Scientology and Charity

Scientology often makes the claim that it is a "humanitarian" organization and that it is trying to help in the areas of education, human rights and criminality among many other things. The truth of the matter is that there is something in the Scientology called the "doctrine of exchange".

According to Scientology there are four levels of exchange. Level 1 would be receiving something for nothing and level 2 is giving back less than what you received. Those two levels are considered criminal exchange. Then there is level 3 which is giving back only what you have been given and level 4 is giving back more than what you received and is considered the highest and best form of exchange.

Hungry woman wants free food for her children? Countries without adequate medical care want help? Forget it, if you give it to them for free they are criminals!

This is something that is used inside Scientology to control members and talk them into giving more money, on top of already paying for the counseling services they receive. It is perhaps one of the least religious things about Scientology. Most religions pride themselves on the things that they do for underprivileged individuals. Most religions hand out charity to the hungry and homeless. They provide free counseling for people who are having trouble in life. Then there are organizations like the red cross and doctors without borders who go out into the world to do things for societies that are not as prolific as our own.

One thing to remember about Scientology is that they will never give you anything without asking for something in return. Anything that you might credit Scientology as having helped you with is shoved in your face in a request that you give them something in return, and in fact you are expected to give more.

This idea of exchange spills over into the private life of Scientologists. Within Scientology families will refuse to help someone else in their family without receiving something in return. The reason being that Scientology doctrine teaches you that if you do something for someone without receiving something in return you will, in effect, make them a criminal. You can ruin their lives simply by doing things for them for free.

Something I have found since working my way out of Scientology is that people in this world need help from friends and family to make it through life. There isn't anyone in this world who can credit their successes entirely to themselves. All of us live through the help we receive from others.

Not always is this help expected to be repaid. In fact, many people live on the idea of "pay it forward", much as I do. If you do something to help someone you don't ask them for anything back, you would prefer they do the same for someone else in the future.

I have done many things, for many friends and my family that helped them out. I did not ask nor did I expect anything in return for what I did. I don't do it for personal satisfaction, rather I do it out of compassion for those who are close to me. I don't like to see another man suffer while I am living comfortably. I will gladly sacrifice some of the little comforts I have to help someone else out in their time of need, when I can.

This all goes back to the dark side of Scientology; the side of Scientology that removes your compassion for your fellow man. In fact, it makes you afraid to help your fellow man because if you do, you will turn him into a criminal in the eyes of a Scientologist.

Scientology does not follow the random acts of kindness idea that most religions do.

Any of the many "humanitarian" front groups of Scientology all are required, per this doctrine of exchange, to pay tithes to the mother church. They cannot function on grants from the church's slush fund, nor operate for free. This is a church that has hundreds of millions of dollars of cash on hand and a supposedly humanitarian mission.

One of Scientolgy's posh organizations

Instead of handing out food to the hungry, providing medical care to the needy or clothing to the underprivileged, they spend hundreds of millions of dollars on posh buildings that sit empty because of lack of patrons. The leader of the church spends thousands of dollars a day on meals, travels in a private jet and buys fancy vehicles.

This posh organization sits empty inside

In the meantime, even the people who work for the church as slaves survive on a bland diet of rations of beans and rice. They live in dorms of 30 to a room, with concrete floors and rusty, metal bunk beds. They lack heating and light and air conditioning. They have broken windows and they have to spend their $40/wk pay to pay for dry cleaning, basic needs and extra food to stave off their hunger. You can't even call your family for free.

These are the employees of the church who volunteered for the church's humanitarian mission. You can only imagine the insidious things that must be happening in such an organization.

Through me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

To rear me was the task of power divine,

Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

All hope abandon ye who enter here.

Such characters in colour dim I mark'd

Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd:

Whereat I thus: Master, these words import.