General

Scientology is scary

The recent focus on Tom Cruise and his relationship with Katie Holmes has given Mr. Cruise the opportunity to evangelize for the Scientologists, and he’s taken full advantage of it. I stumbled upon a post called “Tom Cruise’s Dangerous Clown Show” (which made good points) and from there, followed a link to a 1991 Time cover story on the scariness that is Scientology.

I had never really thought about Scientology. I was vaguely aware that they are opposed to the medical field, but that was about it. The article gave me some pretty shocking surprises. The “Church” has been involved in things that are illegal, unethical, predatory, and vicious. They have been indicted in federal crimes. They have reportedly ordered members to murder and then commit suicide. This is not the feel-good fruit loop organization I thought it was.

This intro text sums it up: “Ruined lives. Lost fortunes. Federal crimes. Scientology poses as a religion but really is a ruthless global scam — and aiming for the mainstream.“

It’s a long-ish article (about 7500 words) but well worth the time to read it. If you really don’t have time, just read the last section, entitled “The Scientologists and Me”. The author of the Time main article reports on the things which happened to him as a result of writing the article.

© 2005 Something Epic.