-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 I have received this questionnaire, apparently genuine. People may care to answer on-line? (not giving their name if it is not public information, of course) 1. What is your full name and profession?

Dave Bird, programmer 2. What 1st made you anti-Scientologist & what has kept you as one?

The raids and lawsuits (in 1995), and attempts to remove the newsgroup or cancel large numbers of articles.

Meeting CofS directly & learning it was even worse than I thought.

3. There have been numerous notes on the opinion that the religion is much like a Mafia like criminal cult. What is your response to that?

The Chruch of Scientology is a high-pressure marketing scheme which sells quack psychotherapy courses at inflated prices, engages in deceitful advertising to get the chumps' money, and uses such tactics as blackmail or harassment to shut up any criticism; then cloaks itself in the appearance of religiosity to escape prosecution or paying tax on the profits.

While of course it is not AS BAD AS the Mafia --- it has killed people by neglect or driving them to suicide but never, to my knowledge, deliberate murder of opponents --- it is more like the Mafia than it is like a Church. Calling it "Mafia" is a consciousness-raising step, to make people look at the similarities with other organised crime groups rather than its pretence of appearing to be a (christian?) church.

4. Ultimately, what do you believe global expansion of Scientology could mean for society?

Hubbard talked about gathering up and exterminating homosexuals, homeless people, & opponents of Scientology. I believe he meant what he said and it would be carried out if they controlled a whole series of countries so they could get away with it.

5. What do you believe makes Scientology so controversial?

The things I have listed above ---- moneygrubbing, criminality, attacks on critics, plans to exterminate opponents once in power.

6. What do you believe the appeal is behind people becoming Scientologists and do you believe that the celebrity sponsorship has a lot to do with it?

Celebrity endorsement of the defective product is useful to them in selling it, as is the pretence of being a religion:

though their main use is to deflect criticism and give an air of respectability.

Most people are actively recruited into Scientology, and deceptively recruited: it starts by not telling them the organisation's name, it carries on by not telling them a lot of centrally important things about the beliefs and policies.

Mainly what it offers is just acceptance, and a group to belong to, for people at a time of trouble or transition.

7. There are beliefs that Scientology is against other religions, namely Christianity. Why do you believe that is?

I think this is well proven. In the important but confidential materials they don't show to beginners, Hubbard says many disparaging things about both Christianity and Islam. For example that "there is no Christ" and Christianity is based on hypnotic delusions implanted by evil space aliens which people picked up from watching and copying madmen. Likewise Mohammed was a small-time merchant who started his religion to make money when trade was slack.

In their own evidence to the Internal Revenue Service they admit that, while chumps are TOLD they can remain a member of their church or mosque, eventually that will mean no more than they can go there socially without worshipping or praying --- because they will be told that continuing the practices of any other religion is harmful to their progress in Scientology.

8. Scientologist have been in conflict with the law charged with stealing documents.... why do you believe they do this?

Because their founder L.Ron Hubbard told them to do so.

He was an insane, paranoid person who wrote at various times about governments persecuting him and the world being run by a conspiracy of twelve bankers. He said they should set up a department of governement affairs, and deal with "false" reports of CofS criminality by removing them from the files so nobody could be misled. When a tonne of papers forming the entire evidence against CofS for a criminal case in Paris disappeared from a secure building of the justice ministry, I'm sure someone was just carrying out Hubbard policy.

9. Do you believe the reports that claim the movie 'Battlefield Earth' projects subliminal Scientology messages to the public?

No. Projecting a visual subliminal (written) message in very bright, very brief, letters so they are received but too quick to be consciously noted requires special apparatus separate from the projector. There is no evidence it is effective in modifying behaviour, anyway. I expect some idiot thought "we'll get it withdrawn from a lot of cinemas just by spreading such a rumour." Foolish idea. Battlefield Girth is a truly one of the most dim-witted movies of the century if not the millennium, &is quite capable of failing hugely on entirely truthful reports.

10. Finally, do you believe that Scientology will obtain globalisation and expand?

It may go into a few new countries but it will not expand.

Scientology lies that it has eight or ten million members worldwide. In fact it has eighty down to forty thousand active members, worldwide. This is easily verified by comparing the claim of similar millions for Jehovah's Witnesses (or Latter Day Saints) which seems consistent with the number of Kingdom Halls (or Mormon Temples) per city and of people in them.... versus the CofS claims which do not tally with their number and size of 'Orgs'.

Membership is declining, and activity is declining in members still involved. CofS is in terminal decline. This may be sudden collapse, or slow and painful dwindling, but CofS cannot survive in a world where they cannot shut up people telling the truth about its activities.

Go Back