Chief among the bizarre doctrines of the “Church” of Scientology is the belief that all human beings are embodied spirits called “Thetans.” The goal of the Scientologist is to release his Thetan from the layers of spiritual and psychological crud with which all humanity is covered (analogous in a way to original sin), reaching what is know as the state of “clear.”
After reaching clear the Scientologist works toward becoming an “OT”–an “Operating Thetan.” Through study and application he moves through different levels of OT, gaining wisdom and prowess with each. This progress does not come cheaply. Scientologists routinely pay tens of thousands of dollars to enroll in OT training sessions. But they say it’s worthwhile: Operating Thetans gain new powers, as the “OT Phenomena” section of the Scientologist magazine Advancereveals:
“There’s a certain feeling about ‘being in charge’ of the universe when you hike up The Bridge [the hierarchy of OT levels] grade chart. When I’m 20 miles from home on a bike and the rain begins to pour, it’s a good feeling to have. Pour, pour. Intend, intend. Drizzle, drizzle. Intend, intend! Drip, drip–dry. I always seem to get clear sky. After all, I found out, I’m really in charge here” (“M.G.,” issue 89, 1986).
“I was driving home a day or so after finishing OT III Expanded [one of the middle levels on the OT scale]. I suddenly had an urge to go to the store and get cigarettes. Now I don’t smoke, but I got some for my husband. When I walked in the door I just handed him the cigarettes and he said ‘thanks’ and then walked off. He stopped a couple of feet away and said, ‘How did you know?’ My only reply was a smile. This is a wonderful level to operate from” (“C.B.,” issue 52, 1978).
We hate to break this to C.B., but it doesn’t take thousands of dollars’ worth of pseudo-scientific training to determine that a smoker with whom you’ve been living for years might want some cigarettes.
“I was working on a Hollywood movie set. There were 700 extras and a lot of randomity [sic]. We had been shooting for 72 hours with no sleep and we were running on pure drive to complete the film. About two a.m. one night I was running in the rain across the lot. All of a sudden I heard a screech of tires and looked up and saw the headlights of a truck in my face. People were yelling. In an instant I rolled back time and the truck was three feet back where it had been, and I leapt across to the other side of the driveway. The person standing there said, ‘Oh, my God! What happened? You were dead!’ The driver of the truck was stark white and said, `What did you do? I was right on top of you!’ He was completely stunned” (“C.W.,” issue 115, 1993).
That’s a fascinating talent you have, C.W. When you have a little spare time, would you please “roll back” the Johnstown Flood or maybe the Reformation? By the way, are you aware that your account seems to be a reprint of one from a “C.C.,” who wrote in issue 93 in 1987? Perhaps being an OT doesn’t help one’s memory, eh?
“I was driving across a bridge one day, exterior [as a Thetan separated from his body], maybe 30 feet above my car, when I felt a lot of mass piling up around my body’s head. This struck me as rather odd, since it wasn’t there a minute ago and I didn’t recall putting anything there. I got down around my head, and intending awareness here and there I discovered that there was a being trying to pick up my body. He thought it was up for grabs since he didn’t see anyone in it. I got in comm [communication] with him, saw the exact nature of his upset, and handled that exactly with standard tech [application of Scientology]. The mass blew, and the being keyed out. I told him that the name of the technology that freed him was Scientology and advised him to pick up a new body and find out about it. He acknowledged me and left” (“S.S.”, issue 89, 1986).
An article from the March 16 issue of the San Diego Union/Tribune tells of that county’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, described as “an annual celebration of all things democratic.” Several speakers blasted the “religious right” for misappropriating Jesus. As a gesture of how to use Jesus and religion properly, Rev. Jerald M. Stinson of the Pilgrim United Church of Christ was asked to give an “inclusive invocation.” Stinson’s prayer:
“Eternal spirit of love, known to us by many names, pictured with many images, described by many metaphors–revealed to us by Moses and Jesus, by Mohammed and Buddha, by wise Native American sages and Hindu mystics–cherished in the parenting images of both father and mother, source of nurture and sustenance, worshipped in the many diverse traditions of the world’s living religions. . . .”
Stinson continued with a request for God’s help “to turn our bombs into school books, to turn our fear of others into dialogue, to turn our English-only, immigrant-bashing narrowness into a celebration of the beauty of diversity, and to turn our stereotyped homophobia into an affirmation of all people as your people.”
“‘We wanted to have an ecumenical sort of prayer,’ said county Democratic chairman Kim Cox, ‘and I’m sure we did.'”
“Grandmother Action is a committee that urges grandmothers to buy worthwhile Catholic books for their grandchildren. Grandmothers are always complaining that their grandchildren know little about the faith and fear that they will “drop out,” as so many teens do. But grandmothers, you can do more than just worry. Send the children the life of a saint. They can learn a great deal from seeing the faith in action. Usually both parents are working and are very busy. It is up to the grandmothers to see their grandchildren have good Catholic reading.
“Children love to read and are delighted to have books of their own. The life of a saint is inspirational. The saints show us the value of prayer, the richness of the Mass and the sacraments, devotion to the Eucharist; they teach us that we must keep the Ten Commandments, if we we wish to be happy.
“Now instead of just complaining, grandmothers can do something. If they continue to complain and do nothing, grandmothers have no one to blame but themselves.”
For more information, contact Fr. Rawley Myers, 22 W. Kiowa, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.
The February 1994 issue of Sangre de Cristo Newsnotes reports on a new revelation received by Fr. John Gregory XVII, considered by the editor of the newsletter, Fr. Daniel Jones, to be the true pope (see “Dragnet,” December 1993).
The sect Fr. Jones heads is not a typical neo-traditionalist group. Jones and other followers of Gregory XVII attack Lefebrvists and modernists, sedevacantists and “conciliar” Catholics, aligning themselves with none of these groups. Now it seems they’ve distinguished themselves in another significant way: the promotion of women priests.
In his latest visions the reputed pope is told by the Holy Spirit that we are to start ordaining women–and not just celibate ones. “By the will of God, Gregory XVII has reopened the way to a priesthood that is in conformity with the apostolic era. This priesthood is accesible not only to religious or to those who vow themselves to celibacy by vocation, but also to the heads of households considered apt for this holy ministry.
“Moreover, upon orders from God, a `New Priesthood’ has come to light with the ordination of women priests. The priesthood was never written into any ordinary law of the past; it is a priesthood of exceptional privilege from every standpoint, a sort of sweet revenge of love on God’s part, a replacement for the general tepidity of the official clergy and a necessary complement to the apostolate.”
Gregory VII is hardly a feminist. He was opposed to the idea of women priests until a personal revelation set him straight. “But following upon special prayers to the Holy Spirit, it became clear that on this point, he had to act against his personal sentiment. He understood that the hour of evolution had come, that it was the will of God. Several proofs of this confirmed it afterward.”
The curious thing is that Fr. Jones and Gregory XVII are proponents of the Tridentine Mass to the exclusion of the Novus Ordo. They’re arch-traditionalists. Just think about their plan: The first women to be ordained as Catholic priests will be ordained specifically to celebrate the Tridentine Mass!