Pass the veggies, please

 

Feminist atheist and cult-watcher Rebecca Watson (Skepchick) has discovered some kind of Über-syncretist sect or cult. Based in Utah, it combines fundamentalist Mormonism, Scientology and multi-level marketing of nutritional supplements. Yes, really! The business-slash-cult is called Balance of Nature and was founded by a chiropractor. Because of course it was.

Interesting, and frankly a bit disturbing.  

The alien interview

 

A weird spin on the Roswell mythos. In this version, the crashed alien is female. Her message sounds like a syncretic blend of New Age, Scientology, David Icke, John Keel and some kind of Neo-Gnosticism. It´s surprisingly elaborate and "consistent". Evidence? None. But then, the entire point of the exercise is that we´re the victims of a grand cosmic conspiracy only known to a select few. Think Gnostic prison planet, false memory implants, that kind of thing. 

Fascinating after a fashion. But probably not, you know, true. Indeed, skeptics suspect that this new space opera *is* a front for the "Church" of Scientology...

Sveket från Hanna Fahl

 

Hanna Fahl (!) om Neil Gaiman. Har egentligen aldrig brytt mig om Gaiman tidigare, antagligen för att jag i det stora hela inte läser fantasy och gothic horror. Insåg dock att jag faktiskt hört talas om "Coraline" tidigare och även funderade på att köpa boken mest för att kolla vad det var. Och ja, det är tydligen Gaiman som skrivit den.

En annan sak jag reagerat på är den påstådda kopplingen mellan Gaiman och scientologerna, som dock aldrig nämnts i svenska medier. Gaiman själv säger sig inte ha sådana (förutom att hans föräldrar tillhörde den kontroversiella gruppen), medan andra hävdar motsatsen. 

Mycket rykten om stödköp av Gaimans romaner från scientologicenter, fejkade recensioner på olika sajter skrivna av scientologer, etc. Man undrar förstås också om hans världsbild är präglad av scientologi? Gotisk skräck verkar dock inte riktigt vara Hubbards grej...

Det finns förresten kritiker av Gaiman som hävdar att han plagierat sitt magnum opus "The Sandman" från en kvinnlig författare! Se den andra länken (på engelska). Den går till en blogg på allra yttersta högerkanten som refererar ett Facebook-inlägg. Har dock inte tillgång till Facebook, så ni får hålla till godo med denna länk.     

Det är en uråldrig historia

"Considerable disdain for him"

The cult of science

 

Credit: @DynamoSuperX (from Twitter)

 

No idea if this is true. All the usual caveats and disavowals apply. You know what I mean!

Scientology > Science

After Scientology

 

"After Earth" is a film starring Will Smith and his son Jaden. It was released in 2013. Directed by M Night Shyamalan, it´s based on an idea by Will Smith and was originally intended to start off an entire franchise. Since "After Earth" tanked at the box office, most of the intended cottage industry was scrapped. Perhaps just as well, since the film has been accused of having a hidden Scientology message. Which it might indeed have. Will Smith has connections to the controversial New Religious Movement, often accused by critics and defectors alike of being a dangerous mind-control cult. However, he denies being an outright member of the "Church" of Scientology.

The plot of "After Earth" is set in the far future. Earth, devastated by an ecological crisis, has been abandoned by humanity. Unfortunately, the new human home world, Nova Prime, is claimed by a race of evil aliens who use monsters called "Ursas" to hunt down and kill humans. (The aliens themselves are never actually seen in the film.) When a routine space flight goes wrong, General Cypher Raige and his son Kitai crash on the abandoned Earth. A captured Ursa kept at the space ship gets away and the hunt is on! Earth also turns out to be teeming with human-hating animals of various kinds (the entire planet seems to have recovered from the eco-disaster and reverted to an earlier stage of biological evolution).

One of the main plot elements is the idea that the Ursas can track humans by sensing their fear. The key to defeating an Ursa is therefore to suppress all fear inside you - a technique the film calls "ghosting". Cypher has mastered this meditation method (as well as a sword that would put any Jedi to shame) and has therefore become the de facto savior-figure of the human race. Kitai must learn the same trick, or perish at the hostile planet that was once humanity´s home...

It could have been an interesting story, but the weird or bad acting combined with an extremely simplistic plot, makes the film boring or even somewhat hard to watch. You expect Will Smith to be funny, and Shyamalan to be mystical, and here, none of them delivers. Even the special effects are bad. The Ursa isn´t particularly scary, except maybe to kids. 

