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OT VIII or OT 8 (Operating Thetan Level 8) is the highest current auditing level in Scientology. OT VIII is known as "The Truth Revealed" and was first released to select high-ranking public Scientologists in 1988, [1] [2] two years after the death of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. OT VIII is only delivered to members of the Church of Scientology in one place—aboard the organization's private cruise ship, the Freewinds , and is additionally available from independent Scientology groups. There are a few advanced auditors that are able to deliver the level to those who meet the prerequisites. [2]
The original version authored by Hubbard himself created a furor among Scientologists because of several claims he made that "horribly upset"[ clarification needed ] early participants: he would return from the grave and, in a Messiah-like role, stop an impending apocalyptic alien invasion by the Galactic Confederacy, [lower-alpha 1] implying that the Historical Jesus was a homosexual and a pedophile, [lower-alpha 2] apparently identifying himself with the Antichrist, [lower-alpha 3] warning that someone attempting this auditing level without being prepared may spontaneously combust, [lower-alpha 4] and implying that this was the last OT level Hubbard intended to publish. [lower-alpha 5] The Church of Scientology asserts that the version of OT VIII provided in the Fishman Affidavit is a forgery, but numerous early participants, as well as Mark Rathbun, former Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), have confirmed the document is authentic, and its copyright is verifiable at the United States Copyright Office. [1]
The revised version the Church currently uses was not authored by Hubbard, and instructs participants to repeat the same courses in perpetuity, which is the current church policy. All of the above controversial claims made by Hubbard have been removed. [4] Participants of the revised version described the course as having two parts: a preparatory e-meter drill, followed by a review of Scientology: A History of Man , and an examination of previously identified past lives to find out which ones are false. The course includes a claimed affirmation from Hubbard that "now [the participant] knew who he wasn't, and was interested in finding out who he was." [5] The Church of Scientology describes the revised OT VIII as a "Solo-audited level [which] addresses the primary cause of amnesia on the whole track and lets one see the truth of his own existence. This is the first actual OT level and brings about a resurgence of power and native abilities for the being himself." [6]
According to Mike Rinder, the publication of OT VIII was a watershed moment in Scientology's history. [7] The response by early participants who balked at its claims and left the organization as a result resembled the response to OT III when it was released. [8] The church revised it into its current form after apologists were not able to stop the wave of departures it was causing. Its publication also coincided with the arrival of the Internet, which presented new challenges for the church. Vexatious litigation had been effective at preventing publishers from disseminating information critical of Scientology to the public, but the World Wide Web made it possible for individuals to publish information without needing a publisher. That information could then be seen by anyone with internet access. Departures accelerated as a result, and the church responded by increasingly isolating itself from the public. Rinder also stated that this marked the beginning of the policy of disconnection being used punitively as punishment for Scientologists who leave the church. This produced a culture of "captive" Scientologists: members that remain not because they are faithful to the tenets, but because they fear their families being broken up by disconnection if they leave the church. [9] [10]
L. Ron Hubbard died from a stroke on January 24, 1986, the church announced to the media. [11] [12] He had not been seen publicly since May 1980. [13] Several weeks later, his death was announced to parishioners by David Miscavige, who stated that Hubbard had completed all of his research into the OT I-VIII levels, but researching the remaining levels (IX-XV) can only be done "outside the body". [14] Because his body had become an "encumbrance" to continuing his research, Hubbard discarded it and would return to the church after completing his research to deliver the remaining OT levels. [15] [16] According to Mike Rinder, the promise of more OT levels has motivated parishioners to continue retaking the same courses (I-VIII) repeatedly to prepare for the new levels to be revealed when Hubbard returns. [17] The last OT level that Hubbard completed before his death was OT VIII, which was being collated and would be released to select Scientologists starting in the summer of 1988. [18]
Two posthumous biographies were published about Hubbard in 1987: Bare-faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard by Russell Miller, and L. Ron Hubbard: Madman or Messiah? by L. Ron Hubbard Jr., Hubbard's son. [19] Miller used previously unpublished information about Hubbard for his book, while Hubbard's son relied on his upbringing with Hubbard for his. Both made the same allegation that Scientology was a cult, and that Hubbard had a Messiah complex, with Hubbard Jr. writing that his father had told him that he identified himself with the Antichrist. [20] The church denied these claims. One year later, OT VIII was released. [21]
