VM's Planning Oregon Solicitation
Feisty
2007 Volunteer Minister Cavalcade arrives in Portland
Angie DeRouchie ( moresp...@comcast.net ) writes "Please join us for the grand
opening of the 2007 Volunteer Minister Corps' Continental Cavalcade!
Tuesday, May 22, 7:00PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square
With guest speakers: Les Smith, Chair Portland Marathon Committee and Dick Roland,
Chair Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Driven by the motto "Something CAN be done about it", Volunteer Ministers reach out
with traveling Volunteer Minister Cavalcades, taking real help into major cities and
communities throughout the world. Visiting a new city each month, these Cavalcades
contact thousands at a time. National leaders, mayors, Members of Parliament and city
officials welcome these Cavalcades, cutting ribbons to announce their arrival and
embracing the campaign with proclamations declaring, "Something Can Be Done About
It!"
Feisty
"Feisty" <su...@skytoday.com> wrote in message
news:MZr4i.21564$YL5....@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
http://angiedero.blogspot.com/
Funny, a redirect of a sidebar link to the "Marburg Journal of Religion" ends up
pointing to writer citing Margery Wakefield's "Road to Xenu" as a reference. Even
so, there are strange statements here:
Including:
When turning to the sources (that is, the writings of L. Ron Hubbard) I quickly
discovered that they were hardly read by critics and sometimes not much more by
sympathisers.
The more esoteric side of Scientology teaching has as its basis the belief in "past
lives" (like Crowley, Hubbard did not like the term reincarnation). He tried to give
some kind of proof to this in Have You Lived Before This Life?, East Grinstead,
Sussex 1960 (augmented with a new essay in the editions from 1977 on). A more general
overview of man's "cosmic history" is given in Scientology: A History of Man, Los
Angeles and Copenhagen 1988 (first published 1952), which starts with the sentence:
"This is a cold-blooded and factual account of your last sixty trillion years". Both
are very strange books easily ridiculed. They should perhaps be compared to Buddhist
or Hindu scriptures about reincarnation. Many Scientologists are not very much
interested in these mythological matters and try to make them look only supplementary
to the fundamental "life improvement approach" of Scientology. They have never been
studied from the point of view of comparative religion.
?
I would not advise German researchers to use German translations of these titles. The
translations available from the Church of Scientology usually are quite accurate but
a bit lifeless and wooden by their slavish dependancy on the English versions which
makes them not too easy to read
? what?
For Scientology it is impossible for a very special reason: "Scientologese". Hubbard
had a bit of a kink creating new words and artificial composita (words like
knowingness, enturbulation, MEST). He also used some words in a very special sense
(like his favourite "to handle" which is the one word he could not abstain from
employing in his own special way even in his late SF novels)
(sure, "handle." is science fiction!)
Regarding $cientology books, his citations get apologetic:
5. L. Ron Hubbard: biographical studies and related material by non-scientologists
I first mention the more important titles and then add some minor other articles.
- Robert Kaufman, Inside Scientology. How I Joined Scientology and Became Superhuman,
London 1972/New York 1972 (German as: Übermenschen unter uns, Frankfurt a. M. 1972).
This was the first book by an ex-scientologist to publish extensive material from the
OT-courses seen as confidential by the Church of Scientology. It is still a major
item for Scientology in the Sixties.
- Christopher Riche Evans, Cults of Unreason, London 1973/New York 1974 (German as:
Kulte des Irrationalen, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1976). Another still-important early
item.
- Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack, Scientology - Magie des 20. Jahrhunderts, München 1982.
3rd ed., (slightly) augmented and revised by Thomas Gandow, 1995. This is the single
most influential critical book on Scientology in Germany. It is discussed at greater
length below.
- Brent Corydon and L. Ron Hubbard, Jr., L. Ron Hubbard - Messiah or Madman?,
Secaucus, N. J. 1987. Another very important book but also a deeply problematical
item. L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. (who in civil life uses the name Ronald DeWolfe) is
Hubbard's eldest son (born 1934 from his first marriage) who till a break in 1959 was
his father's confidant. Bent Corydon is a former Scientologist who undertook to write
the above mentioned book. Contrary to the title Hubbard Jr. is not co-author, but
just contributed some intrviews used by Corydon. After the publication of the book
Hubbard Jr. signed an affidavit in which he denied many of the statements made in the
book (copy in my possession). He says he never had access to the manuscript and only
was given a copy of the book using his name when it was already in print. It is
usually assumed that the Church of Scientology paid Hubbard Jr. for this statement.
This cannot be proven. A legal affidavit has to be taken into consideration. Many of
the claims made in Corydon's book are very sensationalist. It is quite believable
that Hubbard Jr. was not happy with the book even when he wanted to expose the darker
side of his father.
