Scientology and Crimes Against Humanity

For more on Scientology, click here.

Responding to an ID-Sympathizing Blogger

On his blog Vere Loqui - which I like the title of, Martin Cothran wrote:

L. Ron Brown at “The Frame Problem” takes Ben Stein to task for making careless remarks about science on the Glenn Beck show. Of course Brown employs the usual array of hyperbolic terms favored by Darwinists in such cases to describe Stein’s remarks, in which he seems to blame “science” for historical atrocities. Were Stein’s remarks careless? Sure they were. Shame on him. Were they examples of “Ignorance, deceit, and stupidity”? I don’t think so.

I’ve been on plenty of television and radio interviews and I don’t know if there is single one I didn’t walk out of thinking, “I shouldn’t have said it that way.” But for every instance of hyperbole, there seems to be an equal and opposite incidence of hyperbole, and that is what we are getting from the Darwinists.

But let’s face it, Stein’s remarks were careless. Bad boy! An afternoon’s detention I say.

But let’s just remind the hyperreactive critics of Intelligent Design about their own record of stupid remarks made, not in the midst of a television interviews in which there is no editing option, statements made in carefully written statements in which they did have plenty of opportunity to make sure it said exactly what they wanted it to say?

Of this species of remark, my personal favorite is this one, by Richard Dawkins:

Odious as the physical abuse of children by priests undoubtedly is, I suspect that it may do them less lasting damage than the mental abuse of bringing them up Catholic in the first place.If Stein’s remarks deserve afternoon detention, Dawkins gets a week’s suspension.

My Response:

Ben Stein and Glenn Beck: Ignorance, Deceit and Stupidity, OH MY!

Nothing I say short of quoting them directly could prepare you for the profound levels of ignorance you are about to hear. Stein and Beck’s ignorance of and/or deliberate deceit with respect to science, evolution, atheism and morality are absolutely depressing.

They are an unfortunate pair of exemplars of the intellectual dysfunction that dogmatism - religious or otherwise - constitutes.

Madeline Neumann and Why Society Should Stop Insulating Religion From Rational Scrutiny

On Wednesday Marathon Country District Attorney Jill Falstad annouced that Dale and Leilani Neumann would each be charged with second-degree reckless homicide (maximum punishment: 25 years in prison) for their failure to seek medical attention for their ailing daughter - relying instead on prayer - who withered away and died of a treatable form of diabetes. This death and the suffering visited upon 11-year old Madeline was unnecessary and unjustified. Yet, at the same time, I do feel for her parents, as I’m quite confident that they meant well and felt that their years of relying on prayer to the exclusion of medical treatment as an exercise and demonstration of their faith was in their, their children’s and their believed-in God’s best interests. In terms of their reason and behaviour, I would not say that they were good parents (i.e., parents who could protect their children as could reasonably be expected of them). But in terms of their intentions, I have no reason to think that they didn’t mean very well. In this sense, it is quite saddening that apparently well-meaning people who have lived in a culture which generally shows a high level of respect for religious faith and regularly disparages those who do not are being sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence and being separated from their other children, family and friends.

This case is an illustration of the sorts of things that can happen as a result of a culture giving undue deference to religious beliefs and making some areas of honest and fair debate socially inappropriate.

CarnivUL of The fraudless: exposing the CULT

Welcome to the first CarnivUL of The fraudless!!!

This first CarnivUL(…T) will be dedicated to tracking major developments that have taken place since January in the international protest against the Cult of Scientology, discussing the why of the protest, the who of Anonymous, and compiling some of the best relevant YouTube video produced over the past 3 months.

For those who have visited Blog Carnivals before, be warned that this will be an unconventional carnival. CarnivUL of The fraudless, or CarnivUL(…T), will not in this edition or subsequent editions take all of its content from blogs. It is anticipated that much of CarnivUL(…T)’s content will come from sources such as YouTube, Enturbulation.Org, websites, and of course blogs.

On with the CarnivUL(…T)!

