The good news is their stats will be up for the week, they may even get a slice of pizza to celebrate unless they decide to donate the cost of the pizzas to the IAS fund.
HiDon”t mention pizza to me. When I was the Repair Chief on the Free winds they sometimes had pizza after Friday night staff meeting for “Frugals”. They got it from a place called “Pizza Man Doc” and it certainly appeared to be the worst pizza on the planet. I liked pizza, but often I did not eat any of that crap.
But then, it was probably better than the HIV/AIDS I got from their hospital. But I did not have a choice about that. The pumped the HIV straight into my veins. I did not have to eat it.
While I admit my faith has its flaws, current and historical, (Roman Catholic) I can’t help wonder how adults (I understand children raised in it) decide to join Scientology. I mean just comparing some of the hallmarks of my faith to Scientology you see a striking difference. I can attend any mass I like and give nothing. I can go to confession and leave without spending a cent. I receive Communion and no one has their hand out.
While you may see my faith as stupid, unfounded, misguided, etc. the one thing you can’t claim is we don’t seek to help people. The hallmark of my faith is to offer salvation to all those seeking it without regard to their ability to pay the church. Catholics do demand that those seeking salvation be willing to do the work required for it. This is not about buying courses or paying people to audit you.. this is living as Jesus lived. To humble yourself before God and serve your fellow man (golden rule kind of stuff).
Granted it is expected that you make donations to church (10% of your income) but it is not enforced. The most they expect is a ‘reasonable’ donation if they perform a wedding or funeral (~500 bucks for a middle class family is normally more than enough).
I guess in closing the part I struggle with is how anyone who knows of a faith like Catholicism, where the only real demand is for a person to live a moral life, would be attracted to a belief system that puts monetary barriers between you and the salvation? If the stated goal of the faith is to save the world, and they were seeking that goal, would they not want to remove as many barriers as possible?
But I understand where you’re coming from. These days anyone who considers joining scientology can (and should) google it, and walk away horrified. So not many people join anymore. Empty orgs are evidence for that.
However, wide spread knowledge about what the cult does was not always as available as it is now.
And when you were e.g. in a difficult period in your life joining may have seemed a sensible thought in the past. I’m sure they lured in a lot of people like this back in the day.
More in general religion is becoming less popular in western countries. That’s a cultural change that doesn’t help churches.
If you REALLY want to hear criticism of Catholicism, to hear just how little difference there is between it and Scientology, to hear just how wrong you are; i suggest you try taking this evangelism spiel over to the r/atheism subreddit at reddit.com.
I’m sure that Mike would appreciate that too, since this is site is focused on Scientology’s abuses, not Catholicism’s.
“A human being feels able and competent only so long as he is permitted to contribute as much or more as he has contributed to him.” LRH.
I believe this to be true. Its certainly true for me.
Here’s the problem though:
When a human is contributing “as much or more” as he has contributed to him, and, if, in fact, that money (if its money) he’s contributing is not really helping anyone, is not being used for its stated purpose; if it is in fact a scam which is not really helping anyone, then, no matter what that person believes, or how good he feels about what he is doing, he is contributing NOTHING.
He might THINK he’s helping; he might believe with every fiber of his being that he is helping and contributing, but if he actually isn’t, then, he isn’t contributing more that he has been contributed to, or even EQUAL to what he he has been contributed to…you get me? He is throwing his money away.
He might as go shopping or go on a vacation or give it to the corner beggar. THOSE actions would be at least be helping the economy or an indigent person to possibly turn his life around.
But if he, with the best of intentions and in all ignorance, is being scammed, then he is contributing nothing and as such putting himself seriously “out exchange”.
He might as well withdraw the cash and light a match to it for all the good “contributing in abundance” to a scam is going to do him.
Yeah. Heavy shit, man. Goddammit spell checker won’t let me type what I got to say; keeps changing it.
OK, I can handle that.
I got some reality on what this is about, buddy. I was sent off of the Freewinds to die from AIDS after 23 years in the S.O.