But what about the Scientology? While some critics of the "Church" claim that it´s just as shitty movie, I think there are references to L Ron Hubbard´s peculiar belief system in this production. One example is the curious lack of emotion in Cypher (starred by Will Smith), who comes across as lobotomized or robotic. This is contrasted with the constant emotional outbursts of his son Kitai. Much Scientology training is about suppressing emotion, and Scientology parents are supposed to act in a cold manner towards their children. The volcano is a dead give away (look at the cover of "Dianetics" sometimes), and so is the Ranger Corps (probably a hidden reference to Sea Org). Kitai´s fear is caused by a guilt-ridden memory from his childhood, which he has to overcome using various mental techniques. Engrams and auditing? The entire "space opera" angle is also very Hubbardian. It´s a well known fact that Hubbard was a succesful science fiction writer. Some critics claim that the peculiar space crafts in the film are similar to those mentioned in the (secret but leaked) Xenu material.

I was also struck by the strong anti-ecology angle of the film. While Earth is said to have been abandoned due to an ecological crisis, it´s obvious that the flick is really pro-high tech. Nature constantly tries to kill Kitai (the eagle that eventually saves him is anomalous), while salvation is always some form of technological gadgetry. This opposition between Nature and man makes "After Earth" very different from standard pop culture (compare "Avatar"). I assume this is also in keeping with a Scientology message. 

Overall, however, "After Earth" is mostly just a failed cinema production...

[Revised 2021-11-14]  

Can you live without a master?

“The Master” is a film about a war vet and drifter who gets entangled in a mysterious cult. The cult leader, The Master of the film's title, is freely based on L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the so-called Church of Scientology. Some of the teachings and practices featured are indeed Scientological, while others are more based on hippie era libertinism. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh? Franklin Jones? “The Master” is a slightly incomprehensible, “artistic” kind of production.

The cult is almost never depicted as dangerous, only as slightly weird and intractable. It's not even clear whether the drifter (who manages to break away from the cult at the end) is the guy-who-is-right. It's almost implied that the cultists may be privy to some important insights about human nature…

“The Master” is extremely dragging, and could be seen as frankly boring. It was critically acclaimed mostly due to the acting performances by Joaquín Phoenix and others. I suppose it could be of some passing interest to cult-watchers and Scientology-watchers, though. Three stars.

A naive liberal

A review of "De Fördömda Scientologerna" 

Svante Nycander is a liberal (in the European sense) and a former editor of Dagens Nyheter, one of Sweden's largest daily papers. This peculiar and slightly bizarre book was penned by Nycander in 1977. It's a defense, or perhaps semi-defense, of the “Church” of Scientology, L Ron Hubbard's pseudo-religion. While Nycander isn't entirely uncritical of Hubbard, and even includes some pretty damning information about the man's antics, he somehow naïvely believes that one can discuss with Scientologists on some kind of rational level, as if we were dealing with a misguided organization, rather than a sinister brain-washing cult (which Scientology is according to virtually all defectors). Nycander even expresses support for Narconon, a Scientology front which attempts to cure substance abusers of their addictions using pretty unorthodox methods. Somehow, I doubt that the old lib feels very good about this book today! Only two stars.

Gnosticism on speed

L. Ron Hubbard's "Scientology: A history of man" is just as rambling, incoherent and frankly bizarre as promised. Promised, that is, by the opponents of Scientology, the controversial new religion founded by Hubbard and often regarded as a cult. Scientologists themselves actually believe in this stuff, claimed by the author to be "a cold-blooded and factual account of your last 76 trillion years". Weirdly, this screed is publicly available, in contrast to the notorious material on Xenu, which is kept under wraps despite sounding much more logical! But then, perhaps it's pointless to understand the genial mind of Lafayette Ron Hubbard?

"Scientology: A history of man" isn't really directed at the general public, which makes it even harder to understand why the author decided to have it published and publicly circulated. Rather, it's a book directed at Scientology "auditors", who supposedly have the ability to "clear" people of their "engrams" with the help of an "E-meter". The in-house character of the book makes it difficult to read, due to the large number of neologisms (not always explained in the glossary) and Hubbard's rambling, occasionally frivolous, style.

My impression is that those subjected to the "E-meter" are somehow hypnotized, and start to relive their previous lives, including lives on other planets. In "Dianetics", Hubbard sounds sceptical to people who get out-of-body experiences or see previous lives while being "audited", but he clearly changed his mind later on. Indeed, in this book he says that the "engrams" are more easily destroyed if they are sought out in previous existences, rather than in this life. Essentially, Hubbard discovered (or re-discovered?) past-life regression therapy. It's a pity he didn't use it for more benign ends...

