Some find the church to be fun and they feel fulfilled when they go. Some have had bad experiences with churches that are in name only – meaning the feel the people they encounter are good on Sunday but throw that out the window during the week, and they do not feel a connection to God when sitting among such people. Some simply find that they have to work more just to survive, and that may mean working on Sunday when they would rather be in church. If you find something lacking in your life because you don’t attend church for any reason, think about the new ways to listen to the Bible for your spiritual needs.

The only way you could listen to the Bible in the past, other than going to church or Bible study, was to have a Bible on tape. You can still get these in some places, but many people can not use these because the tape player is all but obsolete. If you have a Bible on tape set, you may find a company that can transfer these to a newer format for you so that you can use these again in a CD player or through any digital media player that you may have. The problem with this is that the quality is often not so good and you can usually find a new version for much less money.

If you have any type of MP3 player, you can probably find programs that allow you to listen to the Bible any time you wish. You can play it through your home or car stereo system (just be careful not to get too distracted when driving), or you can find the CD version that you can use if that is the system that you still have. You can go for a walk and listen, or you can listen with your family at a preset time each week if you find that you simply can not make it to church or that you don’t want to go for your own personal reasons. Those that go to church still love to listen as they feel that they learn something new each time.

When choosing a way to listen to the Bible, think about who or what you want to listen to or what you find most soothing. Some voices may annoy you if you listen to them for too long. You want to find something you can hear a bit of first to make sure what you are hearing is pleasant and soothing to your ears so that you can get the most out of your Bible experience each and every time you pop it in.

Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible (NASB 1977 edition) Average Rating: 18 total customer reviews...

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The class focused on the major religions of the world which have millions of followers, but it did incorporate some of the smaller religions as well.

Religions of the World started with Hinduism, which is believed to be the world’s oldest major religion. Of course, it is a polytheistic religion, meaning that adherents believe that there are multiple gods, and it includes such concepts as reincarnation, meaning that when we die we are born again as someone or something else.

One of the things that surprised me the most was that even though Hinduism is polytheistic and Christianity is monotheistic, there some striking similarities. For instance, in Christianity, there is the concept of the Holy Trinity, one God comprised of three separate entities: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In Hinduism, there are three deities called the “Trimurti,” which is three deities: Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. They are often called the “Hindu Triad,” with Brahma being the creator.

We then moved on to Judaism in the Religions of the World class, and what is so interesting about this particular faith system is that it is also the basis of Christianity and Islam. In other words, all three religions believe in the same God and have many of the same prophets.

Christianity came next, and what I enjoyed the most about the section on Christianity was that it separated the different branches of Christianity and explained the differences between each denomination. I liked this a lot , because I am a Catholic, and this helped me to understand the customs of most of the Protestant branches of Christianity.

We moved on to Islam, and learned about the Articles of Faith and the Five Pillars, as well as the holy cities in Islam, such as Mecca and Medina.

The Religions of the World class also taught us about Buddhism, with the Eightfold path and the struggle to attain Nirvana. I also learned that Buddhism is one of the major world religions that people of different faiths will become while still remaining a Christian, or Hindu, because it does not require you to change your faith.

Religions of the World was a great class to take because it opened my eyes to so many faith systems and their origins. It helped me to understand why various groups believe what they do, and how their religions were started. I really feel like anybody would benefit from taking such a class.

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Truth of the matter is, Scientology has fed off the glitz and glamour of its celebrity members and has built quite a reputation. It might have been mired in bad publicity, but as we all know, bad publicity is still publicity. In one time or another, people can get curious and might eventually take the plunge. After all, Tom Cruise, who is arguably one of the most popular actors on the planet, has expressed his all out support for the religion. Associations can mean everything whether we admit it or not.

From the documents seen on the internet and interviews made by Nightline on former members of Scientology, one can glean that the Church of Scientology has a specialized wing that aims to reach out to celebrities. This is called the Celebrity Centre, and based on what we’ve seen in media reports, this parcel of the Church has made a lot of progress in the indoctrination of many celebrities not just in the United States, but all over the world.

While it’s true that it’s not exactly a crime to use celebrities to inculcate the general public how Scientology can help the people live better lives, one still has to think about the underlying facts behind the practice. I, so far as I’m aware, have not heard of any other religion that has formed a subsidiary organization catered to the involvement of celebrities. Only Scientology has done this, and this is a giant red flag if I ever saw one.

This practice reeks of desperation, a show of low esteem on the credulity of the general public.

Whether it’s a calculated risk or not, using celebrities as success stories for Scientology has backfired. If you Google the word ‘Scientology’, most of what you’ll find are criticisms and biting commentary regarding the subject. It’s a type of circus we internet pundits would like to read while we sit back and munch on our Cheetos.

Former members of Scientology have also been reported to give huge amounts of money in exchange for more Scientology literature. This heavy spending, they say, was necessary to get their hands on more profound truths. Current Scientology practitioners refuted these allegations and claimed that the money given to them were “donations”. This, to me, is a blatant lie. For one, achieving complete “enlightenment” in Scientology involves many steps. The first one is auditing, and when you advance, you need to get your hands on specific books to educate yourself, and so on.

That’s well and good, but what boggles the mind is why the Church has to limit the availability of its more advanced literature. Last I heard, “donations” are given without expecting something in return.

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Not to sound condescending, but I have a firm belief that people are usually inclined to jump to conclusions. Those conclusions are based on their own preconceived notions, and are not easily controllable no matter how discerning an individual assumes himself to be.

But before we can make an informed decision or judgment about an organization, perhaps we need to go back to the word ‘scam’ itself. A ‘scam’ is a ploy by an opportunistic individual that aims to take advantage of people through the use of trickery. Lots of people who have had no experience being audited are quick to believe the articles they see on the internet, most of which are written by people who are as clueless as they are.

