.html) on 'The Road to Freedom', an 'all-star' Scientology soundtrack. I really recommnend these - brilliant and funny.