Since Hubbard's book is so "out there", reviewing it aint easy, but I'm going to give it my best shot. Scholars of religion consider Scientology to be a modern version of Gnosticism, which seems about right, at least with the added proviso that we're dealing with a badly distorted version.

There's a dualism between spirit and matter in Hubbard's system, with spirit being good and matter being (mostly) bad. There doesn't seem to be any personal god. The physical or material universe is called MEST. Human souls are called "thetans" or "theta beings". Their ultimate origin is not spelled out in this particular book, but they seem to have a past in distant star systems. About 30,000 years ago, the thetans incarnated in primitive human beings on our planet, turning them into...us. The primitive humans taken over by the thetans are products of a protracted evolution, which seems panpsychist in character. This evolutionary process has given rise to something Hubbard calls the GE or Genetic Entity. This seems to be a kind of subconscious mind, which reincarnates in rough evolutionary sequence: from micro-organisms to plants to invertebrates to mammals, ending with cavemen. Each human is therefore a composite being, consisting of both thetan and GE, with the thetan being the "real I".

Unfortunately, both the GE and the thetan have been badly battered during their respective sojourns in MEST. Many human fears and ailments are the result of the GE having various negative experiences when being a Clam, a Sloth, Piltdown Man or Caveman (to mention just a few of its incarnations). This part of Hubbard's book makes for some really entertaining reading! Only space limitations and Scientology copyright stops me from quoting Hubbard's statements about the Sloth, Piltdown Man or the Grim Weeper (a.k.a. Boohoo). The thetan is also something of a crippled veteran. It seems that thetans and MEST beings (i.e. thetans trapped in physical bodies) wage constant wars against each other. Thetans also fight other thetans. One of the purposes of Scientology is to rid humans of the negative psychological imprints haunting the thetans and the GE. This is done by the previously mentioned "auditing" procedure.

It's unclear whether the thetans incarnated on our planet voluntarily, or whether they were forced. Several chapters of the book imply the latter alternative. Indeed, the worldview of Hubbard occasionally sounds quite paranoid. Evil beings of unknown provenance are trapping thetans, injecting them with artificial implants ("Injected Entities" or "demon circuits") with a quasi-consciousness all their own. Hubbard claims that all humans have been processed in this manner. The whole thing sounds like a high-tech version of demon possession. There are entire civilizations whose rulers control thetans with powerful electromagnetic weapons, turning them into mindless slaves. Thetans constantly try to steal memories ("facsimiles") from each other. Evil physical beings trap them by throwing them small boxes containing pictures of small boxes (you heard me). Thetans like having sex by possessing humans in the dead of night, etc. The entire MEST seems filled with "trapping stations" to lure thetans into the material world. New Age fluffiness obviously wasn't Hubbard's thing: thetans who believe they have a purpose for being on Earth, are simply tricked and deluded by evil beings. It also seems that thetans can "die", not literally, but they can be rendered more or less unconscious and hence start to decay.

Occasionally, the author gets rather nasty. Thus, Hubbard claims that Scientologists can intentionally harm people by asking them the following question: "Can you imagine a clam sitting on the beach, opening and closing its shell very rapidly?" while making a motion with the thumb and forefinger of a rapid opening and closing. This re-stimulates the GE's memory of being the Clam, giving the victim a severe toothache, and perhaps even forces them to pull out some teeth. Hubbard recommends that this method (really a form of black magic) be used on sceptics who question the veracity of Scientology! At another point, Hubbard claims that "auditing" might occasionally be so powerful that the person audited will die?!

Still, it's difficult to take "A history of man" seriously, due to its many bizarre statements about...well, pretty much everything. I suppose the later legend about Xenu is supposed to be a more worked-out version of themes only hinted at in the earlier books. Hubbard, after all, claimed to be a kind of scientific explorer. He didn't present the message of Scientology all at once, as special revelation. Rather, he seems to have developed it over a longer period, during which he came progressively closer to the truth. Or so he claimed.

I don't believe a word of it, but had I done so, I would have been tempted to explain Hubbard's explorations as astral travel in some really low, demon-haunted realm. He, rather than the "thetans", is the real victim of trickery carried out by evil beings. Or at least highly aberrated ones.

