Fanaticism in Scientology
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From:Bob Minton
Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2000
Subject: Scientology's moment of defeat
Bob Minton: It will be at the moment of Scientology's defeat that the
inherent weakness of their totalitarian propaganda will becomes
visible.
Translation: It's never going to happen.
> Without the force of their movement, its members will
cease at once to believe in the dogma for which yesterday they still were ready
to sacrifice their lives.
Really?
I know I wouldn't.
One of the most basic ideas in Scientology is that one should only believe those
things which one has seen and experienced for oneself. Anything outside of that
field one is better advised to leave in a mental box labeled "not sure about
this - try to check it out later." There should be an infinitely graded scale on
which we can slot things according to how certain we are about them. I've never
been to Africa, but I have a reasonable certainty that it exists because of all
the books, movies and first hand reports I've experienced - about herds of wild elephants; about
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle; and of exciting adventures involving their
banking
systems.
The things that I can say with certainty exist in Scientology are
the things I've tried out for myself with success. If the Church fell it
wouldn't make the slightest difference to this knowledge.
But as I have said before, if the Church fell (something which is predicted
frequently but which just isn't going to happen) I think it would be a tragedy
for us all - and that includes you Bob and all
the rest of our ARS pals.
>The moment that Scientology, that is, the fictitious world
which shelters them, is destroyed, its adherents will revert to their former status of isolated
individuals who either happily accept a new function in a changed world or
sink back into their old desperate superfluousness.
I think that if the Church went down I would be more likely to
give up my job and join an auditing practice full time. Right now I'm very
comfortable and so the necessity level just isn't there for me. Something so
tragic would concentrate my mind wonderfully.
> The members of Scientology's totalitarian movement, utterly
fanatical as long as their movement exists,
Well some of us are utterly fanatic and some of us can only rouse
our stumps to wander into the org every now and then for an event. Still if
we get any pickets around here I promise to go and help out more.
>will not follow the example of religious fanatics at the
demise of Scientology and die the death of martyrs
Yeurgh. I really hope that's not going to be necessary. Even the
stuff in Germany sounded bad enough. I was horrified to hear of this poor
couple who used to go ballroom dancing at some club, but then they got
outed by the German thought police and suddenly all the poor brainwashed
Germans turned on them like something at the end of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'
and wouldn't dance with them any more.
>(even though they were only too willing to die the death of
robots).
I guess you haven't met many Scientologists socially Bob. (Shouting
insults at them across the street doesn't count.) I know all the guys
down your office tell you bad things about us, but let's be frank here you and I, they
have to. Otherwise you might lose interest and pull the
brakes on the gravy train.
>Rather they will quietly give up the movement as a bad bet
and look around for another promising fiction or wait until the former
fiction regains enough strength to establish another mass movement.
Great!
So you are saying here that you think the Church would
come back again?
Maybe I won't have to go in for that nasty sounding martyr
business after all.
>Alternatively, they will come to the Lisa McPherson Trust for
help.
No, no, no Bob. I've enjoyed this essay, but now you're just
being silly.
> Bob Minton
Freddie T
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