The Captain Freewinds, John Michael Napier ” “Mikey” made a big point to me not long before I left to inform me (At the top of his lungs) that he was the Only Right Arm Captain in the Sea Organization and that no-one could tell him what to do…..well maybe one person could..( obviously referring to DM) “But he would never do it”.
I am a fuck-up too. Mein Fuehrer Herr Napier and 6 medical doctors told my then wife that I was going to die soon. That was 19 years ago!
Now how hard is it to just die.
Other people seem to have no problem dying but I have not been able to pull it off. though clearly that was what was needed and wanted.
After 14 years of no treatment for AIDS which I got from a blood transfusion my heart is almost shot. It pumps only a quarter of the amount of blood it is supposed to with each beat. And I have a pacemaker otherwise it probably would not be beating at all because the HIV destroyed the wiring in my heart.
My Fitness Board turndown (which I had to 8C the Fitness Board because they no doubt expected me to be DEAD by the time it was issued.
Then the idiots (I was going to say dumb asses but that is not polite) had my then wife (and widow to be) help write the FB issue though she was not on the board.
The issue is so lauditory you would almost think that I single-handedly cleared the planet.
Of course, they can say things like that about a dead man. There will be no one alive to contradict them.
Of course I was declared SP simply for stating the facts of what happened. It seems that nobody is declared for lying, they can only be declared for telling the truth.
I would not want anyone to get a false impression from my comment that I was saved by the doctors the ship sent me to.
They sent me to a chiropractor ( actually LRH’s chiropractor; I obviously deserved the very best). I highly recommend the guy. His name is James Keppler and he has an office on Freeport Blvd in Sacramento. He is a good and honest gentleman (told me when I first saw him that he had never seen an HIV/AIDS patient before).
He has got a great bedside manner ( I slept a lot when I first got there the fatigue was so bad) and he made sure that I would never accept the “deadly” drugs the quack Medical Doctors would no doubt give me if I was stupid enough to let them.
I was not ” stupid enough” to allow the medical doctors to help me.
I only received treatment because my wife who was held on the ship for 6 months after I was sent off took me to an actual doctor after talking with her sister who just happens to work at San Francisco General Hospital which just happens to also have the longest operating HIV/AIDS on the planet.
The only reason I received treatment in the end was because by the time my wife got off of the ship. I soon got dementia and no longer recognized her.
Since I was no longer mentally competent, my medical treatment decisions fell upon my next of kin which was my wife. She had not been subjected to the data from the chiro that the Freewinds had sent me to which was simply that I would be better off DEAD than to take the meds those Evil doctors would give me.
I think it was long time Sea Org member and CRIM, Erica Steiner, who was the Registrar from AOLA who sold Audrey the bill of goods. But the promise worked and off Audrey went to AOLA to cure her deafness.
Then the AOLA Sea Org staff charged $60,000 on her credit cars using the deception Tech. She escaped Los Angeles putting on all of her clothes in layers and leaving her bags in the Hotel room. I am a clear and also an OT 8 but I have always had problems with short term memory since “going clear”.
I was completely cleared of all mest (matter, energy, space and time) including all of my money, homes and family due to my involvement in Scientology.
Scientology is very dangerous.
Lurkers – stay far away from this organization. It will destroy you.
Wow, this was a powerful one that punches you in the gut, RB. And it is not an exaggeration that registrars will do stuff like this. I knew a family of Scns and the sisters competed with each other to see who could weasel the most money out of their grandparents who were not Scns but who gave them money for their Bridges based on who could come up with the best lie or sob story to the grandparents as to why they needed money. And these grandparents were one foot in the grave. My bet is that when they did “drop the body” in Scn parlance, there would probably be nothing left for the other heirs, meaning that the Scn heirs robbed them blind As an aside, these little women wouldn’t drive as they expected a man to chauffer them around. If their husbands weren’t there to drive them, they made me drive. So they were causative enough to come up with cunning ways to get grandma and grandpa’s money but not causative enough to drive themselves anywhere..
