What Is Scientology [Paperback]

L Ron Hubbard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Scientology is the fastest-growing religion in the world. People from all walks of life proclaim its benefits, but never has one comprehensive book been available on it--until now. Readers will discover practical knowledge that provides effective answers to today's problems and unleashes the full potential of humanity.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of Scientology. He has described his philosophies in more than 5,000 writings, including dozens of books, and three thousand tape recorded lectures. Those who regularly employ his teachings to improve themselves and help their fellows come from all walks of life. The universal acclaim for the man — including thousands of awards and recognitions from individuals and groups and the unprecedented popularity of his works among all people — is but one indicator of the effectiveness of his technologies. More importantly, there are millions of people around the world who consider they have no greater friend. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 590 pages
• Publisher: Bridge Publications Inc (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884048500
• ISBN-13: 978-0884048503
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,635,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 230 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and '40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and beautiful book...but..., March 13, 2010

By 

Gregory Holmes "DeCoteau Fan" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Is Scientology? (Paperback)

No, I'm not a Scientologist and Yes, I read every word of this rather large and impressive book. It really is a gorgeous publication with top notch printing and binding, expensive glossy paper stock, tons of photos and lots of information. Did I find out what I wanted to know about Scientology from reading it? Yes and no. The book covers every possible service the church offers to members and gives some brief detatils about each of them. They are numerous and daunting and the mere amount of them would, I suspect keep most people from having any interest in pursuing Scientology further. There are hundreds of books, lectures, courses, procedures, services etc to be done and it seems a very inefficient method for reaching "total freedom", in fact it sounds more like a full time job in Scientology to me. I don't see how anyone could hold down a real job and do even half of these Scientology courses described in this book at the same time. This would take a lifetime to do. Curiously, the book provides a copy of a chart that maps out the "bridge" to spiritual freedom and oddly enough, the church has not released the top levels of this bridge to the public yet and (again, acording to the book) will not do so until enough Scientologists are at the higher levels. Why would I want to invest my time in walking on an INCOMPLETE bridge? The book explains that Dianetics and Scientology have been around for more than 50 years so where are all the incredible results at? If this all works so well, why are there so few people reaching the top of this "bridge" and why are there not Scientologist churchs all over the place (they could give some competition to the hundreds of Baptist churches in my area of the world)? Why isn't the world flocking to this religion that works "100 percent of the time". These obvious questions are not answered.

I think the book tries to make things plain but it falls victim to its own Scientology language from time to time, most notably in the first (of many) rather tedious indorsement sections where Scientologists explain how the religion has changed their lives. Strange and unfamiliar words and terms begin to creep in (words that only seem to exist in Scientology as they are nowhere to be found in the OED) and you will find yourself wondering just what is meant by "knowingness" "beingness" "being at cause" etc. I even found the term "sexingness" in this book (I'm not kidding). Of course my failure to understand parts of this book is because I have not had the "Student Hat" or Study Technology of L. Ron Hubbard, and anyone with a current (non-scientology) education has not really learned anything and can't communicate or study "with certainty". This book claims that humanity has never been able to learn ANYTHING effectively before because it did not have the educational "breakthroughs" discoverd by Mr. Hubbard.

The book has a rather condescending and smug attitude and readers are informed that before the "tremendous research" (which is NEVER described) of L. Ron Hubbard, humanity knew NOTHING of the human mind, knew nothing about how to study effectively, and didn't even know how to organize a successful group (quick, someone tell the Catholics). There is also a weird fascination with psychiatry and a rather morbid depiction of psychiatrists as a group of cackling evil mad scientist types. This may be because Scientology itself seems to be little more than a lot of psychotherapy (albeit psychotherapy of a very unorthodox sort) and psychiatry is competition for Dianetic auditing and Scientolgy.

The book contains a description of the numerous public help groups that are part of the church such as Narconon, Criminon, ABEL, The Way to Happiness Foundation, WISE, Applied Scholastics etc. These guys are into EVERYTHING.

Of real interest is a reference section that contains the Axioms of Scientology and Dianetics. The Dianetic Axioms are pretty much indecipherable (the book almost admits this much in the introduction to the Scientology Axioms) and the Scientology Axioms are also rather cryptic sounding. I took the time to really break a couple of them down and try to figure out exactly what Mr. Hubbard was saying and came up with things like (my paraphrase) "You can measure your IQ by understanding which things are truly important." To be honest, I'm not really sure what most of them meant because they are so full of Scientology jargon. On the other hand, a section known as THE FACTORS were quite beautiful, profound and clearly written. Truly beautiful writing.