In a posthumous prophecy that was intentionally withheld until after his death, Hubbard claims that 80 million years ago, a group of aliens that exist outside of human spacetime developed a plan to take over the universe by activating an inserted genetic implant that will allow for the enslavement of the universe through telepathic mind control. The implant will be activated during the return of the galactic confederacy, which Hubbard declares is "rapidly approaching". All world religions, except for "Original Buddhism", are participating in a conspiracy with the aliens to telepathically enslave the universe. Hubbard claims that the Second Coming described in the Book of Revelation refers to this event. Hubbard portrays his mission as that of fulfilling "the Biblical promise represented by the Antichrist" where an "arch-enemy of Christ" will emerge and stop the galactic confederacies' return. Hubbard then asserts that the Historical Jesus was "a lover of young boys and men"—implying that he was a homosexual and a pedophile [22] : 186 —and claims that "the sainted figure [he] has been made out to be" is due to the R6 Implant. Hubbard then writes, "I will return not as a religious leader but a political one" and "halt a series of events designed to make happy slaves of us all". Hubbard warns that someone attempting this auditing level without being prepared may discover what it means to "spontaneously combust". Hubbard also wrote that, with the release of OT VIII, "all the data is now available", implying that this was the last OT level Hubbard intended to publish. [lower-alpha 6] [23]
The Church of Scientology sued Steven Fishman for copyright infringement of the OT VIII materials. Since infringement only exists if the document is authentic, their lawsuit unintentionally established the authenticity of the material. [24] They dropped the suit afterwards and claimed they were forgeries. Despite efforts to prevent others from seeing the publicly available court documents, they were eventually posted to the internet by Scientology critic, Arnie Lerma, in August 1995. Church of Scientology lawyers asserted again that the Fishman OT VIII documents posted by Lerma are forgeries, yet they sued to have them taken down during the copyright battle over Lerma's web pages. The Church of Scientology's attorney, Kendrick Moxon, identified the "Antichrist" document as copyrighted material, establishing their authenticity. [2] [25] George White, a public Scientologist who had received OT VIII in the summer of 1988, also asserts the document is authentic (and states that the course cost him US$28,000 at the time). [2] Frank Oliver, a former operative with Scientology's Office of Special Affairs, reports having discovered the document in the church's archives. [2] Lawrence Wollersheim, a notable defector, claims they are genuine: "Two sets of defectors, at different times in different parts of the world, came out with those documents", he says. "I've been working with defectors for fifteen years. I have never dealt with anyone as afraid of having their identity revealed as the people who came out and verified those documents." [26]
On March 24, 2008, WikiLeaks obtained and placed the complete set of OT levels on their site, including the current "revised" version of OT VIII not previously publicly available. [4] The Church of Scientology again verified the authenticity of these documents when they threatened legal action for copyright infringement if they were not removed. WikiLeaks refused, thus making all 612 pages of the OT materials that many Scientologists spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to see through the church available for free. [4] [27] The year prior, the church launched "The Basics" program to sell "revised" versions of Hubbard's books to parishioners, which were identical to the originals except for changes in punctuation. Parishioners were encouraged to purchase the same books repeatedly, which resembles how the church encouraged retaking the same OT courses before WikiLeaks made the OT materials available for free. [28]
Jesse Prince, former second-in-command of Scientology's RTC, wrote that OT VIII was revised after early participants were "horribly upset" by the content. [29] [2] The OT VIII section has two parts: "original" and "new". The original section is identical to the Fishman version, while the subsequent "New" section is completely redacted and virtually unrecognizable when compared to the original that Fishman produced. [4]
The revised version is dated 1991, which is three years after the initial rollout of OT VIII, and states that "It is not the original nor is it a perfect record", and claims that "any differences are extremely minor (if at all)." The author writes, "What is presented here are reconstructions of those materials by people who have trained and delivered them before leaving that organization. If the original materials should become available at a future date, a revision of this volume will done to include them." The document also includes a legal disclaimer that reads, "In the absence of the original materials, the following are presented on an 'as is' basis and are used at your own discretion. No warranty is conferred or implied." [4]