This is indeed modern Gnosticism. Or perhaps Gnosticism on speed...

Road to nowhere?

"Religulous" is Bill Maher's attack on all things religious. Pretty much everyone is whipped in this mockumentary: Christians, Muslims (including gay Muslims!), Jews, Mormons, Scientologists, and some kind of Marihuana Church (based in Amsterdam - where else?). There is even an interview with a Puerto Rican preacher who claims to be the Second Coming. Clearly, it's Bill Maher contra mundum!

The concept is the usual one: interview real or perceived kooks, claim that they are representative of "religion" in general, and contrast it with the rational attitude of the narrator. Maher knows his Bible contradictions, non-Biblical Church traditions and Quranic suras by heart, usually stumping his interviewees. Which, of course, is the point of the exercise. His own attitude is agnostic rather than cock-assuredly atheist, but I think it's obvious that he rides on the coattails of the New Atheism. This is Maher's version of Richard Dawkins' "The Root of all Evil".

I don't deny that many religious believers really are quite mad, and it probably won't get better in the future. Unfortunately, militantly secular faiths aren't necessarily an improvement, and neither is nihilism. Maher's agnosticism might be a good antidote to fundamentalism or cultism, but then what? What is his alternative? "I don't know"? I'm sorry, but that just won't wash! Besides, he seems to know quite a lot if you pay attention: rape is wrong, evolution is true, miracles don't happen, Western democracy is better than Islam, etc. etc. How can objective values exist in a universe without a higher spiritual principle? "I don't know", presumably...

However, my main objection to "Religulous" isn't really this. I didn't expect Maher to be fair, objective and philosophical, LOL. I just don't think "Religulous" is good enough as a film. It's too long, too centred on Maher himself, and often frankly boring. If you are a militant atheist or pesky little agnostic, I think you'll appreciate "The Root of all Evil" more. Dawkins is a better narrator, gets to the point much faster than Maher, and interviews more scary (and, in a sense, more interesting) kooks.

But sure, this is a subjective impression from my part. Maybe I'm just too old for this kind of humour, or haven't smoked a sufficiently large amount of joints. Or maybe I secretly believe that Jonah really was swallowed by a whale, sorry, big fish? ;-)

Only two-and-a-half-stars for "Religulous". Ultimately, it feels like a road to nowhere...

The evil cult of Scientology

"Scientology: The Ex-Files" is a short Australian documentary from 2010 about the so-called Church of Scientology. The group, which spouts celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta on its roster, is often accused of being a cult.

Judging by this program, the accusation is well founded! I admit I wasn't surprised. The breaking up of families, recruitment of teenagers, long working hours, forced abortions and bizarre forms of punishment form the grim reality behind the smiling façade. There is even a kind of internal prison system, known as the RPF or the Rehabilitation Project Force.

"Scientology: The Ex-Files" features interviews with defectors from Sea Org, the elite corps of Scientology. There is also a suitably embarrassing interview with Tommy Davis, a well-known media spokesperson for the "Church". About a year ago, Davis disappeared under mysterious circumstances... Perhaps he ended up in the RPF?

There is very little about the message of Scientology in this documentary, neither the public message nor the real message (Xenu and the volcanoes, etc.) Nor does it say much about Hubbard, the founder of this particular pseudo-religion. If you don't know anything about the Scientologists, you might get somewhat confused. It's essentially a documentary focusing on the personal stories of a few victims of the cult.

However, since I don't like the "Church" of Scientology, I'm going to award "The Ex-Files" four stars anyway...

Leverage

"Battlefield Earth" is a corny science fiction film starring John Travolta as we never seen him before. Don't expect any dancing or hits by the Bee Gees in this production! Instead, we are transported to a dystopian future in which Earth has been conquered by an alien breed of monstrous sociopaths with a terrible sense of humour, and a language that makes Klingon sound like Classical Greek.

The completely illogical plot is based on a novel by L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. I never read the novel, but the movie version contains no overt or covert references to Hubbard's controversial philosophy. I found this somewhat surprising, since Travolta (a Scientologist of long standing) bankrolled the entire project. But perhaps it was just as good, since "Battlefield Earth" quickly got the reputation for being *the* worst movie ever made. I suppose Scientology has enough bad media exposure already, LOL.

