Re: Town Online, Needham, MA: The art of Scientology
Dave Touretzky
I thought these were the most interesting two paragraphs:
> Renna and others insist that the Xenu story has nothing to do with
> the beliefs and practices of the vast majority of church
> members. It's just not part of Scientology for them.
> Still, he won't deny it, denounce it or even say that it's an
> allegory or metaphor for one of Hubbard's philosophical
> points. Instead he says that Scientology is a gradient system of
> knowledge and to understand the Xenu story, you have to understand
> the many levels of teachings that come before it.
They can't deny Xenu any longer. They're forced to own up to it, and
they're doing a lousy job of damage control. Rinder was no better
with Janet Reitman; John Carmichael was no better with Rabbi Potasnik.
Xenu rules while DM drools: bad news for Hubbard's fools.
-- Dave Touretzky: "And Narconon is banned from schools."
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII
Feisty
"Batchild (Sue M.)" <batc...@NOSPAMcox.net> wrote in message
news:ofbh02lu73bkmk32e...@4ax.com...
> X-No-Archive: Yes
>
> Found at:
>
> http://www2.townonline.com/lynnfield/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=442778
>
> ==========
>
> The art of Scientology
> By Barbara Taormina/ Staff Writer
> Friday, March 3, 2006 - Updated: 12:53 PM EST
>
(snip hype)
> "What Hubbard touts as a science of mind lacks one key element that is
> expected of a science: empirical testing of claims," writes Robert
> Carroll, a philosophy professor at Sacramento City College who created
> "The Skeptic Dictionary."
>
> "The key elements of Hubbard's so-called science don't seem testable,
> yet he repeatedly claims that he is asserting only scientific facts
> and data from many experiments ... Most of his data is in the form of
> anecdotes and speculations ... Such speculation is appropriate in
> fiction, but not in science."
a-ha!
>
> From the start, "Dianetics" was tagged as a pseudoscience, but that
> made little difference to the reading public. The book hit store
> shelves in April of 1950 and by June, it was on the New York Times
> bestseller list where it remained for 28 consecutive weeks.
oops, didn't find out how they did that...
http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/ttft/
SCIENTOLOGY LIES
In fact, Hubbard books have been "hyped" onto best seller lists through carefully
orchestrated campaigns. Scientology has probably managed to sell more copies of Hubbard's
books than have been printed, by buying back and reselling. One book store even received a
consignment which already had its own price labels on.
> Gerald Renna, director of special affairs for the Church of
> Scientology in Boston, also thinks auditing can be especially helpful
> for artists and other creative people. "If you're clear, you don't
> have any fears or repressions going against you," says Renna.
>
only nasty space aliens
But for Riley, there was more than just freed-up creative energy. She
> says auditing also helped her career by letting her live in the
> present, without being troubled by vague doubts and old insecurities.
Is this person OT3 and lying? there are plenty of doubts coming with body thetans
(snip)
> "They are high communication terminals, people who can really go out
> and create and effect," he says. Critics of the church have suggested
> the celebrity courting, the voluntary endorsements and the church's
> ministry programs are good-will efforts designed to overcome years of
> church controversy.
high communcation terminals? scieno jive for ATM machines !
>
> Although the church has long faced criticism about its high-pressure
> tactics to sell expensive courses, there have been other problems.
>
> Scientology has a reputation of going hard after their critics with
> drawn out lawsuits. In the late 1970s, Mary Sue Hubbard, the third of
> Hubbard's wives, was sentenced to five years in prison for taking part
> in a Watergate-style collection of dirty tricks. And not everyone
> views the church as a religion. In Germany, Scientology is considered
> to be both a business and a tightly controlled cult.
>
> But those are problems with church leadership and organization. There
> have also been controversies with church teachings. One episode in
> particular seems like Hubbard's art, a page taken from one of his
> science fiction novels.
>
> About 10 years ago, a former church member published some of the
> material reserved for members who reach the highest ranks of
> Scientology. The press feasted on the church's story of of Xenu, a
> galactic tyrant who 75 million years ago decided to cure an
> overpopulation problem in space by loading individuals into ships and
> dropping them off in frozen volcanoes on earth. Xenu then blew them up
> with a hydogen bomb. The spirits, or "thetans," of those victims are
> said to have clustered around human bodies, becoming a type of
> invisible parasite that can only be removed by advanced techniques
> taught by Scientology.
