Reason 8 of 10
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.
What Scientology teaches
On the Bridge, the state of Clear is followed by eight Operating Thetan levels (OT I to OT VIII). Their materials are confidential and given only to members who qualify, after years of auditing and training.
Journalists and court records describe the OT III material as an account of an ancient catastrophe, some 75 million years ago, whose effects on thetans are said to burden people today. We do not reproduce these materials. The Church keeps them confidential and disputes how outsiders present them.
What the Bible says
When the high priest questioned Jesus about his teaching, Jesus answered that he had spoken openly to the world, in the synagogues and the temple, and had said nothing in secret. God says through Isaiah that he has not spoken in secret, in a dark land. Paul said the apostles had renounced hidden things and commended themselves by the open statement of the truth.
The whole Bible, its deepest teaching included, is open to anyone with a copy, free, in hundreds of languages.
19The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret. 21Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, they know the things which I said.”
John 18:19-21 (WEB) · context
19I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness. I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, Yahweh, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.
Isaiah 45:19 (WEB) · context
2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
2 Corinthians 4:2 (WEB) · context
27What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.
Matthew 10:27 (WEB) · context
26For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this has not been done in a corner.
Acts 26:26 (WEB) · context
Why it matters
Truth that must be kept from you until you have invested years and much money cannot be tested freely before you commit. The Bible invites testing first: the Bereans checked even the apostles against the Scriptures, and were praised for it.
11Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Acts 17:11 (WEB) · context
21Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 (WEB) · context
What Scientologists often say
Scientologists say the upper levels are confidential because they can only be understood, and safely handled, after the earlier steps, and that many religions have teaching for the mature.
A Christian answer
The Bible does speak of milk and solid food: growth takes time. But nothing is hidden from beginners. The gospel that saves a child is the same gospel that a scholar spends a lifetime exploring, and every word of it is open to inspection before anyone believes or pays anything.
Sources
- Scientology source Church of Scientology, the Bridge to Total Freedom chart: Clear and OT levels (scientology.org).
- Lawrence Wright, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief (2013).
- Janet Reitman, Inside Scientology (2011).
- The Bible, World English Bible (public domain).