Posted on 07/24/2005 7:06:10 PM PDT by HighlyOpinionated
Tomfoolery
Scientology & the Madness of Mr. Cruise
For a quarter century, diminutive, beetle-browed Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. In his blockbuster movies he usually plays confident, even cocksure, all-American hero types, but in real life his shiny armor is starting to show chinks.
Not long ago the toothy actor went on Oprah Winfreys show to declare his undying love for young actress Katie Holmes by jumping all over the furniture like a howler monkey pumped full of ginseng. His rather plastic and unconvincing Look at me! Im a heterosexual! act was followed shortly thereafter by an announcement of the couples engagement.
Then after pressing criminal charges against a fan that sprayed him with a water pistol at a movie premiere, the humorless Mr. Cruise turned an interview with Matt Lauer into a harangue, dismissing Lauer as "glib," insisting actress Brooke Shields postpartum depression was only psychosomatic, and attacking psychiatry as a dangerous pseudo-science about which he possessed an expert level of knowledge.
(Few things are as embarrassing to witness as an uneducated person arguing passionately about something he knows absolutely nothing about.)
Like all too many celebrities, Cruise is a member of the so-called Church of Scientology (CoS), a dangerous, little-understood mind control cult that promises self-fulfillment, mental peace and clarity, financial success, cures of everything from blindness to homosexuality, and even the restoration of long-dormant godlike powers. Its no wonder that the cult has been so powerfully embraced by members of the entertainment industry, seeing as celebs tend to live in a fantasy world, trying to balance colossal egos with fragile senses of self-esteem.
The CoS was founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard, a modestly successful science fiction writer and small-time grifter with a history of mental illness, bigamy, and spousal abuse. After getting involved in Satanism and the occult, he famously declared to a fellow writer, 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.
You initially get involved in Scientology by taking a free personality test, which naturally reveals you have some issues that can be resolved by paying some fees and taking some classes. The more you pay and the more classes you take, the closer you get to enlightenment and freedom from your hang-ups. The highest level classes can cost between $300,000 and $500,000. Needless to say, Scientology becomes an all-consuming thing as you sacrifice family, friends, time, savings, and income to the Church.
When the American Psychiatric Association refused to recognize Hubbards treatment program, called Dianetics, as valid therapy, he declared psychiatry a junk science and put its practitioners at the top of his enemies list, calling them aliens from a "fifth galactic invader force" that is currently trying to destroy the planet. The details of Scientological doctrine are only revealed in stages, because Hubbard claimed they were so shocking they would kill a person unprepared for such information. In fact Hubbards laughable cosmology sounds like a bad plot from a third-rate pulp novel.
According to Hubbard, 75 million years ago, an evil alien emperor named Xenu controlled a chain of over-populated planets. With the help of insect-like psychiatrists, Xenu had millions of his subjects paralyzed with chemicals and shipped to Earth, where their bodies were stacked up around huge volcanoes. Nuclear bombs were detonated in the volcanoes, killing all the people. (Thats where the volcanoes in the Dianetics commercials come from.)
The souls of all these dead people were then shown movies that depicted God, Christ, and Satan, and a variety of confusing, contradictory images and information. The souls of these dead people abide in humans to this day, and the implanting, as Hubbard called it, of false information can only be removed by Dianetic therapy.
In addition to practicing mind control and bilking people out of hundreds of millions of dollars, the CoS is aggressive in its recruiting efforts, sending ministers to counsel the wounded and grief-stricken at the World Trade Center and tsunami-affected parts of Southeast Asia, in an attempt to stymie the efforts of legitimate counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists.
The CoS also has a private intelligence force, the Guardians Office (GO), which is designed to discipline members and attack critics and defectors. Harassment, smear tactics, spying, blackmail, physical and mental torture, break-ins, and even murder have been used against the enemies of the Church.
Scientology is more than a mere scam: its a highly dangerous organization with cruel, insidious goals. It needs to be stopped before it makes any more inroads into our culture. Of course, we may not actually have to do anything. Tom Cruise has been making himself such a laughing stock these last few weeks that if he keeps it up the whole world may soon know that the Church of Scientology is nothing but a ship of fools with an evil and deadly agenda
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And since I'm quite loopy on sleeping meds, I offer this for your viewing pleasure...Enjoy!
Nully?
You?
Well, Then,
How can you tell when a Pollock reaches OTIII?
He goes in and says "We'd like to attest"?
Yep, the Clinton IRS gave it to them.
Nope.
All his flies go away.
What made you leave? Have you been harassed for leaving?
1. World Domination.
2. To film Battlefield Earth II
3. Profit!
This reads more like "Scientology Press Release 101"
I think #2 will preclude #3.
I'm not fond of people who seek to control everything I do.
The disconnect between stated goals and actions.
The lack of "Christian charity".
My belief that the upper levels are harmful.
They were under new management,it was trying to consolidate and expand it's power, lots of good people were kicked out for not toeing the line, I thought it would be a good time to leave on my own terms.
Have you been harassed for leaving?
No. I routed out using their forms and procedures, and even got a repayment of the money I had on account. At that time there were so many people just walking away, or being kicked out they didn't have time for little old me...
Do you ever run into people that you knew when you were in? Do they try and get you to re-join or do they leave you alone?
I was laboring under the impression that they weren't fond of people leaving. Can't tell you why - just an impression that I had. Seems like that was incorrect.
Almost never. I've moved away from the area in search of better jobs.
Do they try and get you to re-join or do they leave you alone?
I don't know what would happen under those circumstances. I do have one friend who is still in the Church, she does occasionally try to get me interested in going back, but not with any rabid enthusiasm.
I was laboring under the impression that they weren't fond of people leaving. Can't tell you why - just an impression that I had. Seems like that was incorrect.
Nope, you're correct. Some people who leave are harassed extensively. It all depends on how much of a threat they perceive a disaffected member to be.
You were smart getting away when you did.
It all depends on how much of a threat they perceive a disaffected member to be.
Or how much money they'd lose without that person in the ranks?
Hubbard had a thing about water - Sea Org etc. and the "clear" part is obvious. He "felt" it was a sign... Clear - water.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. That's a pretty brave thing to do, IMHO.
;-)
And no, I've never ever been one of them...
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