Scientology - weird cult

[Super Nova]

Rupert Murdoch has described Scientology, the religion followed by Tom Cruise, as a "weird cult".

Good on him. This is a very strange cult and Tom Cruise apparently is very high in this order.

Is it a religion? This is what they say........

Developed by L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology is a religion that offers a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of one’s true spiritual nature and one’s relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being.

The strory on Ruperts comments below.

Scientology is a creepy and weird cult, says Murdoch on Twitter

Actor Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pose for their official wedding portrait in Lake Bracciano, Italy on 18 November 2006 Photo: REUTERS

By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor

The media mogul made the accusations in a series of tweets prompted by news of Cruise’s impending divorce battle with Katie Holmes. “Scientology back in news. Very weird cult, but big, big money involved with Tom Cruise either number two or three in hiearchy [sic],” he told his 263,000 Twitter followers.

“Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.” Mr Murdoch’s News Corporation empire includes a Hollywood film studio, 20th Century Fox, which has distributed several of Cruise’s films.

Appearing to anticipate a robust response to his claims from the Church of Scientology, Mr Murdoch continued: “Since Scientology tweet hundreds of attacks. Expect they will increase and get worse and maybe threatening. Still stick to my story.”

Asked by one user of the social network if he was a Christian, Mr Murdoch replied: “I try to be.” Invited to comment on Mormonism, he said: “Mormonism a mystery to me, but Mormons certainly not evil”.

Cruise is the highest-profile follower of Scientology, the controversial religion founded by the late sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard in the 1950s.

David Miscavige, leader of the church, was best man at the actor’s wedding to Holmes. Followers are “audited” using a device called an e-meter, which the church claims can measure a person’s state of mind. Holmes filed for divorce last week after five years of marriage.

According to reports in the US, she is asking for sole custody of the couple’s six-year-old daughter, Suri, because it is thought she does not want the child to be raised as a Scientologist.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebri ... itter.html

[mantra]

To outsiders it does appear to be a cult. Cruise is high up in the order of importance in the "church", but this David Miscavige, the leader is allegedly very physically violent. There is something seriously wrong with people belonging to an organisation where they allow themselves to be brainwashed, bullied and beaten - even those who are wealthy and famous.

Muslims use a biswak to control people - Scientologists use a baton.

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: A former captain of the St George rugby league team has spoken out about his time working with the worldwide head of the Church of Scientology.

Chris Guider walked away from a promising football career at the age of 24 to work full-time with the church.

Now in an exclusive interview with Lateline, Chris Guider describes Scientology's leader David Miscavige as a violent and toxic individual.

STEVE CANNANE, REPORTER: At the age of 24, Chris Guider was at the top of his game. He was the captain of St George and held a unique record.

ROY MASTERS, FORMER ST GEORGE COACH: Chris Guider had a record that will never be surpassed in rugby league insofar as he played in three grand finals for the one club on the one day: first grade, second grade and under-23s.

STEVE CANNANE: In 1986, he won the Dragons' player of the year award. Then, the player known for his darting runs from dummy half took off and never came back.

ROY MASTERS: At the end of 1986 he announced that he was leaving. We knew he was interested in the Church of Scientology and many of us assumed that that had become his full-time calling.

CHRIS GUIDER, FORMER SCIENTOLOGIST: I was basically told by the head of the organisation that I was attached to at that time that I had to give away the rugby league.

STEVE CANNANE: Walking away from his rugby league career was a big sacrifice.

CHRIS GUIDER: Very difficult. I'd played 17 years, I'd played since I was a little kid and I loved playing for the team that I was playing for.

STEVE CANNANE: Chris Guider started working full-time at the Church of Scientology in Sydney.

Two and half years later, he headed to the US. Within a month, he was working closely with the Church of Scientology's leader David Miscavige in what's been called his honour guard, the RTC.

CHRIS GUIDER: I would go through the day looking for people that weren't following policy properly or weren't in the right space they were supposed to be or the right area they were supposed to be in and then handling those people so they got back to what they was supposed to be doing. And I'd report directly to Miscavige on what I did that day.

