Ratings16
Average rating4.2
This was a very interesting read behind the history and potential future of the Church Of Scientology.
It showed that from the very beginning of the Dianetics/Church of Scientology there was a requirement to control the members and to ensure that they stayed onside with whatever the thinking was at that time. It also showed that L Ron Hubbard was egotistical and that he appropriated a lot of information from other areas and put forward as his own - of course, this is often what other religions do as well - after all Christmas Day was a pagan festival before a Christian one.
It was also interesting to read how David Miscavige took control and the insinuation that this is not what LRH actually wanted.
What came across is that the auditing that Scientologists go through can be physically tiring and that in some cases, there was also apparent physical abuse as well (the Lisa McPherson case being one significant case) but it appears to some people to work for them but some would argue that also happens in other sleep deprivation/abuse scenarios.
Overall, I think that this was a balanced book which allows the reader to make their own decisions based on documented information (there are lots of cross references to source material). Of course, some of this source material may be biased in itself to begin with but to allow a in depth “introduction” to the background and power of the Church of Scientology, I would strongly recommend this book.
Wow, what a thoroughly engaging book. I went from not surprised (who out there hasn't heard that L. Ron Hubbard had crazy ideas?) to shocked (the abuse!) to completely creeped out (the IRS stuff, Lisa McPherson, harassing critics).
This book, which began as an article for Rolling Stone Magazine, is the result of a 5-year, in-depth investigation into Scientology. It's full of interviews from current and former members, information pulled from police reports, court filings, news articles, and documents released by the Church of Scientology itself.
It's a meticulously researched book, filled with information that is generally unavailable to the casual reader, and is easy to read. It details both the ups (tax exemption by the IRS) and the downs (the high-profile death of a member and the subsequent coverup and lawsuit) of the movement's history. Reitman comes across as a credible journalist, never sensationalizing what is an easily sensationalized topic, and for that reason alone it's worth the read.
Once I started reading I couldn't turn away. The story of Scientology has it all–good and evil, drugs and violence and a cast of characters and organizations that put any dystopian fiction to shame. If it wasn't so awful that real people get wrapped up in this, it'd make a great movie or tv series.
Scientology's “auditing” process is flat out scary. It makes such a strong appeal to the libido dominandi, the lust for power, that people seem willing to overlook all other aspects of the doctrines and history of the religion. You are promised that if you learn, and of course pay for, enough tech you will eventually become a powerful enough Thetan to do anything. Levitate stuff, control people, whatever.
Fine. We all know that no amount of auditing is going to get you lifting plates out of the dishwasher without getting off the couch, but apparently (and most dangerously) auditing has enough of a kernel of truth to it to convince people to keep going with it.
Eventually you become so enmeshed that it is difficult to leave the ‘church' without losing friends, the significant financial investment you've made and all ties a culture that has changed almost every aspect of your lifestyle, your vocabulary not being the least of it.
I doubt that Scientology is a net loss for everyone that gets involved, but it seems a lot like cocaine. There are apparently a few people that use it and never get addicted, they just enjoy the highs, but it's not something you'd ever give your kids to see if they're one of those people.