TWO Faces of $CN....$CN a JOKE to Most
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The two faces of Scientology
The Goanna
November 20, 2009 - 3:00PM
Scientology is just a big joke to most of us. The religion that every
other religion laughs at and teases in the theological playground. But
people still subscribe to its pseudo-Freudian science fiction based
beliefs.
Scientology has always been very secretive about its practices and
vague about underlying parts of its faith, although never secret about
the celebrity membership it shouts from the rooftops. In Senator Nick
Xenophon's remarkable speech under parliamentary privilege to the
Senate on Wednesday we got a significant glimpse through letters of ex-
Scientology members. The authors collectively tell a story of
Scientology's suggested mafia-like tendencies, alleging blackmail,
imprisonment, coercion, forced separation of loved ones and even
murder and forced abortions.
The Church of Scientology strenuously deny these accusations. But with
allegations like these and an increasing number of leaked internal
videos on the internet, will more knowledge of the alleged abuses and
bizarreness of this institution be Scientology's undoing? Do people
just need more credible information about the organisation's true
goings on to turn away?
The church has been growing since it was established mid-last
century. Its principal spokesman Tommy Davis says, scarily enough,
that ''Scientology has grown more in the last five years than in the
last five decades combined''.
This is despite an avalanche of information that points to some
strange activities within the church. There is even an anonymous
internet group called, originally enough ''Anonymous'', which is
dedicated to tracking down the stuff the church does not want you to
see. This interview in which actor Tom Cruise basically rants and
laughs while using apparent Scientology codes like KSW (keep
Scientology working) and SP (suppressive persons) as the music to
Mission Impossible plays in the background, is the most infamous
example and went viral across the internet. The church in fact was so
cut about this internal leak going public that they tried to sue
YouTube for keeping the videos up, claiming copyright infringement.
Scientology.org is the Church of Scientology's official line of
communication. Hours and hours worth of videos describing on a glossy
website the ins and outs of a fuzzy sort of philosophy and vague
truisms such as ''understanding is obtained through knowledge and
information''. This is the very public face of the self-help version
of this philosophy, which emphasises freedom of religion and equal
rights. The videos also run on a dedicated YouTube channel showing
just your average Scientologists as race car drivers, fashion
designers, soccer players and other glamorous careers. This public
face of the church online has also been attacked by Anonymous, taking
down the Scientology.org website repeatedly and sending messages of
cyber destruction to the Scientology community.
Even without those on the outside trying to destroy Scientology,
people on the inside seem to be doing plenty of that on their own.
There have been amazing allegations from those in the inner sanctum
against the current leader of Scientology, David Miscavige, who took
over in the '80s shortly after the Big LRH (church founder L. Ron
Hubbard) died, including a rather chilling game of musical chairs,
before which 30 members of staff were cooped up for weeks and forced
to think up strategic plans for the future of the church. When these
ideas were rebuffed they had to prove their devotion to the church by
winning the game, played to the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody. Those who
lost would be flung to far corners of the earth on Scientology
postings, Miscavige saying if families were broke up, well, too bad.
There were also serious allegations that Miscavige even physically
beat up those around him.
Davis, the church's new PR spokesman, has also been doing a pretty
good job of wrecking its image. The most infamous and embarrassing was
his interview with Nightline's Martin Bashir, where Davis, when asked
about Xenu (the galactic emperor who plays an important role in the
church's version of history), pulled out his microphone and stormed
off. Davis allegedly even went down to ABC headquarters and tried to
stop the footage from being aired, unsuccessfully.
Celebrities, the church's most valuable asset, have also spoken out in
recent times. Oscar-winning director of Crash, Paul Haggis left the
church and sent a damning letter to Davis that spread quickly over the
internet. In the letter he talks about homophobic behaviour in the
church and the policy of disconnection. Haggis also says that he
decided to leave the church after looking up videos and articles
online, including articles on the Miscavige behaviour and Davis'
denial of the policy of disconnection.
Quote:
The two faces of Scientology
The Goanna
November 20, 2009 - 3:00PM
Scientology is just a big joke to most of us. The religion that every
other religion laughs at and teases in the theological playground. But
people still subscribe to its pseudo-Freudian science fiction based
beliefs.
Scientology has always been very secretive about its practices and
vague about underlying parts of its faith, although never secret about
the celebrity membership......
(snip)
Davis, the church's new PR spokesman, has also been doing a pretty
good job of wrecking its image. The most infamous and embarrassing was
his interview with Nightline's Martin Bashir, where Davis, when asked
about Xenu (the galactic emperor who plays an important role in the
church's version of history), pulled out his microphone and stormed
off. Davis allegedly even went down to ABC headquarters and tried to
stop the footage from being aired, unsuccessfully.
(snip)
The public face with its self-help and vague Freudian philosophy seem
to contradict revelations of this secret side of the Church of
Scientology.
Bella Counihan is The Goanna.
End of Quotes
LOL....another one that $CN is just going to love....(not).
Tigger
Read the whole thing here.
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-two-faces-of-scientology-20091120-iq2z.html