STEVE CANNANE: David Miscavige became the leader of the Church of Scientology soon after the death of its founder, L Ron Hubbard, in 1986.

Miscavige was active in recruiting Tom Cruise to Scientology and was best man at his wedding.

But Chris Guider thinks David Miscavige is not the kind of person who should be the head of a religious movement.

CHRIS GUIDER: He's a violent individual. He is. And there are accounts of him being physical with people. I've seen him physically beat one staff member, Mark Fisher, who was formerly an executive in RTC and worked very closely with Miscavige for a lot of years. And I witnessed him beating him.

STEVE CANNANE: David Miscavige was not available to respond to these allegations. He's done only one television interview in his 25 years as head of the church.

DAVID MISCAVIAGE, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY LEADER - From my perspective, the person getting harassed is myself and the church.

STEVE CANNANE: The Church of Scientology in the US turned down Lateline's request for an interview. In an email, a spokeswoman claimed the allegations were a lie and attached two sworn declarations from Scientologists Mark Yager and Mark Ingber, who claimed that David Miscavige did not hit Mark Fisher.

But Mark Fisher told the St Petersburg Times Miscavige did beat him.

MARK FISHER, FORMER SCIENTOLOGIST: He was pulling on my hair and he was punching at me and kicking at me and this went on for two or three minutes. And when he finally stopped and calmed down, I stood up and I reached behind my head and my head was bleeding.

STEVE CANNANE: At least four former Scientologists have claimed publicly that David Miscavige also hit them.

The Church of Scientology in the US said in an email to Lateline a small group of anti-Scientologists were feeding stories to the tabloid press to generate controversy. The church describes them a posse of lunatics led by a media whore.

But Chris Guider says David Miscavige is a violent man. He says at one point he was instructed by the church leader to hit a colleague who was editing a Scientology promotional video.

CHRIS GUIDER: He was standing behind the person who was editing the property and telling him how he was doing this wrong and that wrong and screaming at him.

In the ethics officer role you have this little - basically it's a riding crop, it's just a little baton, and it's just meant to be a symbol of authority that the ethics office has. Well, anyway, Miscavige told me to beat the guy with the stick. I looked at him and I refused to do that. He took that very, very severely on me because I didn't just do what he wanted me to do.


http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/ ... 323979.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[freediver]

We have emeters at work. No-one seems to get it when I make scientology references about them.

Good on Murdoch. Scientology is an enemy of free speech.

[Super Nova]

Good on Murdoch. Scientology is an enemy of free speech.

I see a lot wrong with them... why do you say they are the enimy of free speech?

Is it becausde, like all so called religions, they hate and seek to silence anyone who criticises them? Or is there more to it.

[IQS.RLOW]

Good on Murdoch. Scientology is an enemy of free speech.

I see a lot wrong with them... why do you say they are the enimy of free speech?

Is it becausde, like all so called religions, they hate and seek to silence anyone who criticises them? Or is there more to it.

Sound like they have infiltrated the greens and the alp

[Super Nova]

Sound like they have infiltrated the greens and the alp

Only god knows why

[freediver]

Good on Murdoch. Scientology is an enemy of free speech.

I see a lot wrong with them... why do you say they are the enimy of free speech?

Is it becausde, like all so called religions, they hate and seek to silence anyone who criticises them? Or is there more to it.

They actively sue people who criticise them, including ex members. They poured a lot of money into litigation.

[AiA in Atlanta]

Tried to read Dianetics once and ended up throwing it into the rubbish bin. Once in Japan a Mormon missionary gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon and it ended up in the same place after I sat down with it for a few minutes. Still, many intelligent, savvy, successful people are attracted to both these religions. I just don't get it.

[Dringy]

Just for the record - all religions are cults.

If you feel the need to rank the weirdness of one cult over another, here's a challenge:

Try to find a claim on a grander scale of absurdity than this one: "An invisible poof zapped up a universe and all life forms with a magic wand."

Let me know when you find one. I won't be holding my breath.

[boxy]

Something came from nothing?