Lately Scientology has been pulverized in books and docuseries by celebrities such as Leah Remini. So the organization badly needs a PR boost. It found it in a very unsurprising place.
Last month Tom Cruise’s daughter, Isabella, became the new face for a Scientology recruiting email. She extolled the virtues of the religious group and thanked her dad for “everything.” She recently completed Scientology’s training to become an “auditor,” someone who leads other Scientologists through the process of cleansing called “auditing,” which supposedly restores one’s “being and ability.”
In her testimonial written for the London branch of the organization, Bella, 26, described Scientology’s rigorous training as “exactly what I needed.” She urged other recruits to do an “internship,” which is Scientology’s term that describes training to become an auditor.
“We all need to do this,” Isabella writes. “It’s hard work. It’s a lot of effort. It’s a few melt downs and running to the bathroom to have a mini episode, but it is worth everything because you will get through. This is a gift to yourself and so many others.” And she thanks her famous dad. “I would have drowned in my own problems if you hadn’t been there.”
Sounds great, right? It seems to be some sort of hybrid between intense counseling and spiritual growth.
The only problem is, it’s all fiction.
Scientology is the invention of L. Ron Hubbard, who in 1950 wrote a book called Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Then in 1954 he incorporated the Church of Scientology to give religious credibility to his beliefs. Hubbard went on to write a throng of science fiction books based on his strange view of human nature and follow up books to Dianetics. And so Scientology was a born–an entire organization devoted to his fiction.
But Scientology is neither a mental health organization nor a church. It is a cult.
Some cults hijack biblical truth, claiming to be real Christianity and preaching that Protestant Christians are the fakers (Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons). Others simply commandeer the name but bear no real resemblance to Christianity (Christian Science, which is neither Christian nor science). And still others are complete fabrications that claim to be what everyone else is looking for, often using terms, such as “church,” to garner credibility. That’s Scientology.
But whatever their unique slant, cults bear similarities. In particular, like Scientology, most cults advocate that you can work hard enough to find enlightenment or salvation, and that those who achieve this enlightenment are among an elite group of people who know the “truth.”
But the fact is, rather than teach the truth, they deceive and distract from the truth. Truth which liberates, restores, and saves. Truth which is found only in Christ.
As we are nearing the season of celebrating the resurrection of Christ, it is a good time to be refreshed in the truth of the true Gospel.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ liberates. Not because we suddenly reach some kind of fulfillment or enlightenment, but because we are slaves to sin and death and only Christ can set us free. Once we are made alive in Christ, we are set free to live for Christ and live the life God intended us to live. God does this. We don’t. As helpful as counseling or therapy or good books can be, no self-help book or therapy can substitute for being born again in Christ (Eph. 2:1-7).
Then we are free. Free to live the life God intended us to live.
And if you like that, then you’ll love this.
This freedom is for everyone, not a select few. It’s not about how good you are or how hard you work. No one is that good, and no one can work that hard. No, it’s about just one thing. God loves you so much, He wants you back (Eph. 2:8-9; John 3:16; Rom. 5:8).
You are never so much of a mess that Christ can’t clean you up, never so broken that Christ can’t mend you, and you’re never so sinful that Christ can’t forgive you.
Not by your works, your effort, or your status. But by your faith in Him and His power to save, to cleanse, and to forgive.
Bella Cruise isn’t free, but she is searching for freedom. Her hard work at auditing may have in some way helped her emotionally, but eventually she’ll realize that she didn’t really change. And she’ll audit again. And again. And recruit others to do the same. Unsatisfied, distracted, deceived.
If I could, I would tell her “not to teach false doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith” (1 Tim. 1:2-4). And I would tell her that “if the Son sets you free, you really will be free” (John 8:36).
I would tell her it’s ok to love her dad, but he’s wrong. I would tell her to look to the face of grace. I would tell her about God’s gift to her and to others.
I would tell her about Jesus Christ