Christian Science and Scientology

Our quote for today is an old Negro proverb: "Education without Salvation equals damnation." In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day." Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Christian Science and Scientology" Once again, we'll look at different faith systems with similar names in one episode, since sometimes these also are confused with each other. The Church of Christ, Scientist is the official name of a movement (founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy) commonly referred to as Christian Science. The name is well known through the Christian Science Monitor, a respected newspaper, and through Christian Science Reading Rooms in major cities around the U.S. and in other countries. Christian Scientists claim to be one of Christianity's denominations, with a faith based on the Bible. Indeed, their literature and official website contain frequent scriptural quotations, usually from the King James Version. Their interpretations, however, and their answers to ultimate questions, show a belief system substantially different from orthodox Christianity of any branch or denomination. ... Scientology, widely known for the celebrities among its members, was started by L. Ron Hubbard in 1955. A moderately successful science-fiction author, Hubbard said, in 1949, "Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." Using his 1950 bestseller "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health" as a foundation, that's exactly what he did. ...