The author of the revised edition is not identified but, since it was written five years after his death, the current edition of OT VIII could not have been authored by L. Ron Hubbard. [30]
The author states that the purpose of this auditing level is to learn the secret of the relationship between "the Supreme Being" and the Thetan. Both are infinite, but the Thetan is unable to perceive its infinite identity due to confusions and distortions caused by MEST (matter, energy, space, time). The purpose of this OT level is to remove those impediments and, thus, know one's identity from origin to infinity. The author states that anyone who is not "flat" on the previous OT levels should continue to retake them (presumably at full price) until they are. The author also states that this information is to remain confidential from "squirrels" or scientologists not in the church. [4]
In a 1968 lecture, Hubbard acknowledged similarities between his teachings and the science fiction sub-genre space opera. Hubbard said: "This planet is part of an earlier federation and passed out of its control due to losses in war and other such things. Now, this larger confederacy, this isn't its right name, but we have often called it and referred to it in the past as the Marcab Confederacy. And it has been wrongly or rightly pointed to as one of the tail stars of the Big Dipper, which is the capital planet of which this planet is. Now, all this sounds very space opera-ish and that sort of thing, and I'm sorry for it, but I am not one to quibble about the truth." [31]
The Church of Scientology has denied claims that their religion is based on science fiction. [32] [33] [34] However, with the release of OT VIII, all three cardinal Incidents of the church's esoteric scripture have elements found in science fiction literature with which Hubbard was familiar as a science fiction writer. [35] [36] Scientology's creation myth (Incident I), origin of man myth (Incident II), and their doomsday prophesy (Incident III), share the key distinction from other religions, except that, instead of divine intervention, there is alien intervention. [37] Hubbard's Incident III was clearly modelled on the Book of Revelation, which he references in the original version of OT VIII: the prophet's discovery of these events are a revelation, there is a sense of urgency that the apocalypse will be soon, the savior dies first, then the calamity begins, then the savior returns to stop it. The alien civilizations that Hubbard describes resemble modern human civilization, but possess advanced technology that enables them to perform supernatural feats, such as telepathy. [38] This is a common motif in science fiction, and was popularized by the Star Trek franchise, which was in syndication at the time. [39] [40]
Xenu, also called Xemu, is a figure in the Church of Scientology's secret "Advanced Technology", a sacred and esoteric teaching. According to the "Technology", Xenu was the extraterrestrial ruler of a "Galactic Confederacy" who brought billions of his people to Earth in DC-8-like spacecraft 75 million years ago, stacked them around volcanoes, and killed them with hydrogen bombs. Official Scientology scriptures hold that the thetans of these aliens adhere to humans, causing spiritual harm.
There are a number of disputes concerning the Church of Scientology's attempts to suppress material critical of Scientology and the organization on the Internet, utilizing various methods – primarily lawsuits and legal threats, as well as front organizations. In late 1994, the organization began using various legal tactics to stop distribution of unpublished documents written by L. Ron Hubbard. The organization has often been accused of barratry through the filing of SLAPP suits. The organization's response is that its litigious nature is solely to protect its copyrighted works and the unpublished status of certain documents.
The Church of Scientology maintains a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The core belief holds that a human is an immortal, spiritual being (thetan) that is resident in a physical body. The thetan has had innumerable past lives, some of which, preceding the thetan's arrival on Earth, were lived in extraterrestrial cultures. Based on case studies at advanced levels, it is predicted that any Scientologist undergoing auditing will eventually come across and recount a common series of past-life events.
The Fishman Affidavit is a set of court documents submitted by self-professed ex-Scientologist Steven Fishman in 1993 in the federal case, Church of Scientology International v. Fishman and Geertz (Case No. CV 91-6426.
A body thetan or BT is a concept in Scientology of a disembodied thetan (being) that is stuck in, on, or near a human body. All human bodies are said to be infested by these disembodied thetans, or clusters of them.
Revolt in the Stars is a science fiction film screenplay written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1977. It tells the space opera story of how an evil galactic dictator, named Xenu, massacres many of his subjects by transporting them to Earth and killing them with atomic bombs. L. Ron Hubbard had already presented this story to his followers, as a true account of events that happened 75 million years ago, in a secret level of Scientology scripture called Operating Thetan, Level III. The screenplay was promoted around Hollywood circles in 1979, but attempts at fundraising and obtaining financing fell through, and the film was never made. Unofficial copies circulate on the internet.
