Yesterday, there was a shooting at the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, California. It sounds as if the guard was acting in self-defense, which I fully believe. It seems to me, however, that the Church of Scientology finds itself in more than a few incidents of wrongful death that have a strange story and background behind them. According to the article linked to in this post, the man who came at the guard with two swords had a history with the Church, and while I have no clue what that history is, apparently he felt driven to act out against it. Let’s pray for people all through the world who have been affected by Scientology. My prayer for them is that they will come to know the true love of Jesus and leave behind the apparently damaging and harmful teachings of L. Ron Hubbard. We as Christians take no joy in seeing the difficulty and suffering either of these men (the guard or the man with the sword) have gone through, and we should pray for those we come into contact with and share the Gospel of Jesus with them so that they can find true peace, which cannot be found anywhere other than in a personal relationship with Christ (see Psalm 4.8).
Please don’t misunderstand me. I know Christians aren’t perfect either and we make mistakes too, but whenever people I know truly seek and do the will of Jesus as taught in the Bible, I see overwhelming joy and peace shine through in their lives, despite personal difficulties. Plus, when the burdens become too heavy, that’s why we as Christians are called to “carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6.2, NIV) Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world in which people sin, and it will just get worse until Jesus comes back and takes us home, but until that time, Christians everywhere are called to seek and pursue peace (see Psalm 34.14). Let’s do our best to do this by fulfilling the Great Commission, in which Jesus tells us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.19-20, NASB)
This is my prayer for those who are trapped or otherwise affected by Scientology.
The Life of Drew 