But is "Battlefield Earth" really the absolutely worst film ever? I beg to disagree with that assessment. Sure, it's definitely not a *good* movie. Bad acting, bizarre costumes and a lousy dialogue are some of the ingredients. However, if you take it with a large grain of salt and consider it a comedy, it's perfectly possible to survive. You might even find it entertaining. Personally, my interest started to wane after about 90 minutes (the run time is almost two hours), but I suppose a beer or a very strong coffee might take care of that little problem...

Since "Battlefield" wasn't exactly a box-office success, Travolta couldn't make a sequel, so those of us who don't wish to read the original novel are left in the dark about the ultimate fate of the main protagonists. However, I think the battle had a suitable ending, so I'm not entirely dissatisfied. I mean, the good guys really did win! Given Hubbard's slightly paranoid worldview, I expected much worse...

In the end, I give "Battlefield Earth" two stars, but perhaps three-and-a-half for the involuntary entertainment value. Trust me, this will become a classic!

Tomcats in space

A review of "TomKat Divorce: Scientology to Blame?"

This is a strange "on demand" product, which includes a 6-minute long ABC news item dealing with the divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. The broadcast is also available on Youtube, however, and most of it is a summary of various other Scientology conundrums.

I'm not sure who would want to buy this, on demand or not? But sure, if you have a very weird interest in Scientology-related paraphernalia, this might be another addition to your collection, although I suspect an actual copy of the "Fishman Papers" might be more impressive!

When Martin met...the Scientologists

"Inside Scientology" is an ABC Nightline report on Scientology, presented by well-known reporter Martin Bashir. The Church of Scientology, a controversial new religious movement often regarded by critics as a cult, has recruited an impressive amount of celebrities to its ranks. Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the most notable. Bashir's report focus on the celebrity factor, especially Cruise's relationship with current Scientology leader David Miscavige. The broadcast also contains Bashir's classical interview (or non-interview) with Scientology spokesperson Tommy Davis, during which Davis stages a walk out when confronted by pointed questions about "Xenu and the volcanoes". Not the most interesting anti-Scientology report, perhaps, but still worth watching if you want to be up-to-date on the scandals surrounding this particular group.

Hail Xenu Imperator!

A review of a South Park button showing a portrait of "Xenu".

This is a button showing the portrait of Emperor Xenu from the classical episode of "South Park" mocking the beliefs of Scientology. While the actual Xenu might not have looked like he does in the animated series (which is entertainment, after all!), defectors from Scientology confirmed long ago that the inner circle of this new religious movement really *do* believe in Xenu, his Galactic Empire, the volcanoes, etc.

Personally, I think some of the *public* books by Scientology founder Hubbard are even crazier than the Xenu story. Why did the man classify the Galactic Empire stuff while publishing a bizarre book like "Scientology: A History of Man"? We will probably never know. But then, Hubbard lived long before "South Park" and the World Wide Web. Those were simpler times, I suppose. Feels like 13 trillion years ago...

Have you ever enslaved a population?

"The Road to Xenu" is a kind of novel exposing the machinations of Scientology, a new religious movement often accused of being a dangerous cult. The author, Margery Wakefield, was a committed Scientologist for 12 years. She recently obtained her own channel on Youtube, with a lot of interesting information. I believe she is currently a Christian. "The Road to Xenu" is also available free of charge on the web. The book isn't Wakefield's real autobiography, but a fictionalized account based on the experiences of both herself and others. Her real biography is called "Testimony", available on the web.

Although Xenu has almost become a culture icon these days, most of the book deals with other things: the brain-washing techniques, bizarre drills, the mistreatment of children, recruitment of teenagers (who sometimes get responsible posts in the repressive apparatus of the cult), the near-incomprehensible ideas of Scientology founder Hubbard, etc.

Scientology hooks people by promising to cure them from their real or imagined ailments, but the reality behind the façade is grim. The cult even has its own prisons, uses its members as cheap labour, and cons them out of their money and savings. In return, people are promised a "bridge to total freedom", which turns out to be a never-ending round of bizarre "auditings", during which members relive their past lives, sometimes on other planets, with the help of a machine known as the E-meter (really a kind of lie detector). Everyone who fails, snaps or questions the procedures can be punished or expelled. Defectors are systematically harassed, and Wakefield even claims that the Scientologists seriously considered assassinating two particularly dangerous adversaries, Paulette Cooper and Michael Meisner.

Both the imaginary hero of "The Road to Xenu" and the real Margery Wakefield of "Testimony" get into trouble because they simply can't believe the rubbish about Xenu, the Galactic Federation and the volcanoes. Since this esoteric doctrine is only communicated at a high level of the cult, those who learn it may have waited for years and spent considerable sums of money in the process. Small wonder people feel conned (and perhaps snap) if they can't make themselves believe it!

