 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
A BOX FROM TOM
Glenn Thomas Carson, Ph.D.
A big box just arrived in the mail from Bridge Publications. It took a second for the bell to ring,
but then I remembered that this is the press of our friends in the Church of Scientology. Did I
mention it was a big box?
Opening it revealed two neat (and deep) stacks of books, with a nicely packaged DVD sitting on
top. The note inside said that our friends had included us among the thousands of libraries and
other religious institutions receiving the enclosed as their gift. Unpacking the box showed that in
addition to the nicely packaged DVD, there were eighteen beautiful, hardbound books. Not
eighteen copies of the same book, but eighteen different books. You can probably guess that
each book was written by L. Ron Hubbard, the founding genius of Scientology.
You may remember that Hubbard was a science fiction writer when he wasn’t founding a religion.
However, none of the books in the big box was a novel. Instead, each one addresses some
aspect of becoming a ‘better you’ through the miracle of Scientology. Titles like The Creation of
Human Ability and The Way to Happiness abounded. And, of course, the collection contained a
nice thick copy of Dianetics, Hubbard’s multi-million seller. (By the way, I’ve just discovered that
whoever the master programmer is behind MS Word is not a Scientologist. Because “Dianetics”
came up as a misspelled word, with “Diabetics” being the first choice for correction).
This big box courtesy of Tom Cruise made me wonder: What is it about Scientology that makes
its adherents so passionate? And, while we’re on the subject, how do our Mormon friends inspire
thousands of young people to pick up their bicycles, move to some other part of the U.S. (or the
world) and spend two years on mission? How are these groups reaching the hearts of
congregants to the depth that money (lots of it) and time (lots of it) become secondary issues to
the primary aim of converting as many people as possible to their understanding of God and how
we relate to him?
I’m not sure what’s in the water. But maybe we Disciples shouldn’t dismiss alternate theologies
so quickly that we also dismiss the possibility that Ron has something to teach us after all – Not
about how to find God, but how to inspire our fellow humans.
Let me know if you want a book (did I mention it was a big box?).
Glenn Thomas Carson, President
Disciples of Christ Historical Society
_________
Disciples of Christ Historical Society is a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), also serving Churches of Christ and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Visit us on
the web at www.discipleshistory.org
Glenn Thomas Carson, Ph.D.
A big box just arrived in the mail from Bridge Publications. It took a second for the bell to ring,
but then I remembered that this is the press of our friends in the Church of Scientology. Did I
mention it was a big box?
Opening it revealed two neat (and deep) stacks of books, with a nicely packaged DVD sitting on
top. The note inside said that our friends had included us among the thousands of libraries and
other religious institutions receiving the enclosed as their gift. Unpacking the box showed that in
addition to the nicely packaged DVD, there were eighteen beautiful, hardbound books. Not
eighteen copies of the same book, but eighteen different books. You can probably guess that
each book was written by L. Ron Hubbard, the founding genius of Scientology.
You may remember that Hubbard was a science fiction writer when he wasn’t founding a religion.
However, none of the books in the big box was a novel. Instead, each one addresses some
aspect of becoming a ‘better you’ through the miracle of Scientology. Titles like The Creation of
Human Ability and The Way to Happiness abounded. And, of course, the collection contained a
nice thick copy of Dianetics, Hubbard’s multi-million seller. (By the way, I’ve just discovered that
whoever the master programmer is behind MS Word is not a Scientologist. Because “Dianetics”
came up as a misspelled word, with “Diabetics” being the first choice for correction).
This big box courtesy of Tom Cruise made me wonder: What is it about Scientology that makes
its adherents so passionate? And, while we’re on the subject, how do our Mormon friends inspire
thousands of young people to pick up their bicycles, move to some other part of the U.S. (or the
world) and spend two years on mission? How are these groups reaching the hearts of
congregants to the depth that money (lots of it) and time (lots of it) become secondary issues to
the primary aim of converting as many people as possible to their understanding of God and how
we relate to him?
I’m not sure what’s in the water. But maybe we Disciples shouldn’t dismiss alternate theologies
so quickly that we also dismiss the possibility that Ron has something to teach us after all – Not
about how to find God, but how to inspire our fellow humans.
Let me know if you want a book (did I mention it was a big box?).
Glenn Thomas Carson, President
Disciples of Christ Historical Society
_________
Disciples of Christ Historical Society is a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), also serving Churches of Christ and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Visit us on
the web at www.discipleshistory.org