Just finished reading a very scary book -- Inside Scientology Being a serious skeptic --one of my New Age-type friends once said, "Vicki's so conservative" because I didn't take J.Z. Knight and Ramtha seriously {remember Ramtha?}-- anyway, being so conservative and all, I've never paid much attention to this "religion" of Scientology. I picked up a copy of Dianetics once and decided right off that it was a bunch of hooey.
Sure, I know about Travolta and Cruise and all the other celebrities that are into Scientology but that never recommended it to me. And I knew that many compared it to a cult and accused the "church" of keeping its members in virtual slavery. But I've never known anyone who was a Scientologist and it remained just one of those weird things some folks choose to believe.
After reading this book, however, I'm seriously annoyed to think that Scientology receives tax-exempt status as a church. (Actually, I don't think any church should have tax exempt status but that's another rant...)
There are so many despicable things about the Scientology organization revealed in this book that I don't know where to begin -- but if you are interested in seeing how a 'religion' carves out a niche for itself and tries to grow its brand, Inside Scientology is a fascinating and disturbing read.
About those celebrity Scientologists -- this, evidently, was a shrewd marketing move to enhance the desirability of the brand. The celebs are assiduously courted, their fragile egos are massaged and catered to, and the side of Scientology that they see is very different from what the ordinary foot soldier in the organization experiences.
Not every big name the Scientologists courted bought into it though. Evidently, at one time Elvis Presley had a girl friend who was a Scientologist tasked with bringing her famous lover into the fold.In the book, an associate of Presley's recalls: "One day, in L.A., we got into the limousine and went down to the Scientology center on Sunset, and Elvis went in and talked to them . . . Apparently they started doing all these charts and crap for him. Elvis came out and said, 'F**k those people! There's no way I'll ever get involved with that son-a -bitchin' group. All they want is my money."
Yep. The King got it right.