One thing that struck me when reading the novel, is that Scientologists do have some kind of "spiritual" experiences. The most obvious is seeing your past lives during "auditing". Others are harder to pin down: a sense of floating, the healing of psychosomatic ills, flashes of sudden insight. Wakefield had several experiences of seeing the world in more vivid colours, similar to what happened when she experimented with drugs. It's also possible that some people on the higher levels learn astral travel - after all, more legitimate spiritual groups can teach you similar things. These results (or "results") might be one reason why Scientology can keep its members, but mostly it seems to be the repression and brain-washing that does the trick. Wakefield points out that many of the techniques used to "audit" others, work just as well to discipline and manipulate the person carrying them out. At least during the 1970's, when the story is set, many new recruits were very young, some being children to Scientology couples. This could also explain part of the success of this bizarre "religion". Of course, the idealism and unfortunate gullibility of the period might have done its work, too.

"The Road to Xenu" is both well-written and interesting, and almost make you feel the weird and claustrophobic atmosphere of this particular organization. I hope it can save at least some people from being enslaved by Scientology.

The Wall of Fire

"Understanding Scientology" is a book by Margery Wakefield, who spent 12 years of her life as a member of the Church of Scientology, a new religious movement often (and apparently rightly) accused of being a cult. Wakefield's most well-known book, "The Road to Xenu" is a partly fictionalized account of her experiences as a Scientologist. "Understanding Scientology" is more general. Both books are available free on the web. The author also has her own Youtube channel.

Unsurprisingly, Scientology shares many traits with other cults: devious recruitment techniques, false promises of perfection and enlightenment, members working long hours for little pay, an authoritarian internal regime, harassment of defectors, etc. What set Scientology apart might be the sheer lengths to which founder-leader Hubbard and his cronies were willing to go. Life in the Church of Scientology reminds me of life in a bizarre, Orwellian-Stalinist police state. The group has its own secret service, which systematically gathers information on each member, to be used against him if he ever becomes critical or defects. The harassment of ex-members and vocal outside critics is also very thorough-going. The author claims that Scientologists have burglarized government offices, abducted people, broken into flats to leave threatening "messages", attempted to frame critics for bomb threats, and even discussed assassinations! The whole thing smells of the mafia or the secret police in some banana republic. Indeed, the Church of Scientology even has its own "prisons", known as RPF.

The various "courses" taken by members to become "clear" are really forms of brain-washing, which train the unsuspecting recruits to follow (or give) orders without thinking, and to numb their feelings. The higher courses, known as OT levels, are secret to anyone below the appropriate "level". All true Scientologists aspire to become qualified for the OT levels, which might take years (and a considerable amount of money). I think it took Wakefield twelve years to reach OT III, the most famous OT level, also known as the Wall of Fire. On this level, the members finally learn the "secrets of the universe", which turn out to be (among other things) the absurd story about Xenu and the Galactic Federation immortalized by "South Park".

Several chapters of "Understanding Scientology" expose Lafayette Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology and its precursor Dianetics. The author summarizes the conclusions of two critical biographies of Hubbard, Bent Corydon's "L Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?" and Russell Miller's "Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L Ron Hubbard". Scientologists portray Hubbard as a genius with a heroic background in both science and the military, and internally, Scientologists actually believe he was a reincarnation of the Buddha. Corydon's and Miller's research suggest that Hubbard, rather, was a habitual liar suffering from near-clinical paranoia and delusions of grandeur. He used a wide variety of drugs and was originally a Satanist. Apparently, he knew Aleister Crowley personally! Most of Hubbard's early supporters (some of them wealthy) were scared off by his antics, but he soon managed to form a disciplined and loyal organization almost single-handedly. That organization, of course, was the Church of Scientology.

"Understanding Scientology" seems to have been published on the web at some point during the 1990's. The web edition contains essays by Bob Penny and Robert Kaufman in addition to the main text by Wakefield. Penny's and Kaufman's articles are not included in this book edition, which is dated 2010. However, there doesn't seem to be any updates on the recent scandals surrounding Scientology, including the recruitment of Tom Cruise.

That being said, I still believe this is an important book, and therefore give it five stars. Hopefully, it can persuade at least some people not to try Scientology.