Founders of so-called “cults” like Scientology are judged hastily just because they collect donations from their members, ignoring the fact that they have done so for the sake of improving the conditions of the Church they have established. Let’s not forget that the major religions do the same thing as well.

The point here is this: if leaders are sincere about their doctrine, should it still be considered a scam? Is it fair to ostracize the leaders if they enjoy special privileges as members of the top hierarchy? After all, special privileges are meant to reward those who have made sacrifices in the name of their religion. Where do we exactly draw the line?

This is where lines become blurry. In order to make a fair judgment, let’s enumerate several of the misconceptions made about Scientology:

1. The Xenu incident does not represent the core belief of Scientology. Unfortunately, critics have incessantly used the Xenu angle to ridicule and discredit the religion.

The core belief of Scientology is mankind’s goal to realize his full potential after gradually forgetting his spiritual nature due to a series of tumultuous past-events.

2. Contrary to popular belief, no concealment exists as to the nature of the belief is concerned. The galactic incident is clearly alluded to in the Church’s promotional materials. The History of Man, which is one of the most quoted books in Scientology, is widely distributed and contains science-fiction stories like a few other books concerning the religion.

3. The price of the auditing sessions and course are not hidden either. In fact, a list of prices is often made available with promotional materials. It’s the critics who keep on quoting high estimates and who ignore the fact that the cost of the sessions are not in bulk; that a participant can stop at any given time if in case he doesn’t have the financial means to proceed anymore.

4. Keeping secrets doesn’t necessarily mean a religion is a scam. There are many other religions that also employ esotericism. The truth of the matter is that achieving spiritual enlightenment can be deterred if the intended course is not followed. Nobody can do it by cutting corners.

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The Scientology Freezone consists of people who have left the Church by their own volition, those who have been expelled and even those who haven’t been inside a Scientology Church yet.

As the term ‘Freezone’ itself implies, the movement doesn’t hold its members by a short leash. Instead of imposing rigid dogma on them, they encourage members to pursue enlightenment and personal development based on the philosophies that were developed by Ron L Hubbard. They also feel that much of the concepts Hubbard has made decades ago had been altered to satisfy the tyranny and whims of a “corrupt” organization. They share the sentiment that the official church is more concerned about property and copyright protection, rather than the inculcation of the religion’s doctrines to the general population. The movement feels, as a group, that the church has lost its way.

The movement has enjoyed a surge in momentum since it has been established. The general consensus among freezoners also suggests that they are more satisfied by the results of their conversion.

This stance also draws its strength from the statement made by Hubbard, “The work was free, keep it so”. The Freezone members, in turn, have strengthened their resolve. They continue to increase in number while the members of the Church of Scientology continue to decrease. This is a trend that continues to cause frustration among the members of the Church.

Most of the former members of the Church of Scientology who are now “freezoners” used to share a severe discontent about the exorbitant prices the Church has charged them for the auditing sessions and materials necessary to advance their spiritual goals. The Freezone Association provides a more affordable rate. This is another reason why the Association has more drawing power than the Church of Scientology. Scientology has become more accessible to the average man who as we all know is in dire need of spiritual sustenance in these turbulent times.

Michael, the President of the International Freezone Association, was quoted as saying, “We are pioneering the freedom of Ron’s Technology. There are many people in the freezone providing the activities necessary for people to advance up the spiritual ladder. This is no mean feat when you consider they are working with little support and money.”

It’s hard to tell whether the existing rift between the Church and the Freezone Association can help Scientology or contribute to its demise. The Freezone Movement may have the momentum, but they don’t have the resources (and the celebrities) that the church enjoys as an organization.

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The first reason is that it guides you towards spiritual development.

Religion, in itself, deals with everything spiritual. Each religion in the world, at least the major ones, put great emphasis on attaining higher states of religious development. The same is true with Scientology, only with a little twist.

Being a highly organized religion, Scientology prescribes its member specific methodologies for achieving higher levels of spiritual consciousness. Unlike other religions, it follows strict guidelines that are for the most parts followed by all of its members. In many ways, Scientology tries to ensure that once a person becomes a member, he will be assisted every step of the way towards spiritual development.

One way Scientologists do this is by conducting spiritual counseling sessions called auditing. By the word auditing itself, the entire idea of the process can already be arrived at.

Auditing is a process wherein the subject or the member and a qualified auditor participate. This uses exact sets of questions that try to uncover the inner struggles of the person – be it about personal life, about one’s existence, about life itself, or about the universe. Scientologists believe that when these inner questions are not answered, discord within the human personality may occur. Much like the teachings of Freudian psychologists.

 Scientologists further believe in the existence of a part of the mind that is the repository of all the painful and traumatic experiences the person has undergone over its many lifetimes. (Yes, Scientologists believe that people don’t only live a single life, instead several of them, just like the Hindus do.) These traumatic experiences that have collected over several lifetimes are stored in the part of the brain Scientologist call the ‘reactive mind’. In auditing sessions, this mind is emptied out to achieve a state called ‘Clear’, which is equivalent to Buddhism’s Bhodi or state of enlightenment.

There is another process that aims at the same thing, spiritual awareness that is, which is called the ‘training’. This process allows members to see why the things and events happen in one’s life. This brings in further awareness to the individual.

The other reason is that this religion doesn’t limit its members to the usual limitations of other religions such as the belief in one Supreme Being and in faith. Scientology allows for better freedom when it comes to these subjects and lets their members believe what they want to believe in so long as their beliefs are in accordance to the fundamental beliefs of Scientology. For people who love the freedom of believing in something other than those sponsored by their specific religion, this is a really good arrangement.

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