“This is more a win for Mildred’s Registrar than it is for her”
Ain’t that the truth! At least the Reg or FSM can take her “cut” and get something actually useful. Mildred, by design, won’t.
Poor, Poor clams, still stuck on the beach getting drained of all life force.
The Right to Leave: Marci Hamilton, Fels Institute of Government Professor of Practice, takes a stand against what she calls the Church of Scientology’s “cruel” arbitration process.
School of Arts & Sciences
University of Pennsylvania
In scientology, you’re only as good as your last ‘reg cycle’. hip-hip-horray to Mildred, her chaplain and her reg. As far as coming back, don’t anyone hold their breath. Even the ‘founder’ hisself is WAY overdue and AWOL from his post.
I haven’t seen ANYthing lately from or about Justin. My guess at the time was that he was only in it for the money and that there wasn’t much in the ‘Indie’ world, so he would soon tire of his game.
Andrea Garner says
Ouch. This one is devastating đ RB, you do extraordinary work. Thank you – even when you make me sad.
unelectedfloofgoofer says
The good news is their stats will be up for the week, they may even get a slice of pizza to celebrate unless they decide to donate the cost of the pizzas to the IAS fund.
Dead Men Tell No Tales Bill Straass says
HiDon”t mention pizza to me. When I was the Repair Chief on the Free winds they sometimes had pizza after Friday night staff meeting for “Frugals”. They got it from a place called “Pizza Man Doc” and it certainly appeared to be the worst pizza on the planet. I liked pizza, but often I did not eat any of that crap.
But then, it was probably better than the HIV/AIDS I got from their hospital. But I did not have a choice about that. The pumped the HIV straight into my veins. I did not have to eat it.
Matt says
While I admit my faith has its flaws, current and historical, (Roman Catholic) I can’t help wonder how adults (I understand children raised in it) decide to join Scientology. I mean just comparing some of the hallmarks of my faith to Scientology you see a striking difference. I can attend any mass I like and give nothing. I can go to confession and leave without spending a cent. I receive Communion and no one has their hand out.
While you may see my faith as stupid, unfounded, misguided, etc. the one thing you can’t claim is we don’t seek to help people. The hallmark of my faith is to offer salvation to all those seeking it without regard to their ability to pay the church. Catholics do demand that those seeking salvation be willing to do the work required for it. This is not about buying courses or paying people to audit you.. this is living as Jesus lived. To humble yourself before God and serve your fellow man (golden rule kind of stuff).
Granted it is expected that you make donations to church (10% of your income) but it is not enforced. The most they expect is a ‘reasonable’ donation if they perform a wedding or funeral (~500 bucks for a middle class family is normally more than enough).
I guess in closing the part I struggle with is how anyone who knows of a faith like Catholicism, where the only real demand is for a person to live a moral life, would be attracted to a belief system that puts monetary barriers between you and the salvation? If the stated goal of the faith is to save the world, and they were seeking that goal, would they not want to remove as many barriers as possible?
TrevAnon says
Never-in here.
No one joins a cult.
But I understand where you’re coming from. These days anyone who considers joining scientology can (and should) google it, and walk away horrified. So not many people join anymore. Empty orgs are evidence for that.
However, wide spread knowledge about what the cult does was not always as available as it is now.
And when you were e.g. in a difficult period in your life joining may have seemed a sensible thought in the past. I’m sure they lured in a lot of people like this back in the day.
More in general religion is becoming less popular in western countries. That’s a cultural change that doesn’t help churches.
James Rosso says
If you REALLY want to hear criticism of Catholicism, to hear just how little difference there is between it and Scientology, to hear just how wrong you are; i suggest you try taking this evangelism spiel over to the r/atheism subreddit at reddit.com.
I’m sure that Mike would appreciate that too, since this is site is focused on Scientology’s abuses, not Catholicism’s.
Aquamarine says
“A human being feels able and competent only so long as he is permitted to contribute as much or more as he has contributed to him.” LRH.
I believe this to be true. Its certainly true for me.