Steven Fishman is an American former Scientologist whose inclusion of Scientology's secret Operating Thetan levels in a court filing led to the first public confirmation by the Church of Scientology of its doctrines regarding Xenu and the Wall of Fire.
In Scientology, Operating Thetan (OT) is a state of complete spiritual freedom in which one is a "willing and knowing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time". The Church of Scientology offers eight "levels" of OT, each level costing thousands of US dollars. The OT levels are confidential and not revealed to Scientologists until they reach the third Operating Thetan level. In practice, the objective of these levels is to remove "body thetans" which are "confused, disembodied souls from other planets who have attached themselves to us".
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard explicitly compared his teachings to the science-fiction subgenre space opera. In his writings, wherein thetans were reincarnated periodically over quadrillions of years, retaining memories of prior lives, to which Hubbard attributed complex narratives about life throughout the universe. The most controversial of these myths is the story of Xenu, to whom Hubbard attributed responsibility for many of the world's problems.
Arnaldo Pagliarini Lerma was an American writer and activist, a former Scientologist, and a critic of the Church of Scientology who appeared in television, media and radio interviews. Lerma was the first person to post the court document known as the Fishman Affidavit, including the Xenu story, to the Internet via the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology.
Michael John Rinder is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. From 1982 to 2007, Rinder served on the board of directors of CSI and also held the post of executive director of its Office of Special Affairs, overseeing the corporate, legal and public relations matters of Scientology at the international level.
This is a Timeline of Scientology and its forerunner Dianetics, particularly its foundation and development by author L. Ron Hubbard as well as general publications, articles, books and other milestones.
The Bridge to Total Freedom, also known as the Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart, is Scientology's primary action plan and road map to guide a person through the sequential steps to attain Scientology's concept of spiritual freedom. Displayed in every Scientology organization as an enormous poster using red ink, the comprehensive chart contains almost every service available within Scientology. All steps on the Bridge cost money.
According to the beliefs of the Church of Scientology, the Marcab Confederacy is said to be one of the most powerful galactic civilizations still active. Church founder L. Ron Hubbard describes it as:
Various planets united into a very vast civilization which has come forward up through the last 200,000 years, formed out of the fragments of earlier civilizations. In the last 10,000 years they have gone on with a sort of decadent kicked-in-the-head civilization that contains automobiles, business suits, fedora hats, telephones, spaceships — a civilization which looks almost an exact duplicate but is worse off than the current US civilization.
The relationship between Scientology and religious groups is very complex. There are significant contradictions between Scientology and most religions, especially the major monotheistic religions. Scientology texts written by its inventor, L. Ron Hubbard, claim that it is fully compatible with all existing major world religions, and that it does not conflict with them or their religious practices. Members are not allowed to engage in other similar mental therapies or procedures, religious or otherwise. Part of Scientology's claimed compatibility with religions lies in its leaving open the question of God's existence. According to James R. Lewis, Scientology instead "focuses on improving one's conditions in this life. As part of this openness to other religious alternatives, Scientologists are simultaneously allowed to be practicing members of other religions."
The Church of Scientology network operates as a multinational conglomerate of companies with personnel, executives, organizational charts, chains of command, policies and orders.
Religious Technology Center is the most powerful executive organization within the Scientology empire, and its current chairman, David Miscavige, is widely recognized as the effective head of the church.
Pat Broeker is a former high-ranking member of the Church of Scientology who, along with his wife Annie Broeker, was one of the few people in direct contact with L. Ron Hubbard in his final years. He and his wife, and driver Steve "Sarge" Pfauth, left with Hubbard from his home in Hemet, California in 1980 and travelled around California in a motorhome until buying and settling at a ranch in San Luis Obispo County in 1983. The Broekers and Pfauth stayed with Hubbard until his death in January 1986. Due to ongoing investigations by the FBI and IRS following the arrests of high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard over Operation Snow White, the location of the ranch was kept secret and visits from Church management were forbidden while Hubbard was alive.
Scientology is in part derived from, and shares elements with, a number of esoteric or occult systems. The extent of the influence of specific occult belief systems on Scientology is a subject of debate amongst scholars.
This is a bibliography of books critical of Scientology and the Church of Scientology, sorted by alphabetical order of titles.