Ten reasons

Where Scientology goes wrong

Each reason sets out what Scientology teaches, in plain words with the source named, then what the Bible says, word for word from the World English Bible. We critique teachings, never people.

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God is not left undefined: he has spoken

Scientology places God, or the Supreme Being, at the far end of its "eighth dynamic" and leaves his nature to each person. The Bible says God is the personal Creator who has made himself known, finally in Jesus.

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We are not basically good: we need a Saviour

Scientology's Creed says Man is basically good, and that his problems come from painful experiences stored in the reactive mind. Jesus says the trouble comes from inside the human heart, and only God can make it new.

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You are not the source of the universe: God is

Scientology teaches that each person is a thetan, an immortal spiritual being who, with other thetans, created matter, energy, space and time. The Bible says one God created all things, and we are his creatures.

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One life, then the judgment: not endless past lives

Scientology teaches that the thetan has lived countless lives before this one, and auditing addresses incidents from them. The Bible says we live once, then face God, and that Jesus has the words of eternal life.

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The problem is sin, and only God forgives sin

In Scientology, what holds us back is the reactive mind and its engrams, and our "overts" (harmful acts) are handled in auditing. The Bible says our deepest problem is sin against God, and only God can forgive it.

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Salvation is a free gift: it cannot be bought

Scientology's path, the Bridge to Total Freedom, is climbed through auditing and courses with set "fixed donations". The US Supreme Court treated these as payments for services. The Bible says God's gift cannot be bought at any price.

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The spirit cannot save itself: Jesus saves

Scientology's Creed says the spirit alone may save or heal the body, and its path is the thetan recovering its own abilities. The Bible says we cannot save ourselves; salvation is found in no one else but Jesus.

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God's truth is open, not locked in secret levels

Scientology's upper Operating Thetan levels are confidential, revealed only to members who have climbed far up the Bridge. Jesus said he spoke openly to the world and said nothing in secret.

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Jesus is not one teacher among many: he is Lord

Scientology does not teach that Jesus is God the Son who died for our sins and rose bodily, and the Church says people of other faiths can take part. The Jesus of the Gospels makes claims that leave no room for that.

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Test every teacher: Hubbard's claims did not hold

Hubbard presented Dianetics as a science of the mind. Scientists found no evidence for engrams or the reactive mind, and a US court allowed the E-meter only with a warning that it does nothing medically. The Bible tells us to test every teacher.

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