Here’s the problem though:
When a human is contributing “as much or more” as he has contributed to him, and, if, in fact, that money (if its money) he’s contributing is not really helping anyone, is not being used for its stated purpose; if it is in fact a scam which is not really helping anyone, then, no matter what that person believes, or how good he feels about what he is doing, he is contributing NOTHING.
He might THINK he’s helping; he might believe with every fiber of his being that he is helping and contributing, but if he actually isn’t, then, he isn’t contributing more that he has been contributed to, or even EQUAL to what he he has been contributed to…you get me? He is throwing his money away.
He might as go shopping or go on a vacation or give it to the corner beggar. THOSE actions would be at least be helping the economy or an indigent person to possibly turn his life around.
But if he, with the best of intentions and in all ignorance, is being scammed, then he is contributing nothing and as such putting himself seriously “out exchange”.
He might as well withdraw the cash and light a match to it for all the good “contributing in abundance” to a scam is going to do him.
Dead Men Tell No Takes Bill Straass says
Yeah. Heavy shit, man. Goddammit spell checker won’t let me type what I got to say; keeps changing it.
OK, I can handle that.
I got some reality on what this is about, buddy. I was sent off of the Freewinds to die from AIDS after 23 years in the S.O.
The Captain Freewinds, John Michael Napier ” “Mikey” made a big point to me not long before I left to inform me (At the top of his lungs) that he was the Only Right Arm Captain in the Sea Organization and that no-one could tell him what to do…..well maybe one person could..( obviously referring to DM) “But he would never do it”.
I am a fuck-up too. Mein Fuehrer Herr Napier and 6 medical doctors told my then wife that I was going to die soon. That was 19 years ago!
Now how hard is it to just die.
Other people seem to have no problem dying but I have not been able to pull it off. though clearly that was what was needed and wanted.
After 14 years of no treatment for AIDS which I got from a blood transfusion my heart is almost shot. It pumps only a quarter of the amount of blood it is supposed to with each beat. And I have a pacemaker otherwise it probably would not be beating at all because the HIV destroyed the wiring in my heart.
My Fitness Board turndown (which I had to 8C the Fitness Board because they no doubt expected me to be DEAD by the time it was issued.
Then the idiots (I was going to say dumb asses but that is not polite) had my then wife (and widow to be) help write the FB issue though she was not on the board.
The issue is so lauditory you would almost think that I single-handedly cleared the planet.
Of course, they can say things like that about a dead man. There will be no one alive to contradict them.
Of course I was declared SP simply for stating the facts of what happened. It seems that nobody is declared for lying, they can only be declared for telling the truth.
Dead Men Tell No Tales Bill Straass says
I would not want anyone to get a false impression from my comment that I was saved by the doctors the ship sent me to.
They sent me to a chiropractor ( actually LRH’s chiropractor; I obviously deserved the very best). I highly recommend the guy. His name is James Keppler and he has an office on Freeport Blvd in Sacramento. He is a good and honest gentleman (told me when I first saw him that he had never seen an HIV/AIDS patient before).
He has got a great bedside manner ( I slept a lot when I first got there the fatigue was so bad) and he made sure that I would never accept the “deadly” drugs the quack Medical Doctors would no doubt give me if I was stupid enough to let them.
I was not ” stupid enough” to allow the medical doctors to help me.
I only received treatment because my wife who was held on the ship for 6 months after I was sent off took me to an actual doctor after talking with her sister who just happens to work at San Francisco General Hospital which just happens to also have the longest operating HIV/AIDS on the planet.
The only reason I received treatment in the end was because by the time my wife got off of the ship. I soon got dementia and no longer recognized her.
Since I was no longer mentally competent, my medical treatment decisions fell upon my next of kin which was my wife. She had not been subjected to the data from the chiro that the Freewinds had sent me to which was simply that I would be better off DEAD than to take the meds those Evil doctors would give me.
Jere Lull says
Bill, you’re LIVING the best revenge on those SPs.
CONGRATS!
Dead Men Tell No Tales Bill Straass says
Thank you. Jere.
And I admit. being an SP, that I love to make them wrong.
