Posted and cc: to WF Greetings, a.r.s!

The Watchman Fellowship has some _wonderful_ articles on the Scientology cult. Here is a list of the articles and a one-paragraph description for each of them. The subject of this message -- "Screaming Tomatoes" caught my eye and I thought the regular SPs here would find it amusing.

I'll ask the Fellowship if they would mind if I mirrored each of these on The Skeptic Tank's web site, with links back to the original since wide dissemination of a Christian view of this troublesom Scientology organization is, I feel, valuable.

These go backwards in time, by the way. You'll see K.

Spanke in here, Lisa McPherson, the cult's war on the Internet, Applied Scholastics, and even Arnie and his pony tail are in here!

I'll ask the Watchman Fellowship if they're interested in an article on the sporgery attacks and the "what is Scientology" floods that the bad guys use to try to silence discussions about their criminal activities with.

By Craig Branch Controversy continues to rage around Scientology, due mostly to the totalitarian and abusive nature of its practices. The evolution and history of Scientology raises serious and fundamental questions about freedoms and protections of religion and even what or who defines a religion. Scientology is an anomaly on even a diverse religious landscape. It does, in fact, involve religious belief (in what most outsiders would regard as science fiction). But that belief appears to have been built chiefly as a cover for exploitive commercial operations.

http://www.watchman.org/scientologypunitive.htm A Hubbard Legacy: Scientology's Punitive Policies Scientology leaders today try to dismiss the church's "bad-boy behavior" as something done without Hubbard's knowledge by rogue Scientologists, and as a thing of the past. It was Hubbard, however, who wrote the policies on which Scientologists, past and present, base their behavior and activities. Regarded as "Scripture," these policies are still in force and continue to perpetuate and govern Scientology's heinous and terroristic activities.

http://www.watchman.org/scientologycamps.htm Scientology's Concentration Camps When one researches Scientology it is not long before an interesting but disturbing pattern is observed. Hubbard's policies on critics and their "slanderous attacks" focus around a belief that if one is accusing that church of something, that person is himself "reeking with crime,"

usually doing the very thing of which he is accusing Scientology.

http://www.watchman.org/historyofterror.htm Scientology: A History of Terror and Abuse by Craig Branch The following article is part three in Watchman Fellowship's series on Scientology. Part 1 (Volume 13, No. 2) disclosed Scientology's early history and development, its decision to cloak itself in religious garb, and gave a description of its practices and beliefs, both secret and public, especially its hostility and incompatibility with Christianity.

http://www.watchman.org/appliedscientology.htm Applied Scientology In Public Schools?

by Craig Branch Prayer in school, explicit Bible references in textbooks, and even the Bible itself were once a staple in American education, but no longer. Christians often bemoan the fact that the promotion of Christianity is now banned from the public school arena, due to the current Supreme Court interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

http://www.watchman.org/scientologyblackhole.htm Scientology's Moral and Financial "Black Hole"

Scientology claims that its ultimate system of counseling or auditing "always delivers" and that it alone brings people along "the bridge to total freedom." The stories of Lisa McPherson and many others indicate that Scientology can lead people to "freedom" from their money, as well as their friends, family, and sanity.

http://www.watchman.org/mcpherson.htm Mystery Surrounds Investigation Scientologist Lisa McPherson's Tragic Death by Craig Branch The death of 36 year old Lisa McPherson while in the "care" of fellow Scientologists at the Clearwater headquarters has led to an ongoing investigation by Clearwater police and has been the focus of numerous stories in the Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, New York Times, local media, NBC Nightly News, and episodes on Inside Edition.

http://www.watchman.org/lrhmyth2.htm The Ultimate Spin Doctor: L. Ron Hubbard - The Man and His Myth Craig Branch In its May 6, 1991 cover story, "The Cult of Greed," Time magazine described the Scientology organization: "The Church of Scientology started by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard to 'clear' people of unhappiness, portrays itself as a religion. In reality, the church is a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and cities in Mafia-like manner...Scientology is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious, and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen" (pp. 32-3).

http://www.watchman.org/hubmagk2.htm Hubbard's Magic Craig Branch In a 1984 child custody case involving a Scientologist and his non-Scientologist wife, the court awarded custody to the non-Scientologist after seeing the documentation on the horrid practices of the organization.

