| Submitted by: | lourkat |
| Date: | 04 / 12 / 2009 |
| Category: | Philosophy and Psychology |
| Words | Pages: | 1595 | 7 |
| Views: | 128 |
The Scientologist’s View of Life after Death
Despite being thrust into the Hollywood spotlight with high profile followers such as Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Sonny Bono, Scientology remains a mysterious religion to the masses. The basic tenants of Scientology are the result of an eclectic mixture of western religion and the personal beliefs of L. Ron Hubbard, the religion’s founder (Wallis 103). Although the scientologists’ view on death resembles the foundations of reincarnation, the religion adamantly distinguishes the differences that separate Scientology from reincarnation. According to L. Ron Hubbard, the widely accepted definition of reincarnation has been altered from the original meaning. Scientologists believe that we are “born again into the flesh of another body” while reincarnation has come to represent that we will “be born again in different life forms” (Scientology 1). This distinction between the two believes is represented in the Scientologists’ motto, “Revenimus” or “We come back” (Hubbard 72).
Since scientologists believe that life continues throughout multiple bodies, they see humans as immortal spiritual beings that use “meat bodies” to get around. Similar to the Catholic idea of a human soul, Scientology proposes that we possess thetans that are capable of surviving without a meat body. Upon death, a thetan “drops their body” and enters a new body (typically a newborn baby) where it will control the mind and body during its life (Sharma 189). Thetans can rarely recall their past lives and begin each life as though it was their first life. The ultimate goal of Scientologists is to free themselves of their meat body and become a “free being” because the meat body is regarded as a hindrance and a distraction to gaining spiritual awareness. To become a “free being” one must clear engrams, or past evils, accumulated through their past lives. Engrams can be cleared though numerous processes that include training programs, hypnosis, and...
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