How has Scientology survived OT VIII?

[Rikka Takarada]

For anyone who doesn't know: at the top of Scientology's "Bridge to Total Bankruptcy Freedom" are the "OT Levels" which are supposed to unlock your full potential as the immortal spiritual being (and fallen God) that Scientology says you are. L Ron Hubbard planned to write 15 OT Levels but died after finishing 8.

The original OT VIII basically said that Hubbard was actually the Antichrist (and remember, he wrote this himself) and was withdrawn after a few months for upsetting the high-level Scientologists who first did the level. But the new OT VIII that came afterwards seems little better.

As you do the OT Levels, you learn about how you are an immortal being called a Thetan with many past and future lives to come, and how to remember them through auditing. You also learn that there are too many Thetans for them all to have bodies, so other Thetans called "Body Thetans" are attached to you (and you can audit them away). So you've been discovering thousands of years of past lives over literally decades, and OT VIII now tells you that many of these past lives were actually memories from Body Thetans.

I can only begin to imagine how soul-destroying it would be to go on this massive journey of self-discovery only to then be told it was all a lie. So the real question is: how the hell does anybody stay in Scientology after doing it (or hearing that Hubbard is the Antichrist), and since these people make up a lot of their major donors, how did OT VIII not destroy the cult church?

 

[dopy]

apparently you missed the whole chanology shit ~10 years ago

TL;DR: it's extortion and the church of scientology has done some extremely fucked up shit on a national and international scale and got away with it and i would not have sex with them

 

[stets]

I can actually answer this. I’m not a scientologists and am not close to any, but I’ve read about a dozen books on the subject and spoken to a few former high level members.

Even if you go up to OT VIII, you still have courses to do. The L’s. The Super Power rundown. Scientology is setup in such a way that you can never really finish it, and there’s always the carrot of future OT levels coming in the future. The church still insists that these are out there and will be released in the future.

But by the time you’ve moved up to OT VIII, you’ve basically brought in all of your close family into the church. Your entire social circle and likely your business is tied to Scientology. If you leave, you’ll be ostracized by your close family and the vast majority of friends. If you’re employed by a Scientologist you’ll lose your job. Do a lot of business with Scientologists? Kiss your livelihood goodbye.

It’s actually extremely common to have people move up the bridge and stop after a while. They personally know it’s bullshit, but they maintain very basic ties to the church in order to not totally destroy their lives.

 

[GODREKCUF]

I thought that jews are controlling the world?

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

If I'm ever given the chance, I'll definitely have my theaten levels checked. I'll also ask plenty of stupid questions and waste as much time as I possibly can.

I generally respect religion; but when your beliefs are based on the writings of a (not even good) science fiction author, you've kinda got it coming.

 

[Slap47]

The smug millionaires of Scientology will never admit they're wrong and the poor people are trapped.

I generally respect religion; but when your beliefs are based on the writings of a (not even good) science fiction author, you've kinda got it coming.

Dunno, some random dude making shit up is more believable than the thought of divine precedent being set by 13th century Italian mobster families.

 

[Safir]

I just want to say an MMORPG religion where everyone can go up levels by doing activities is extremely appealing. Shame this one is a pay to win scam.

 

[Clop]

If I'm ever given the chance, I'll definitely have my theaten levels checked. I'll also ask plenty of stupid questions and waste as much time as I possibly can.

I generally respect religion; but when your beliefs are based on the writings of a (not even good) science fiction author, you've kinda got it coming.

As far as jokes go, weigh the pros and cons of wasting their time. They like to sue everyone and they are deranged and dangerous.

 

[drtoboggan]

It's the sunk cost fallacy. People end up losing so much money to the church it's easier to cut their losses and stay.

 

[The Manglement]

I think the entire 'soul destroying' thing is kind of the point. The entire idea behind a cult is that you systematically destroy anything that people can turn to for support that isn't the cult. The entire process from step one has been taking vulnerable people and making them more vulnerable to exploit them. Ripping the rug of their bullshit belief that Scientology instilled in them is like the psychic coup de grace.

You can't really overestimate the power of telling people that they are special, and that they know special secret knowledge that nobody else knows. It is the basis of every conspiracy theory and most cults, and it appeals to people's innate arrogance, which is fantastic when your target audience is Hollywood people. OT 8 tells the marks that they know super special things that not even regular Scientologists know.

Edit: Cursory research shows that in order to get to OT VIII, you'll expect to spend in excess of 300,000 USD, and the actual course is taught only on the Church's private cruise ship. By the time you reach that point, you've sunk a fortune into it, and you're trapped with lunatics until you agree with the story. The Church has been known to hold people prisoner until they conform to Church doctrine.

 

[Pozzingmyfilthyneghole]

Also, it’s a realestate scam. Being an “official” religion according to the IRS means a lot of tax breaks.

 

[Toucan]

The same reason why it survived OT III. People have invested so much money, alienated so many people, given so much of themselves that they see no other option but to continue with it.