>
> Ask Riley about this story and she'll say she doesn't know what you
> are talking about. Ask Renna and he'll grow both sad and frustrated.
like deers in the headlights.....
>
> "It just a goof on my religion," he says, and he points out that other
> religions aren't subject to similar ridicule.
A very expensive goof. Other religions (of which $cientology is not) do not charge
exhorbitant amounts to discover pieces of UFO aliens in their body.
>
> Renna says every time the story is repeated it has a destructive
> effect. Not only are new members scared off, but long-standing members
> are forced again and again to explain the story to friends and family
> who already have doubts or suspicions about the church. It widens what
> is sometimes already often a painful rift.
No, it keeps people from paying to learn such fiction.
>
> Renna and others insist that the Xenu story has nothing to do with the
> beliefs and practices of the vast majority of church members. It's
> just not part of Scientology for them.
ha ha ha ha
>
> Still, he won't deny it, denounce it or even say that it's an allegory
> or metaphor for one of Hubbard's philosophical points. Instead he says
> that Scientology is a gradient system of knowledge and to understand
> the Xenu story, you have to understand the many levels of teachings
> that come before it.
No, you have to be like a deer in the headlights first
>
> Although the Xenu story hasn't helped Scientology, faith often
> transcends reason. Scientologists say something is only true if it's
> true for a particular individual. If Scientology is leading you to
> success or wins, as church members say, then there's no need to listen
> to controversies stirred up by the media and no time for the
> complaints of critics and ex-members who have filled hundreds of
> Internet pages with warnings and negative accounts of their
> experiences in the church.
This couldn't be a better invitation to read more on the internet!
:-)))
>
> "I don't even waste my time listening to what this person says, or
> that person says," says Riley "When your life is changed for the
> better in so many ways from a person who tirelessly researched how to
> better the human race than it's hard not to respect it."
After talking Xenu, the better human race definitely will go to the internet and wonder
what all the space aliens in the body have to do with it.
(Snip)
No matter how much gloss they put in, the denial of the Xenu story and denunciation of
critics will always get more people reading.
Consumers are not interested in hype but results. $cientology $pace aliens are not
consumer friendly.
Feisty
>
> E-mail writer Barbara Taormina at btao...@cnc.com.
>
> ==========
>
> http://members.cox.net/batchild1
> http://members.cox.net/scorseseinfo
Hartley Patterson
> > From the start, "Dianetics" was tagged as a pseudoscience, but that
> > made little difference to the reading public. The book hit store
> > shelves in April of 1950 and by June, it was on the New York Times
> > bestseller list where it remained for 28 consecutive weeks.
>
> oops, didn't find out how they did that...
Hubbard had no followers then. It was "Dianetics" that created the
movement, not the other way round. There is no doubt that it was a genuine
bestseller.
--
Alt.Religion.Scientology FAQ
http://www.daisy.freeserve.co.uk/faq.htm
wbarwell
>
> Gerald Renna, director of special affairs for the Church of
> Scientology in Boston, also thinks auditing can be especially helpful
> for artists and other creative people. "If you’re clear, you don’t
> have any fears or repressions going against you," says Renna.
......
> In Rolling Stone’s current cover story, "Inside Scientology,"
> investigative reporter Janet Reitman describes the cost of her first
> visit to the Church of Scientology in midtown Manhattan. It begins
> with a $50 introductory package with a lecture and some auditing. The
> next step is a $100 starter kit with books and tapes, then $4,000 for
> some advanced auditing and purification regimen, a combination of
> saunas and vitamins meant to cleanse the body of toxins
>
> As members work their way through more advanced stages of Scientology,
> they take more and more expensive courses. Riley acknowledges
> Scientology is an investment but she calls it pennies for pearls.
>
> Renna says the money is a fact of life. Scientology isn’t like the
> Catholic Church, with an attic full of priceless art and manuscript
> treasures, he says. You need money to run a church, heat the building
> and pay the staff. And Renna says the church spends plenty money on
> its volunteer ministry. The church has a storefront in Dorchester that
> offers kids one-on-one tutoring through its literacy program, although
> Renna isn’t sure how many kids actually participate.
