04-12-2006, 01:36 PM | #1 | ||
College Prospect
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Boston, MA
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Scientology Article
I don't think anyone posted this article from a month or so ago, but then again I'm new
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...e_scientology/ Loooooooooooong (extensive) but very good. Some excerpts: Scientology -- the term means "the study of truth," in the words of its founder and spiritual messiah, the late science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard -- calls itself "the world's fastest-growing religion." Upon Hubbard's death, his ambitious twenty-five-year-old aide, David Miscavige, who would soon succeed him as leader of the church, announced that Scientology's founder had willingly "dropped" his healthy body and moved on to another dimension. Today, every church or Scientology organization has an office reserved for Hubbard. Usually found on the church's ground floor, it is carefully maintained with books, desk, chair, pens, notepads, desk ornaments and other accouterments, as if the Founder might walk in at any moment. At the intake level, Scientology comes across as good, practical self-help. Rather than playing on themes that might distance a potential member -- the concept that I am a "thetan," for example -- members hit on topics that have universal appeal. Instead of claiming some heightened degree of enlightenment, they come across as fellow travelers: people who smoke too much, who have had bad marriages, who have had addictions they couldn't handle but have somehow managed to land on their feet. Scientology, they explain, has been a form of "recovery." As one woman I meet puts it, "Scientology works." There are, however, a few things that seem jarring. Like the cost: $4,000 is a lot to spend for what Jane suggests are "basic" sessions. But perhaps even more alarming is the keen interest they take in my boyfriend. While Laurie inquired sympathetically about the dynamic of our relationship, Jane is suspicious, concerned with his views of the church and his attitude toward my being here. "If he's not open," she says, "that could be a problem." And then there are Scientology's rules. A fiercely doctrinaire religion, Scientology follows Hubbard's edicts to the letter. Dissent or opposition to any of Hubbard's views isn't tolerated. Nor is debating certain church tenets -- a practice Scientologists view as "counterintentioned." Comporting oneself in any way that could be seen as contrary to church goals is considered subversive and is known as a "suppressive act." One text that sheds enlightenment on both the mind-set of the founder and the inner workings of the church is Introduction to Scientology Ethics, which every Scientologist owns. In this book, the list of suppressive acts is six pages long and includes crimes ranging from murder to "squirreling," or altering Hubbard's teachings. Scientologists do not look kindly on critics, particularly those who were once devout. Apostasy, which in Scientology means speaking out against the church in any public forum, is considered to be the highest form of treason. This is one of the most serious "suppressive acts," and those who apostatize are immediately branded as "Suppressive Persons," or SPs. The order of disconnection, called a "declare," is issued on a piece of gold-colored parchment known as a "goldenrod." This document proclaims the suppressive person's name, as well as his or her "crime." …[A] woman, who is still a member of the church, explains. "It's saying to them, 'See this kid, he left without permission. This is what happened to him. Don't you make the same mistake.'" Fascinatingly Insane. |
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04-12-2006, 01:51 PM | #2 | |
Head Coach
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Welcome to the board. Like your screen name. |
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04-12-2006, 01:53 PM | #3 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Placerville, CA
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I've read it. It's a long, long article, but very informative.
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04-12-2006, 01:59 PM | #4 | |
Rider Of Rohan
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Port Angeles, WA or Helm's Deep
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It's not the years...it's the mileage. Last edited by WSUCougar : 04-12-2006 at 01:59 PM. |
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04-12-2006, 02:04 PM | #5 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2001
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Now where is PETA on this one?
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04-12-2006, 02:06 PM | #6 | |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Appleton, WI
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Ask Richard Gere, he'll give you an explanation. |
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04-12-2006, 02:07 PM | #7 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2001
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Quote:
Actually in Scientology you are encouraged to violate gerbils.
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"Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales |
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04-12-2006, 02:11 PM | #8 |
Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Wackos.
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FBCB / FPB3 Mods |
04-12-2006, 02:13 PM | #9 | |
College Prospect
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Boston, MA
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Well thank you. Inspired by a true story... I'll now return to sulking about realizing the Richard Gere reference myself. |
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04-12-2006, 02:16 PM | #10 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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Yep. |
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04-12-2006, 02:25 PM | #11 |
General Manager
Join Date: Oct 2000
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The errors causes by copying and pasting from certain sources are oddly appropriate in this case.
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04-12-2006, 02:31 PM | #12 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2002
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04-12-2006, 03:17 PM | #14 |
The boy who cried Trout
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: TX
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Good article, but it's obvious she was on a search and destroy mission from the start.
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04-12-2006, 08:40 PM | #15 | |
Pro Starter
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