Download PDF Scientology A to Xenu An Insider Guide to What Scientology is All About Chris Shelton 9781522879329 Books
Download As PDF : Scientology A to Xenu An Insider Guide to What Scientology is All About Chris Shelton 9781522879329 Books
What is Scientology really? Behind the glossy logos and sleek advertisements and South Park parodies, what do Scientologists really believe and practice? Is it really a religion? Who was L. Ron Hubbard and why did he start it in the first place? Is their "technology" for real or just so much New Age pseudoscience?
Former insider Chris Shelton grew up in Scientology and worked for it for 25 years. This critical analysis covers the key aspects of its beliefs, practices and structure from the bottom to the top, including not just the confidential Xenu story but details all of the upper level scriptures. Chris goes into detail about what goes on inside Scientology churches, why their members get involved in the first place and what it takes to get out should someone decide to leave.
An informative guide for anyone who has been involved with Scientology in the past as well as anyone who wants to understand what it's really all about.
Download PDF Scientology A to Xenu An Insider Guide to What Scientology is All About Chris Shelton 9781522879329 Books
"Factual, very readable. As a fellow former insider I found very little to quibble with on his factual presentation. It has enough detail to convey the facts without getting bogged down too much in unnecessary side excursions. As a fellow recovering Scientologist I found his chapter on getting free from Scientology to be invaluable.
It is hard to get outside myself and imagine what someone completely new to the subject might experience reading this book, but I think they would find it very valuable. There is even a brief section on how to help your friends or relatives that are trapped in the cult. If you read that, and follow up with reading some of the references you could help someone quite a lot.
Finally, why Scientology? Why not read about warm puppies or sunsets instead? Factually Scientology is a tiny footnote in the history of obscure religious excesses and would not be long for the world if the criminal justice system was a little more active. Next year it may be even less. But the flaws in the human psyche that made Scientology possible, and which also drive far more active and dangerous movements, are still with us and will probably always be with us. We can read about the silly things Scientologists believe and laugh, but belief in silly things is not what makes them dangerous. It is what they do, the damage they cause in their ignorance and fanaticism, the terrible cost in human lives and sanity, that makes them worthy of study.
Chris has done a good job of making it understandable, and showing how intelligent and successful people can get sucked in along with the hopeless losers."
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Scientology A to Xenu An Insider Guide to What Scientology is All About Chris Shelton 9781522879329 Books Reviews :
Scientology A to Xenu An Insider Guide to What Scientology is All About Chris Shelton 9781522879329 Books Reviews
- Factual, very readable. As a fellow former insider I found very little to quibble with on his factual presentation. It has enough detail to convey the facts without getting bogged down too much in unnecessary side excursions. As a fellow recovering Scientologist I found his chapter on getting free from Scientology to be invaluable.
It is hard to get outside myself and imagine what someone completely new to the subject might experience reading this book, but I think they would find it very valuable. There is even a brief section on how to help your friends or relatives that are trapped in the cult. If you read that, and follow up with reading some of the references you could help someone quite a lot.
Finally, why Scientology? Why not read about warm puppies or sunsets instead? Factually Scientology is a tiny footnote in the history of obscure religious excesses and would not be long for the world if the criminal justice system was a little more active. Next year it may be even less. But the flaws in the human psyche that made Scientology possible, and which also drive far more active and dangerous movements, are still with us and will probably always be with us. We can read about the silly things Scientologists believe and laugh, but belief in silly things is not what makes them dangerous. It is what they do, the damage they cause in their ignorance and fanaticism, the terrible cost in human lives and sanity, that makes them worthy of study.
Chris has done a good job of making it understandable, and showing how intelligent and successful people can get sucked in along with the hopeless losers. - Chris Shelton (Critical Thinker at Large) does a wonderful dismantlement of the convoluted nature that is Scientology. This isn't just some individual who has an ax to grind with Scientology. Chris spent 27 years in the organization, most of those years in the Sea Organization, the paramilitary run wing of the organization which if COB is to be believed, does not exist and has no authority (just don't mind the man behind the curtain). Of course this position crumbles under Chris's meticulous break down of all Scientology's jargon. Be a supressive person (SP) and buy this book! Also check out Chris's excellent video's on YouTube. Your eyes will be open to the duality of this organization that wants both the protections of a business and a religion. Sorry COB, can't have it both ways.
- I literally binge read this book....could not put it down. Great work, Chris Shelton!
- This book is not a Scientology celebrity ‘tell-all’. Nor is it a former cult member’s story of surviving bizarre practices/abuses, and eventually making a narrow escape. This book, as the title implies, attempts to clearly outline the central workings and principals of a complex and evolving group. Chris had 25 years of firsthand experience working within Scientology to draw upon. Since leaving, he has done an admirable job of ‘housecleaning’ the cult’s extensive mental influences on his thinking, and thus is able to provide many well considered answers to what Scientology is really all about. What motivated L. Ron Hubbard in starting Scientology? What are the actual (secret) Scientology fundamental doctrines? Did Hubbard believe in what he wrote, or was it just a scam? Why do people join Scientology? Is there anything good and beneficial? Is it really all just about money? Why do people stay in? What motivates the current leader of Scientology now that L. Ron Hubbard is dead? How long will Scientology last?
Any religion or cult is messy and multifaceted, and Scientology ranks among the most confounding. No book of just 362 pages will tell the whole story, but Chris manages to build a comprehensible model of how this man Hubbard struggled to overcome his ample human foibles. The ‘Affirmations of L. Ron Hubbard’ in appendix 2 is a must read, as Hubbard penned his most inner anxieties, and the positive suggestions with which he hoped to purge anxieties.
Evidently this method was unsuccessful, as were the later techniques of Dianetics and the endless trail of new procedures under the banner of Scientology. Hubbard died with his anxieties intact, convinced they stemmed from the ‘body thetans’ that cluster upon all earthlings. We find out in the book that ridding oneself of body thetans is central to the secret upper level doctrines of Scientology.
So why would any reasonable person suspend reason and drink from the fountain of body thetan Kool-Aid? No simple answer here, but Chris does paint a picture of narcissistic affirmations to reward the faithful, and a vengeful totalitarian control structure to dissuade thoughts of leaving. This is what Scientology has evolved into. And since Hubbard died, the train of new procedures has been parked on the tracks, leaving the faithful with nowhere to go, and wondering if they will ever make it to the promised land of super powers. So, for now, they go to Scientology fundraisers and suck up the lavish admiration bestowed for writing checks. And Scientology assets accrue to billions, and the number of faithful shrink to less than 30,000.
The question that not even Chris can answer is, how does it end? - Very informative book! I became interested in learning about Scientology when Katie Holmes started dating Tom Cruise and people in LA were wearing "Free Katie" shirts. I didn't get the joke and looked into it and was really fascinated by how many people considered "science and aliens" a real religion. After South Park, Scientology was again in the news and I was again gripped by the HOW of this religion. I have a great deal of empathy for people who were in Scientology like Chris Shelton and having worked in nonprofit for many years I can almost relate to the "give yourself up for a cause" way of life. I thought this book was really interesting and laid out very well. I would have liked a little more emotion and personal story in this book but after reading to the end I can now see how Scientologists are continually taught to not show or even feel emotions. I cannot even fathom how strange and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships within this cult must be without the ability to feel and talk openly! This was a really good book that flowed well and kept my interest throughout. This is a great read for non Scientologists like me that never run out of questions and fascination with this cult! I will continue to have great respect for the courageous folks that cut ties with Scientology and reclaim their freedom to think for themselves and move on with real life again like Chris Shelton has!