- Russell Miller, Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard, New York
1987. London 1988. The most important critical biography of Hubbard. Like Haack's and
Corydon's books it is extremely polemical and very much tries to pull Hubbard to
pieces who is seen as a dangerous megalomanic and notorious liar (especially when
talking about himself). Miller has definitely exposed some inflated statements about
Hubbard's early achievements, as they are represented e. g. in the preface to Mission
into Time. On the other side the Church of Scientology has been able to disprove some
of Millers assumptions. Hubbard's assertions about his military career in WWII, e.g.,
have been much nearer to the truth than Miller is trying to show, as can be seen from
his naval records that have been made public during the processes following the
publication of Bare-Faced Messiah (a complete set of the relevant documents is part
of my collection). The Church of Scientology has also been able to verify Hubbard's
statements about "Comander Thompson", the source of his early acquaintance with
Freudian psychoanalysis. Joseph "Snake" Thompson (1874-1943) was Commander in the US
Navy Medical Corps; his personal relation with Freud is documented by a letter
written by Freud and addressed to him (in the Library of Congress, Washington. Copy
in my possession). This material so far is not part of any bibliography of Hubbard.
A topic of special interest has been for many years Hubbard's short-lived
acquaintance with the nuclear physicist John ("Jack") Whiteside Parsons (1914-1952)
who was also a devotee of the founder of modern neo-pagan "magick", Aleister Crowley.
In the winter of 1945/1946 Hubbard lived in Parson's house in Pasadena, CA and took
part in Parson's magical experiments to produce a "moonchild". This connection has
been a subject of much speculation, especially in the books of Brent Corydon, Miller
and Friedrich-Wilhelm Haack. A better discussion can be found in Jon Atack, A Piece
of Blue Sky (see below). Nevertheless it remains quite obvious that Hubbard did not
take much inspiration from Crowley and Parsons. Some sources for the Hubbard-Parsons
connection became available only in recent years. It is discussed also in the most
thorough biography of Crowley: John Symmonds, The King of the Shadow Realm. Aleister
Crowley: His Life and Magic, London 1989, pp. 562-565.
Which brings us to Jon Atack, A Piece of Blue Sky. Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron
Hubbard Exposed, Secaucus, N. Y. 1990. This is the most thorough general history of
Hubbard and Scientology, very bitter, but always well-researched and on the whole to
be prefered to Haack. It has a very fine documentation and omits many unproven
sensationalist claims made by Corydon and others. Atack - who was a Scientologist
from 1974-1983 - is also violently opposed to Scientology, but tries to stick to
facts (whereas Corydon often speculates). The starting point for all further
researches. Atack has since then only written minor pieces on Scientology, but is a
collector of pertinent material much of which he has made available on internet.
(snip)
http://www.frenschkowski.de/englisch.htm
Maureen
Dennis
jerald
> http://www.news4neighbors.net/article.pl?sid=07/05/16/2058239
>
> 2007 Volunteer Minister Cavalcade arrives in Portland
>
> opening of the 2007 Volunteer Minister Corps' Continental Cavalcade!
>
> Tuesday, May 22, 7:00PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square
>
> With guest speakers: Les Smith, Chair Portland Marathon Committee and Dick Roland,
> Chair Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
>
> Driven by the motto "Something CAN be done about it", Volunteer Ministers reach out
> with traveling Volunteer Minister Cavalcades, taking real help into major cities and
> communities throughout the world. Visiting a new city each month, these Cavalcades
> contact thousands at a time. National leaders, mayors, Members of Parliament and city
> officials welcome these Cavalcades, cutting ribbons to announce their arrival and
> embracing the campaign with proclamations declaring, "Something Can Be Done About
> It!"
Did anyone else notice that the word " scientology" is used nowhere in
that story?
jerald
barbz
> Thanks for the warning, Sunny, I got it just in time. I live in
> Portland.
It'd be nice if you could enlighten Les Smith and Dick Roland before
they embarrass themselves by supporting this noxious 'Cavalcade of Lies.'
--
"I'm for the separation of church and hate."
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC(wdne)
xenu...@netscape.net
barbz
Only in the comments section! :)
Well done!
Tbird76
> Dennis wrote:
>> Thanks for the warning, Sunny, I got it just in time. I live in Portland.
>
> It'd be nice if you could enlighten Les Smith and Dick Roland before
> they embarrass themselves by supporting this noxious 'Cavalcade of
> Lies.'
>>
I have a hunch that someone will enlighten them at some point;
it's just got to happen. I have no connections with either of the
groups involved so it would be hard for me to get the word to them. At
this point, I'm trying to decide whether to drop by or not, just to see
what happens at the event. Oh, good idea you two; posting the comments
on that website. That was great to see.