I know that would drive the Captain wild. He has to always be right
MEST CLEAR says
Wow. Spot on RB. I recall when St Louis Scientologist, 82 year old, Audrey Williams , a hard of hearing OT 8 was sold “she would get her hearing back” if she spent $3,500 on an intensive at AOLA.
https://tonyortega.org/2019/01/16/another-elderly-victim-gets-soaked-by-scientology-is-talking-to-law-enforcement/
I think it was long time Sea Org member and CRIM, Erica Steiner, who was the Registrar from AOLA who sold Audrey the bill of goods. But the promise worked and off Audrey went to AOLA to cure her deafness.
Then the AOLA Sea Org staff charged $60,000 on her credit cars using the deception Tech. She escaped Los Angeles putting on all of her clothes in layers and leaving her bags in the Hotel room. I am a clear and also an OT 8 but I have always had problems with short term memory since “going clear”.
I was completely cleared of all mest (matter, energy, space and time) including all of my money, homes and family due to my involvement in Scientology.
Scientology is very dangerous.
Lurkers – stay far away from this organization. It will destroy you.
Zee Moo says
Vicious RB, very truly vicious. And perfectly in tune with $cieno ‘ethics’.
Taffy Sinclair says
Isn’t it, though? I really enjoyed this RB đ¤Š
Peggy L says
kind of puts a whole new spin on repurposing – no body goes to waste.
Cindy says
Wow, this was a powerful one that punches you in the gut, RB. And it is not an exaggeration that registrars will do stuff like this. I knew a family of Scns and the sisters competed with each other to see who could weasel the most money out of their grandparents who were not Scns but who gave them money for their Bridges based on who could come up with the best lie or sob story to the grandparents as to why they needed money. And these grandparents were one foot in the grave. My bet is that when they did “drop the body” in Scn parlance, there would probably be nothing left for the other heirs, meaning that the Scn heirs robbed them blind As an aside, these little women wouldn’t drive as they expected a man to chauffer them around. If their husbands weren’t there to drive them, they made me drive. So they were causative enough to come up with cunning ways to get grandma and grandpa’s money but not causative enough to drive themselves anywhere..
otherles says
I’m still shaking my head.
Jere Lull says
Be gentle with your poor body, otherles. Heads take only so much shaking before something comes loose.
Chris Shugart says
Ouch. This one’s gonna leave a mark.
Jere Lull says
“This is more a win for Mildred’s Registrar than it is for her”
Ain’t that the truth! At least the Reg or FSM can take her “cut” and get something actually useful. Mildred, by design, won’t.
Poor, Poor clams, still stuck on the beach getting drained of all life force.
ISNOINews says
The Right to Leave: Marci Hamilton, Fels Institute of Government Professor of Practice, takes a stand against what she calls the Church of Scientology’s “cruel” arbitration process.
School of Arts & Sciences
University of Pennsylvania
Thursday, July 22, 2021
https://omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/omnia-qa-right-leave
/
Dead Men Tell No Tales Bill Straass says
Scientology does not deny anyone the right to leave.
You can always leave as I did: IN A BOX.
Ms. B. Haven says
In scientology, you’re only as good as your last ‘reg cycle’. hip-hip-horray to Mildred, her chaplain and her reg. As far as coming back, don’t anyone hold their breath. Even the ‘founder’ hisself is WAY overdue and AWOL from his post.
Good one RB.
jim rowles says
I do believe Justin Craig is part of the old LRH. The nasty part. Continuing down the tone and force scale.
Cindy says
Jim, Where is Justin living now? Is he blown from the Indie world or still doing and acting like LRH?
jim rowles says
No idea. No idea. And ; no idea.
I kindled his two books, read them and was curious. Then he came out with some unacceptable behavior and I lost interest.
Cindy says
I know about his unacceptable behavior and agree that it was unacceptable. Good riddance.
Jere Lull says
I haven’t seen ANYthing lately from or about Justin. My guess at the time was that he was only in it for the money and that there wasn’t much in the ‘Indie’ world, so he would soon tire of his game.