>
> Critics of the literacy program say the course material dips into some
> of Scientology’s teaching and they worry the project sets the stage
> for future recruitment into the church.
>
> But church officials say they just want to help
>
> "It’s what we do," says Renna. "We’re a church."
....
> Although the church has long faced criticism about its high-pressure
> tactics to sell expensive courses, there have been other problems.
>
> Scientology has a reputation of going hard after their critics with
> drawn out lawsuits. In the late 1970s, Mary Sue Hubbard, the third of
> Hubbard’s wives, was sentenced to five years in prison for taking part
> in a Watergate-style collection of dirty tricks. And not everyone
> views the church as a religion. In Germany, Scientology is considered
> to be both a business and a tightly controlled cult.
>
> But those are problems with church leadership and organization. There
> have also been controversies with church teachings. One episode in
> particular seems like Hubbard’s art, a page taken from one of his
> science fiction novels.
>
> About 10 years ago, a former church member published some of the
> material reserved for members who reach the highest ranks of
> Scientology. The press feasted on the church’s story of of Xenu, a
> galactic tyrant who 75 million years ago decided to cure an
> overpopulation problem in space by loading individuals into ships and
> dropping them off in frozen volcanoes on earth. Xenu then blew them up
> with a hydogen bomb. The spirits, or "thetans," of those victims are
> said to have clustered around human bodies, becoming a type of
> invisible parasite that can only be removed by advanced techniques
> taught by Scientology.
>
> Ask Riley about this story and she’ll say she doesn’t know what you
> are talking about. Ask Renna and he’ll grow both sad and frustrated.
>
> "It just a goof on my religion," he says, and he points out that other
> religions aren't subject to similar ridicule.
Sorry, but yes they are. Moonies are ridiculed for Moon's claims
to be the messiah, Mormons for the obvious nonsense of Joseph
Smith, fundamentalists for their lack of logic and gullibility
and much more.
The problem is, Scientology makes big claims and also charges
a lot of money for courses based on this tall tale.
In the end, no you do not get the claimed OT powers you spent years
exorcising imaginary space cooties to get.
For this they deserve to be ridiculed and it is not going to stop.
what is galling is the propensity for Scientology to lie about
this.
> Renna says every time the story is repeated it has a destructive
> effect. Not only are new members scared off, but long-standing members
> are forced again and again to explain the story to friends and family
> who already have doubts or suspicions about the church. It widens what
> is sometimes already often a painful rift.
Good! Good! Keep shouting to the rooftops! Xenu! xenu! Xenu!
I am going to rant and wail on Xenu and the space cooty bit!
And the supposed OT powers! Exteriorization with full perceptics!
Theta clears knocking off hats at 50 yards! Control the minds of
weakling wogs. "These aren't the droids you seek. You don't need
to see his ID". Yeah, exorcise them space cooties and be a Hubbard
Jedi knight!
Perfect memories and massive IQ increaes. Grow undersized body parts!
"My son the cult idiot who dropped out of college to chase Xenu's
space cooties. This is not what a father wanted."
Yeah, I can see why it widens rifts.
>
> Renna and others insist that the Xenu story has nothing to do with the
> beliefs and practices of the vast majority of church members. It’s
> just not part of Scientology for them.
It is when they start the OT courses and Renna full well knows
that is indeed Hubbard's main policiy for clears. Go to the OT
courses. She also is aware that many on staff and Sea Org slaves
never make it to clear, much less Xenu's space cooties. It is
not a part of Scientology for these trapped wretches. And many
do a few years of this crap and dift out.
But he makes it sound like it is not core Scientology teachings
or courses, and that is a lie.
So again we have a church leader lying to the press.
Another example for my Lies Project.
> Still, he won't deny it, denounce it or even say that it's an allegory
> or metaphor for one of Hubbard's philosophical points. Instead he says
> that Scientology is a gradient system of knowledge and to understand
> the Xenu story, you have to understand the many levels of teachings
> that come before it.
Gradient means we hide the weird stuff until you have been
brainwashed to accept weird tripe as real.
