#huberd

[wirecat]

My little eye grl <3

[progressivejudaism]

Can I mix Scientology and Judaism?

Hi there,

That is an excellent question, one that I had to do a bit of research myself into understanding.  First of all, thank you for providing me with this fun exercise and chance to understand the theology of the Church of Scientology.  Fun fact- did you know that the whole alien thing is supposedly a myth? (according to the Church that is!)

The short answer is to your question is no.  The theologies of Scientology and Judaism cannot mix together.  I am sure that there are many, many reasons as to why this religious combination cannot work from a Jewish perspective, but I found one really powerful example.

Basically, it all comes down to what I believe is a direct violation of the second commandment and an example of avoda zara.   Scientologists believe that people are made of three things: the body, the mind, and the thetan.  According to their website, “the thetan is not a thing. It is the creator of things.”  At first glance, I understood this  “soul or spirit”  to mean that the thetan is a god-like figure for Scientologists.  This theology does not fit comfortably with the Jewish concept of God.  I would absolutely argue that it is idolatrous for a Jew to “give” any other divine figure the powers of God.

There aren’t many theologies that fit comfortably with Jewish tradition and law.  Do you know of any that come close?

Have a great night!

PJ

[wirecat]

I’m working on opening another monster ask blog! It’s far from done, but I‘ll get there eventually!

[wirecat]