Scientology Ministries was started thirty years ago by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. In a Hubbard-scribed essay, “Religious Influence in Society” the author stated:

“If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a VOLUNTEER MINISTER and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.”

Sounds noble enough. However, Scientology critics would argue that the actions behind Hubbard’s statement, like so much of his new-age “religion,” aren’t representative of his “ministry” intentions.

Scientology’s Volunteer Ministries are known for showing up at disasters, as well as pitching their yellow tents (also called “cavalcades”) all over the world. Ostensibly, these volunteers are there to help those in need of relief or assistance after a natural or man-made disaster. Not unlike the more than a century old, Red Cross or Salvation Army, with a few notable exceptions.

On 9/11 when the Red Cross was taking blood from donors to help those injured, the Volunteer Ministries were passing out Hubbard’s books. During Katrina, when the Salvation Army was setting up shelters and handing out blankets to those who’d been displaced from their homes, Volunteer Ministries were busy passing out Scientology information pamphlets and giving people water donated by others.

In 2007, when a gunman killed 33 people, professional counselors gathered to help students and families with their grief. Scientology seized this opportunity to lend a hand in the tragedy with Volunteer Ministries pitching their yellow tents right next to the victims’ memorial boards on the campus. But unlike other volunteers, they were asked to leave because they were considered as “preying” on the grief-stricken students. This would become a common refrain for the VM, earning them the sardonic moniker, Vulture Ministries.

Perhaps the issue with their presence at these tragic events has something to do with their motives and intentions. Typically, those who show up when disaster strikes are there to do whatever is needed to relieve suffering and provide comfort and aid for the victims, but that doesn’t seem to be the m.o. for these Scientology VM’s. Their cavalcades rely on volunteers and their donations, but Scientology’s lucrative operation does not ACTUALLY donate food, water, clothing, or other supplies, rather, they show up with a truckload of L. Run Hubbard books. They will however, help hand out the donations of others. How altruistic. It’s just like what Tom Cruise said in his infamous Scientology propaganda video, “Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident, it’s not like anybody else. When you drive past you KNOW you have to do something. You don’t even think about it, because you know you are the only one who can help.” Apparently “helping” means foisting LRH material at them. Perhaps the pages can be used to stop profuse bleeding, or if nothing else, you can pound the victim in head with it and put them out of their misery.

Now, If a Scientology celebrity is involved, sometimes the celeb will donate “truckloads” of stuff like Kirstie Alley did for her home state of Kansas after the devastating tornado hit Greensburg back in May 2007.

During Katrina, Scientology celebs rallied to support the victims, but using of course, their own money and resources:

That is when the second, third and fourth wave of Volunteer Ministers were needed, and they arrived from all over the US and from as far away as Europe and South America: over 900 Scientology Volunteer Ministers in all.

And joining the forces were some very famous Scientologists. John Travolta, accompanied by his wife, actress Kelly Preston, personally flew in with a planeload of tetanus shots for the rescue workers and supplies for evacuees. Kirstie Alley drove into town with tons of supplies in a 16-wheeler convoy. Lisa Marie Presley shipped in truck loads of supplies from nearby Memphis. Isaac Hayes, Anne Archer, Leah Remini and Nancy Cartwright (shown in center pic above) came to bolster the morale of emergency workers and evacuees alike, and to help everyone get back on their feet.

Scientology Volunteer Minister teams next took on assessing the damage in outlying areas. Provided police and National Guard escorts, they found entire towns that were without water and food, and they handled this on the spot. Once vital supplies were dispensed, they delivered assists, and used Dianetics techniques to help people overcome the effects of the trauma they had just experienced.

Tom Cruise was right about a Scientologist seeing tragic events differently than everyone else. Whereas most people see an immediate need to help those who are suffering, Scientologists see an opportunity to take advangtage and infilitrate a person’s life. From the St. Petersburg Times:

Scientologists helped usher Hubbard’s program into the school during the chaotic months after Hurricane Katrina. Celebrity Scientologists John Travolta and Isaac Hayes played key roles, as did a former Clearwater resident known for her persuasive voice.

The people who run the program say Hubbard’s teaching technique is divorced from Scientology, that it is just a masterful way to learn. They note that it has won the support of many non-Scientologists, including a number of academics.

Other experts, though, question the quality of the program. And some church skeptics fret that it is an insidious plan ultimately aimed at promoting Scientology.

Prescott’s principal had those same concerns. But after closely monitoring the program for more than a year, she is confident Hubbard’s program is not teaching Scientology.

It’s not that Scientologists aren’t helping during disasters, because they are. It’s that their “help” comes with a catch, and that catch is timed during when people are at their lowest and most susceptible to the organizations brain-washing techniques.

Scientology Volunteer Ministries go all over the world spreading L. Ron Hubbard Tech and Touch Assists. For those of you who are not familiar with Touch Assists, Touch Assists, according to Scientology, “…are techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard. They operate on the principle that one tends to withdraw mentally or spiritually from an injured area. Only by restoring communication with this area can one bring the spiritual element into healing, thereby greatly speeding the healing process. Assists are used to alleviate stress and physical aches and pains, or to orient a confused or distraught individual to his present environment”. In other words, it’s a “Scientology massage” followed by a pamphlet handed to you about Scientology.

Much controversy comes from the fact that Touch Assists have never been scientifically proven to work. Scientology VM’s go into a disaster area and offer touch assists to people in hospital beds, people who just lost their homes, and people who are just plain down and out. Always the most desperate people. Few of us would doubt the healing powers of touch, especially in a time of crisis, but these “touches” come with a catch. You must also be forced to hear about Scientology’s teachings, including expensive religious courses. Sounds like a bizarre form of prostitution. Healing touch + desperation + tragedy = vulnerable convert.

The ministries also claim they can help you with drug problems, marital problems or in essence ANY problems you might face. They have a hot line with people on call 24/7, and they claim that, “they will speak to anyone FOR anyone about anything.”

Hmmmm, I wonder if they can help me with my taxes, or maybe clean out my closets?

On a more serious note… Scientology’s Volunteer Ministries are spreading to emerging third world nations. Like any religion, reaching converts is the lifeblood of a growing faith. The practice can be found in most established religions. Missionaries go and provide relief and assistance to the poor and down-trodden, in return you are offered tenets of faith and spiritual guidance. The reward for the religion is new souls saved, the reward for the convert is a renewed purpose, a sense of community and spiritual rejuvenation. Sounds like a win-win. The only difference is, in Scientology, in order to be “saved” you must spend upwards of $300,000+ to achieve the highest levels of understanding of the its “scriptures.”

While on the surface, Scientology may appear to be like any other mainstream religion, beneath the surface it is something quite different. Scientology isn’t being singled out because it’s weird, has alien-lore or outspoken celebrities shilling for it, it’s singled out because it engages in criminal activities and operates like as a well-organized ponzi scheme.

In part two of this series on the Volunteer Ministries we will show how Scientology is now reaching out to emerging third-world countries like India, in an attempt to spread it’s wealth and operations far beyond the reaches of the United States legal system.

Stay tuned.

(Post submitted by Glosslip contributor “Queen”)

Source: D