BRUTAL Fair Gaming in Canada: Scientology’s Attempts to Ruin Gregg Hagglund

Gregg Hagglund has been a civilized and ethical picketer of the Cult of Scientology since the mid-90s. He has picketed in front of the Toronto Scientology Org over 80 times and played an integral role in the defeat of Scientology’s application for charity status in Canada. The Cult’s response to this was anything but civilized and ethical. They have declared Hagglund a Suppressive Person (SP; i.e., an enemy of Scientology) and subjected him and his family to years of absolutely BRUTAL Fair Gaming (for those not in the know, Fair Game is official Scientology policy whichc specifies that a Scientologist can lie to, trick, steal from or destroy anyone deemed to be an enemy of the cult). Even with my familiarity with this Cult’s absolute evil when it comes to dealing with critics, I was still left stunned by Hagglund’s account.

 

Fair Game is real. Fair Game is dangerous. Fair Game continues to this day.

On Saturday May 10 be sure to attend one of the many global protests against this disgusting cult. The focus of this, the fourth major international protest against Scientology, is Fair Game. Lets continue to spread the word continent to continent about how malevolent this organization is, how destructive it can be to anyone that has anything substantial to do with it (whether they be members, critics, journalists, etc.), lets put an end to its tax exemption wherever it is received, lets see that justice is done to all who have done evil in the name of Scientology, and lets stop the evil. On May 10, lets tell this cult that it is GAME OVER.

To see Gregg OWN two Scientologists picketing his home, click here.

For more on Scientology, click here.

Old Guard Critics Bob Minton, Stacy Young and Hannah Whitfield on Scientology

Presented below is an April 1998 broadcast by German network ARD on Scientology. The main interviewees are Old Guard Critics of Scientology Bob Minton, Stacy (Brooks) Young and Hannah Whitfield. Former mayor of Clearwater, Florida - the town that Scientology has been working to occupy- Gabe Cazeras, and a Scientology spokesperson were also interviewed.

Minton was said to be the person the cult was most afraid of during the late 90s. A former investment banker who had amassed millions of dollars in wealth, Minton had the financial resources to fund a prolonged battle against the abusive criminal cult. Unlike Young and Whitfield, Minton had never been a member of the organization. What led him to becoming deeply involved in the opposition was learning of the cult’s deplorable history of abuse, oppression, exploitation, suppression of dissent, harassment, terrorism, frivolous litigation, dangerous medical and psychotherapy quackery, deceit, manipulation, home-wrecking, thought-policing, profiteering, and the fair game and disconnection policies upon which all of this is based. In particular, he wanted to help level the playing field for besieged victims of the cult by providing financial support. So not only did Minton join the pickets, he funded the former Lisa McPherson Trust, an organization that was dedicated to exposing the cult and helping members leave and ex-members reintegrate into society.

Stacy Young is a former high-ranking Scientologist of many years who had been actively protesting the cult throughout the 90s and into the current century - she may still be involved, but I haven’t seen any video of her from recent years. Leaving the cult resulted in her Scientologist husband of many years divorcing her.

Hannah Whitfield’s story is particularly interesting in that she spent a number of years at L. Ron Hubbard’s direct service. Escaping the cult was a prolonged multiple-attempt effort that involved being physically restrained and detained in one of the cult’s brutal prison labour camps, which are collectively known as the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF). Since her successful escape the cult has tried to silence her but she has been unrelenting.

This footage, which is presented below the fold, is well worth watching. In addition to covering Minton, Young and Whitfield, and the relentless harassment and intimidation that they have been subjected to by the cult, ARD also covers the case of Lisa McPherson, abuse to other ex-members, and more.

On personal spiritualism and liberal religiosity

A little while back a friend asked me if I thought that recent violent acts by religious fundamentalists have stained the benefits of interiorized spirituality. Since this is a good question and one at the heart of much of my thinking on religion and “spirituality” (I’ll explain the shutter quotes later), I figured I’d make my response a fairly detailed blog post, and also address some related issues that she may not have actually had in mind.