I'll admit I got interested in Scientology from all of the bad publicity it has been getting on TV, all over YouTube the internet and even in the local news and I wanted to read a Scientology viewpoint and this book looked pretty comprehensive. I learned some of what I wanted to know but a lot of things are not covered. You won't find any information at all about the weird UFO cult aspects of the church that have been covered on NIGHTLINE and even SOUTH PARK. No volcanos or galactic overlords or any of the stuff that supposedly makes up the teachings of the higher levels. The book does state that some of the "scriptures" are confidential (what religion besides Scientology has confidential scriptures that you have to pay to read?) and I suppose all the much publicized really far out stuff is in those levels. You wont find anything about all the people on the news claiming abuse in the church (although to be fair this book is 10 years old and these events are far more recent). The book also offers no PROOF of anything it has to say other than page after page of weirdly phrased "testimonials" from celebrity (and non-celeb) Scientologists. I'd like to see some studies (independent studies, not Scientology ones) of how well this "tech" the church is selling really works. I'd like to know the exact research that Mr. Hubbard did to make his discoveries. If you are gonna make these claims that ONLY Scientologists have the answers to lifes problems, you better be able to back those claims up and this book never comes close. Certainly somewhere in its more than 800 pages it could have provided something other than claims and advertisements for "services", books and lectures. And no, the word of a practicing Scientologist is NOT evidence, it is a statement made from faith and only personal observation and it does not qualify as research or genuine scientific evidence.

Which brings me to a question I had that this book DID answer. Is Scientology a religion? Yes, without a doubt, it is a religion and even if all the stories being reported on the television, newspapers and internet about the truly bizarre beliefs at the higher levels of this religion are true, they are not much stranger than the supernatural beliefs of other world religions. It is a strange religion and has the audacity (mentioned more than once in this book) to advertise the most "economical" way to pay for your eternal salvation. That takes balls folks. Most religions downplay that they are trying to get your money but Scientology is right up front with it. They want your money and they don't care who knows it. If you want Scientology for "free" then the book explains that you can work for them and get services. Either way, they let you know you are gonna pay for your "freedom" and I think that is sort of refreshing.

Much has been made on the television news lately about the church policy of DISCONECTION and sure enough, this book not only admits the practice but explains it logically. The practice SUCKS, but they are certainly within their rights to do it. Where it gets rather scary is in their descriptions of people who oppose Scientology. The book indicates that they always have a connection to psychiatry, they are "anti-social" beings who oppose ALL organisations that work for the betterment of humanity. With that logic, if you oppose Scientology, you also oppose the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, the March of Dimes, Easter Seals etc. Again, somebody better tell the Catholics.

So what did I learn from my adventure in reading this big ole book? Well . . . I think Scientologist are most likely very nice people who mean well and want to do the best they can for themselves and for others. I think their religion seems horribly complex, confusing, controlling and insanely bureaucratic. I think it probably would drive me crazy to even try Scientology. I think Scientologists are a really easy target for comedians and society in general to make fun of because to most of us (from reading even just a few of their beliefs about the human mind)this all just seems so damn stupid. I think they produce very beautiful books and high quality products. I think they have every right to believe whatever they want. . . and I think in the end, this book attempts to make Scientology sound so good, that it couldn't possibly be true. And no, I'm not being covertly hostile! I'm at least a 3.5 on the tone scale. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not an accurate description of Scientology, January 13, 2012

By 

Liam Joseph Donaldson (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Is Scientology? (Paperback)

Well, what would you expect from the charlatan who created the scam. Better, more accurate information, can be found by searching online for the St Petersburg Times (now called the Tampa Bay Times), in Florida.

1.0 out of 5 stars Propaganda for the weak-minded, May 10, 2009

By 

Harvey Henkelmann (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Is Scientology? (Paperback)

'What is $cientology?' is a publication that seeks to draw upon the most vulnerable and gullible in our society into surrendering their minds (and pocketbooks) to what is quite possibly the most dangerous cult in the world yet seen since Jim Jones and The People's Temple. If you feel the need to join the Church of $cientology, sit down and discuss your decision with a friend, family member, or significant other, and listen to what they have to say.