>
> Although the Xenu story hasn't helped Scientology, faith often
> transcends reason. Scientologists say something is only true if it’s
> true for a particular individual. If Scientology is leading you to
> success or wins, as church members say, then there’s no need to listen
> to controversies stirred up by the media and no time for the
> complaints of critics and ex-members who have filled hundreds of
> Internet pages with warnings and negative accounts of their
> experiences in the church.
If people know about the space cootie tripe and want to stay
in Scientology, fine. What I object to is lying about this and
hiding it.
People have a right to know where this is all going without
this sort of stupidity being hidden purposefully from them.
>
> "I don’t even waste my time listening to what this person says, or
> that person says," says Riley "When your life is changed for the
> better in so many ways from a person who tirelessly researched how to
> better the human race than it’s hard not to respect it."
>
> There’s no reason to doubt that Riley is absolutely sincere. And as an
> intelligent and caring person, an artist who is effortlessly cool and
> a rank and file member, Riley is perhaps one of the Church of
> Scientology’s best calling cards.
>
> "The ways Scientology has helped people are endless," she says. "If
> you have questions, go into a Church of Scientology, get a tour, find
> out anything you want. Read what it’s about and apply it to your life
> and see for your yourself if it really works."
>
> E-mail writer Barbara Taormina at btao...@cnc.com.
>
Yes, but are you going to do the space cooty exorcism bit?
--
An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest: "If I did not know about
God and sin, would I go to hell?" "No," said the priest, "not if you did
not know." "Then why," asked the Inuit earnestly, "did you tell me?"
-Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Cheerful Charlie
wbarwell
>
> I thought these were the most interesting two paragraphs:
>
>> Renna and others insist that the Xenu story has nothing to do with
>> the beliefs and practices of the vast majority of church
>> members. It's just not part of Scientology for them.
>
>> Still, he won't deny it, denounce it or even say that it's an
>> allegory or metaphor for one of Hubbard's philosophical
>> points. Instead he says that Scientology is a gradient system of
>> knowledge and to understand the Xenu story, you have to understand
>> the many levels of teachings that come before it.
>
> They can't deny Xenu any longer. They're forced to own up to it, and
> they're doing a lousy job of damage control. Rinder was no better
> with Janet Reitman; John Carmichael was no better with Rabbi Potasnik.
Yes, and this is what I have been waiting for. I have been ranting
about clams and xenu and space cooties for years now, almost a decade.
And this is it, there is a breaking point, a tipping point, where
this stuff reaches a critical mass and everybody knows one day.
The late night comedians do rifts of it, its referenced in comedies
on TV and movies. Many cults have very werid beliefs but not all
cults have lots of movie stars. So that fact makes Scientology something
hard to ignore which was the very point of going for movie stars.
We are now reaching that crittical point and they would be very well
advised to realize, Scientology can no long lie about this. When
you get Rinder on TV lying, a lot of people sniff "well, year you liar,
we all know you do have that Xenu, dead alien stuff".
Further more, the more you lie, the funnier the late night comedians
find it. The same thing happened to the spiritualist churches.
There came a point where the first thing a person thought when they
heard the word medium was "fraud". That and college students emulating
Houdini with "ghost busting" at seances with students smuggling
flashlights in.
The net is the flashlight that caught the Scientologists mediums
prancing around in the all of a sudden not so dark waving the
cheese clothe of Xenu painted with the phosphorescent paint of
false promises of OT abilities.
It can only get worse.
On top of this, they dare not let another Lisa McPherson
happen.
Keep tightening them screws!
barbz
media, and they've taken steps to cover their asses should that happen.
But they must know, that people are coming out, and they are talking.
It's only a matter of time, DM. Only a matter of time. Hope you've got
your emergency suitcases packed in your armored recreation vehicle!
--
--
Barb
Chaplain, ARSCC
xenu...@netscape.net
"Every week, every month, every year, every decade and now
every century, Scientology does weird and stupid things
to damage its own reputation."
-Steve Zadarnowski
"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable
insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as
Scientology."
-ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle "club"
"$cientology sees the world this way: One man with a picket sign:
terrorism. Five thousand people dead in a deliberate inferno: business
opportunity.
$cientology oozes _under_ terrorists to hide."
-Chris Leithiser