http://www.watchman.org/c0$p1.htm Scientology's Internet Wars James Walker On March 12, 1996, Scientologists lost the latest skirmish in their ongoing Internet Wars when a Dutch judge acquitted Karin Spaink, et. al., of all charges. The Church of Scientology is currently locked in an international legal war to remove copies of their super-secret "scriptures"

from the Internet. In the US, Scientologists have obtained federal court orders to raid and confiscate alleged "trade secrets" from the homes and offices of four of their most vocal critics, slapped lawsuits on Internet service providers, and sued the Washington Post when it ran a related news article. In other attempts to block public access to the materials, lawyers representing the church have threatened legal action against scores of others including Carnegie-Mellon University. Watchman Fellowship has been threatened with legal action by Scientology concerning these "scriptures" as well.

http://www.watchman.org/coswin.htm SCIENTOLOGISTS WIN COPYRIGHT JUDGEMENT A New York Times story on 20 January 1996 reported that Scientology's Religious Technology Center (RTC) had won a copyright infringement case in Federal court. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U. S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. ruled that Arnaldo P. Lerma had violated copyright laws by posting Scientology documents on the Internet http://www.watchman.org/co$sue~1.htm Scientology Threatens Watchman with "OT" Lawsuit In a letter dated 9 February 1996, Helena Kobrin, an attorney representing Scientology's "Religious Technology Center" renewed legal threats against Watchman Fellowship.

Kobrin alleges that Watchman is in possession of, and thereby could theoretically distribute copies of, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's top-secret Operating Thetan (OT) literature. Thus, Kobrin claims, Watchman is in violation of the US Copyright laws, as well as "trade secret and unfair competition laws."

http://www.watchman.org/scnintr2.htm Scientology: Religious Tyranny Craig Branch This article introduces a series exposing one of the most controversial and notorious cults in modern times - the Church of Scientology.

http://www.watchman.org/hubrel03.htm Hubbard's Religion Craig Branch The Church of Scientology (COS) claims to have over 8 million members with 2,318 churches and missions, in 107 countries. They claim 500,000 new converts per year (The Church of Scientology, 40th Anniversary Booklet, p. 2).

http://www.watchman.org/scientgy.htm Scientologists Threaten WF With Another Lawsuit Attorneys representing Scientology are alleging we have in our files and have been revealing certain of their "trade secrets," and are in violation of US copyright laws. In a June 13 letter, we were notified by one of Scientology's lawyers that they claim rights to "damages, an injunction, and impounding of material and equipment used in perpetrating the infringing acts."

http://www.watchman.org/scient.htm The Church of Scientology recently outlasted the I.R.S.

in its 40 year battle to gain tax- exempt status. Now 153 of Scientology's "churches", missions, and corporations will be exempt from federal corporate income taxes. Now "donations" (fees for their "counseling"

or auditing sessions) can be tax-deductible. Scientology has branches in 78 countries and its "scripture", Dianetics, has been translated into 25 languages.

http://www.watchman.org/scienthg.htm Scientology: From Engrams to Thetans - Science Fiction Theology Rick Branch L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, first gained notoriety in the minds of Americans as the author of numerous science fiction novels.

http://www.watchman.org/scigrow.htm Scientology: Growing a Dangerous Idea Rick Branch According to the Basic Dictionary of Dianetics and Scientology, "There are about 52 levels of awareness from Unexistence up to the state of Clear. By level of awareness is meant that of which a being is aware.

http://www.watchman.org/scien.htm Scientology Former science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard founder of this powerful and vastly diverse organization, created a dynasty that has survived his death. Today this movement is directed by Heber C. Jentzsch.

http://www.watchman.org/sciscoop.htm Ex-Scientologist Speaks Out!

John Whaley In 1982, Margery Wakefield sued the Church of Scientology.

Four years later, the church settled Wakefield's case out of court and Wakefield agreed never again to talk about her time in Scientology.

http://www.watchman.org/ronnuts.htm Screaming Tomatoes and Blasphemous Rituals Rick Branch What do screaming tomatoes, of the garden variety type, and blasphemous rituals, of the Aleister Crowley type, have in common? According to Martin Gardner, just one thing, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard!

http://www.watchman.org/glossry.htm Scientology: Glossary of Terms Analytical Mind: That mind which computes - the "I"

or consciousness.

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