Scientology: Here to Help, or a Cult?

I came across a group of people near the Portland Scientology church this morning. They gave me some pamphlets to look at.

Now, as everyone knows, The Church of Scientology- founded by Lafayette Ron Hubbard in 1952- is the controversial faith that has major film stars- such as Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley, and Issac Hayes, among others. Scientology believes that man is immortal, and says that it's the study and
handling of the spirit in relation to self and others. They claim that one doesn't need drugs- legal or otherwise- to cure whatever ails people.

Here is the recent informercial from the Scientology group: (I think...)

Aletuk/YouTube

But BBC reporter John Sweeney reveals a different story.
On the program Panaroma- kind of a British 60 Minutes- did an expose on the faith.
All clips courtesy of theholefiller/YouTube:



In the first clip, John Travolta mentioned that had Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe been in Scientology, they'd still been in alive.

My question, if Scientology is supposed to help folks, how come- not unlike the Jehovah's Witnesses, an equally controversial faith- families get broken up due to conversion to this faith?



In this second clip you just saw, they mentioned Fair Game, a Scientology move to "deprived of property, or injured by any means by any Scientologist...may be tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed..." (http://xenu.net/archive/disk/fairgame.htm ).


This Tommy Davis seems to be quite paranoid. He keeps following Mr. Sweeney around just to make sure the truth doesn't come out.

Now, if I'm correct, didn't Sweeney try to come to an agreement with Scientology officials. But apparently, one mention of the word 'cult', they shut down.



Tommy Davis seems have this ingrown hair up his ass. John Sweeney wants answer- fair and balanced, no doubt. But Davis just wants Sweeney to shut the fuck up.

In this fourth clip, the folks that claim to help people seems to want to intimidate the critics.

For folks who claim to be 'clear', they seem to be more paranoid than one can claim.

To John Sweeney of the BBC, I salute you. If you felt that you let your news team down, don't feel that way. You gave the Scientologists every benefit of the doubt. You did everything you could to get all sides, and the truth.

To the Scientologists, if you are who you say you are- people who want to help others to become 'clear', and that you care, that's fine. But the footage I've watched brings serious doubts about your intentions. Sure, you have a right to answer your critics. But intimidation and stalking, in my opinion, are not the ways to answer those who disagree with you.

And you, Tommy Davis, you are one big pussy! Mr. Sweeney wasn't calling the Church of Scientology a 'cult', per se. He was just saying that "many people call it a cult." And to make myself clear, Tommy, I'm not specificially calling it a 'cult'. You twist the words around to your little narrow minded thinking. If you want people to believe that you're a bonafide religion, you've got to do a much better job, stop intimidating people and following them around. That to me- the stalking, and the threats- shows signs of severe paranoia.

And I thought the Church of Scientology didn't believe in paranoia. So much for being in the state of 'clear'. If that's the state of 'clear' in Scientology- your outbursts and stalking- I'd hate to see the state of paranoia.

(C)2008 by Darren W. Alexander/The DWA Organisation Ink. All Rights Reserved.