An obvious front for Scientology

About 15 years ago, I made a private survey of various anti-drug organizations active in Sweden. Most were (of course) relatively normal, but one group stood out: Narconon, which turned out to be a project supported by the Church of Scientology. Narconon's treatment facility had some kind of quasi-official endorsement by the Swedish authorities. Another Scientology-sponsored group attempting to ingratiate itself with social justice activists was the CCHR or Citizens Commission on Human Rights. Since the Scientologists are often regarded as a dangerous cult, this sure raises some eyebrows. So does the number of well-known Swedes taken in by Narconon, including Bengt Feldreich and Svante Nycander, who defended Narconon in one of his books.

The book "The Humanitarian: Rehabilitating a Drugged Society" is a book promoting both Narconon and Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard. Don't ask me where I purchased my copy - I honestly don't remember! A flee market? Although the book doesn't explicitly connect Narconon and Scientology, the complete concentration on Hubbard and his supposed scientific discoveries makes it pretty obvious anyway. So does the photo of Kirstie Alley and the quote from John Travolta, two celeb Scientologists of long standing. Apparently, Alley is the international spokesperson for Narconon.

The medical profession considers Narconon's treatment program sheer pseudo-science, but this didn't deter Hubbard from making some pretty far-reaching claims. For instance, he claims to have discovered that niacin can cure radiation sickness caused by radioactivity! Really? I think it's obvious that the real purpose of Narconon is to recruit new members or at least fellow travellers to Scientology. Since almost everyone is (or used to be) against drugs, attacking drugs and the drug trade is a safe way of making people pay attention.

Personally, I just found "The Humanitarian" to be weird and, indeed, cultic. Only one star for this publication!

The book that made Xenu freak out

"The Scandal of Scientology", published in 1971, was one of the earliest books accusing the Church of Scientology of being a dangerous, bizarre cult. The author, Paulette Cooper, was harassed by the Scientologists for years afterwards. According to documents obtained by the FBI, the harassment campaign even had a name: Operation Freakout. In the event, the only people who seem to have "freaked out" were the Scientologists themselves!

So what was it that made the book so controversial? Since "The Scandal of Scientology" is available free of charge on the web, everyone can read it and judge for themselves. Today, over 40 years later, the book feels pretty old hat. At the time of its publication, I suppose reactions were very different.

While Cooper is unaware of Xenu and the volcanoes, she does expose the weird antics of the lower levels of Scientology, including the auditing and the "training routines" (TRs). More damning, Cooper charges that sensitive private information obtained during the auditing have been used at a later time to blackmail members or discredit defectors. Hubbard's brutal treatment of his staff, his support for the racist regimes in South Africa and Rhodesia, and the group's devious recruitment tactics are all detailed, as are Scientology's problems with the authorities in various countries around the world. Ironically, the apartheid regime of South Africa suspected Hubbard of being a Communist agent plotting to overthrow it! The high fees and harassment of defectors is also mentioned. Cooper herself took several TRs as she was investigating the group, and her experiences are included.

However, there are also some problems with the book. Cooper plays heavily on the readers' puritanical streaks, accusing the Scientologists of being sexual libertines, sadomasochists and even paedophiles. Somewhat hypocritically (but very typically), this appeal to puritanical morality is accompanied by a detailed information on the sex scandals in question! In a particularly comic passage, the author complains: "As for the sexual questions, while the following list of activities at first glance would seem to cover the entire gamut of `sins', conspicuous in their absence are any questions about oral-genital or sadomasochistic activities -- and -- in an organization consisting of a large number of young single people - fornication." Please note that Cooper seems to place oral sex and "fornication" (between college students?) on the same level as sadomasochism! Note also that she *accuses* the Scientologists of practicing or condoning oral sex?! Must be one of their lesser crimes...

That being said, "The Scandal of Scientology" is nevertheless interesting, especially due to its status as an early (pre-Xenu, pre-Tom Cruise) investigation into the maze known as Scientology...

He used renegades

A review of "The Devil Wears Prada", a rock album featuring Lord Xenu...

If this is Lord Xenu, I understand why the Loyal Officers overthrew him and imprisoned him in an electronic prison at Madeira. In fact, they should have sent him to a far worse place. Say, Clearwater, Florida?

Everyone who can listen to The Devil Wears Prada must be a highly aberrated thetan, bordering on suppressive person. Perhaps 100 extra hours of auditing can help? Maybe. And then, maybe not.

I mean, the Grim Weeper was never cured, was he?