TFP Readables

Here are a few readables from around the blogosphere:

Today, I stumbled across a fairly indepth review of the Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed Leaders Guide - a guide for those who want to take the propaganda out of the theatre and into the community. Thus far, I’ve only read about 60% of it, but what I saw was quite well done.

The second recommended item is recommended because of how unimpressed I am. It’s a thread on a thoroughly Christian discussion forum. I discovered it as a result of one of the posters linking one of my posts. Take a read if you want to step into a rapid succession of ignorant comments. I was placated somewhat by the level-headedness of Grant (i.e., the poster that linked my post…).

Upcoming:

I paid a visit to the local “Church” of Scientology in Toronto today. I’ll be posting on the visit soon.

Second, I recently had my posts on a pro-Expelled blog pulled from the site. I’m considering whether I’d like to expose how I - a dissenter of expelled - was expelled. The blogger says that it is simply his policy to not allow debates to occur in his blog’s comment sections, and that it is not personal nor does he want me to feel like I’m being censored. In addition to finding this to be a peculiar policy (as I told him) - what? you want to state your opinion but no one else can challenge you on it? - I also said that, in my opinion, this particular post is one that should qualify for being excepted from your rule given that in it you are endorsing a movie that is claiming that the opinions it endorses are being expelled from consideration.

TFP Must Reads

The following articles are must-reads:

In the wake of the release of Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, Science After Sunclipse writes an absolutely excellent piece (so excellent, in fact, that it was prominently linked on PZ Myers’ Pharyngula, which is, to my knowledge, the world’s most read science blog) on the depressing track record of abuse directed to evolutionists by conservative Christians in America. He speaks of how evolutionists who dared to teach evolution, not teach the nonsensical Adam and Eve story of Creation as literally true, defend science, criticize a pro-ID book, or so much as send out an email on a talk by a critic of ID have been expelled, demoted, litigated, faith-tested, harassed, ostracized, threatened, and physically assaulted by humble, forgiving, nonjudgmental, neighbour-loving, Golden Rule-abiding, ”Christians”. I absolutely cannot recommend this piece enough.

I also strongly recommend reading the Atheist Ethicist, Alonzo Fyfe’s expose on a Washington Post editorial article which supports anti-atheist bigotry. This editorial, entitled A Hint of Tolerance, lauds a public statement of by the King of Saudi Arabia in which he calls for a coming together of Muslims, Christians and Jews to safeguard humanity. And what does humanity need safeguarding from? The disintegration of the family and the rise of atheism. Ah, nothing brings rivals together like a common enemy, right? And who better than the atheists, who’ve always proven a reliable scapegoat. Fyfe muses over whether the Washington Post would have ran an editorial entitled “A Hint of Tolerance” if the Saudi King had called for the unification of Muslims, Christians and Jews against the world’s Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists.

The final must-read is a piece at Times Argus on nontheist church-goers. This article reports on how some atheists, agnostics and non-religious people attend church - whether they be one of the few and new freethought congregations, liberal religious organizations that are welcoming to non-believers (e.g., Humanist Judaism congregations), or traditional theistic churches which are accepting of non-believers. While not subscribing or want to feign a belief in God, some nontheists still place a high value on the community aspects of religion - the support network, fellowship, a village context for raising children, a forum for establishing charity work, etc. I for one strongly support the establishment of non-faith-based communities of this nature. [Thanks to Xander L for sharing this article]. On a related note, a book which I recently learned of that seems to be worth a read is Gretta Vosper’s With or Without God: Why the Way We Live is More Important than What We Believe (reviewed here). Vosper, who is President of the Canadian Centre for Progressive Christianity, seems to be advocating for a liberalization, modernization, and de-literalization of Christianity, similar to that of modern Judaism. From what I gather, she is pushing for a new humanist cultural Christianity, similar to the prevalent humanist cultural Judaism which maintains celebration of the history, the culture, and the community while at the same time not having to clutch onto archaic theistic dogma. This sounds like a great way to go. Check Vosper’s website for book tour dates in Toronto (e.g., at the University of Toronto’s Multi-Faith Centre) and tonight in Kingston, ON.