The road to Xenu

Credit: Adam Cuerden

"Bare Faced Messiah" is the definitive biography of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. The author, British journalist Russell Miller, takes a critical approach to his subject. The sources are varied: Hubbard's personal papers (a defector from Scientology gave Miller access to those), interviews with people who knew Hubbard personally, previously classified FBI files, etc.

Miller's portrait of the man Scientologists regard as the saviour of mankind is far from flattering. "Bare Faced Messiah" paints the picture of a habitual liar, embezzler, manic-depressive and paranoiac with serious delusions of grandeur. Apparently, Hubbard was also a bigamist, had several mistresses and had at one point been a Satanist! He used to be the magical partner of John Parsons, a prominent American supporter of the notorious black magician Aleister Crowley. Hubbard later eloped with Parson's mistress...

I admit that I haven't read the entire book, and probably never will. It contains an overwhelming amount of information on Hubbard, whose biography turns out to be very different from the official Scientology version. For instance, Hubbard's main activity during World War II (apart from a number of desk jobs and training courses) was commanding a war vessel which by mistake created an incident on Mexican territorial waters, after first having chased imaginary Japanese submarines off the coast of Oregon (the subs were probably magnetic deposits giving readings on the sonar). After various conflicts with his superior officers, Hubbard was relieved of command duty. Hubbard himself claimed a more central and heroic role for himself, including secret missions in Indonesia right under the nose of the Japanese. The Scientologists claim that Hubbard received 21 medals, but Miller only found evidence of four, all being routine medals awarded everyone who served during the world war. Hubbard's official biography also claims that Hubbard served in the Philippines and was taken home on a special presidential plane after being wounded in combat. According to Miller, he never reached the Philippines but was stranded in Australia and then sent home after a brawl with other officers.

Things didn't go well after the war, either. Hubbard habitually denounced everyone who left his movement to the FBI, accusing the defectors of Communism, but the Bureau didn't take him seriously. In fact, it's explicitly noted in Hubbard's FBI file that he was "a mental case"! At one point, he sent a letter to President Kennedy, offering to train the American astronauts. The President never responded. At another point, Hubbard entered Rhodesia in the belief that he could solve the political crisis between Britain and the Ian Smith regime. He wrote and published a draft proposal for a new Rhodesian constitution and made several unsuccessful attempts to get an audience with Smith himself. Eventually he was politely told to leave the country... This kind of megalomaniacal behaviour does ring a bell: leaders of small and deviant groups often claim contacts with important world leaders and occasionally even manage to get audiences with a handful. Usually, they just make everything up.

One fascinating piece of information in Miller's book suggests that Hubbard developed what later became Dianetics after a near-death experience, during which information about the riddles of the universe was transmitted to his soul, which had left the physical body behind. The first fruit of this supernatural experience was a manuscript on the human mind titled "Excalibur", which is long lost. Years later, Hubbard would write "Dianetics", but no longer claim spiritual inspiration. Rather, he said, Dianetics was based on original scientific research.

It's also interesting to note the connection between science fiction and Scientology. Hubbard was a science fiction writer, the first article on Dianetics appeared in the magazine "Astounding Science Fiction", and the magazine editor John W. Campbell was one of the earliest supporters of Dianetics (he fell out with the cantankerous Hubbard at a later point). Scientology contains many science fiction elements, as well. Thus, Hubbard would awe his loyal followers by bizarre tales about his previous lives on other planets, including his career as a race driver in the "Marcabian" civilization. The classified material on Xenu also belongs in this category. I found the Scientology-scyfy connection intriguing, since there is a similar connection between Neo-Theosophy, science fiction and UFO contactees. And no, it's not simply a matter of fiction influencing new religious groups - the influences seem to be criss-crossing and mutual.

It can't be ruled out that Hubbard had genuine spiritual experiences of some kind, but interpreted them through the lens of his own self-importance, and decided to put them to destructive uses. That seems to be a pretty common occurrence. Hubbard's affiliation with the Crowleyan OTO suggests a genuine spiritual interest, albeit of a dark and "Satanic" kind.

When Miller published his exposure of Hubbard, the Scientologists (as usual) went mustang and attempted to stop the book from being distributed, pointing out that it was to a large extent based on copyrighted private material. In the United States, the court ruled in favour of the Scientologists, but in Canada and the UK, on the other hand, the courts ruled in favour of the publishers. Miller has accused the Church of Scientology of various forms of harassment on top of the legal wrangling. It should perhaps be noted that "Bare Faced Messiah" is also available free on the web, where it seems impossible to stop...