by Terry 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=171096563&m=171257727
Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright wrote the book scrutinizing the Church of Scientology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWY4nYPAurM
Niece of church leader David Miscaviage:
Consider Hassan's review on this book:
http://youtu.be/9DfByzpH-NA?t=8m
IMO, Wright is taking the opportunity to take a shot at ALL religion instead of the one's that use mind control (BITE model). He's gotten so much media attention and he couldn't help himself but curse belief in general instead of focusing on the root cause which is the ABUSE of belief. What a missed opportunity to educate the general public.
A large portion of the EXJW community see the Watchtower as any other religion. Like Scientology, this is not at all the case. There is a continuum and not all points on it are considered harmful.
-Sab
I'm thoroughly enjoying this book, which is extremely well written and researched. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in cults.
Before I really knew anything about Scientology, I always thought it received a disproportionate amount of media attention given that, as a "religion," it is much smaller than Jehovah's Witnesses. It seemed like it was getting more attention simply because of celebrity involvement from the likes of Cruise and Travolta. However, the more I learn about Scientology's crazy belief system, history of intimidation and sophisticated manipulative techniques, the more I edge toward the conclusion that the greater media exposure is perhaps justified.
Here is a link to another recent interview with Lawrence Wright...
http://www.klru.org/overheard/episode/lawrence-wright-2/
Of particular interest is when the interviewer draws him on whether he thinks Scientology is a cult or not. He doesn't give a straight answer, but his answer is thought-provoking nonetheless.
Cedars
sab, though I thoroughly enjoyed the Hassan interview you refer to and thrilled at many of Steve's observations, I wasn't entirely on the same page when it came to his review of the book.
I agree that, in an ideal world, Wright should have "gone for the throat" more - especially in asserting the reality of brainwashing. However, that is not his style. He prefers the measured and more credible approach of presenting both sides of the argument and letting the reader draw their own conclusions. Hassan suggests that the reality of brainwashing is left an enigma in Going Clear, but I actually think Wright hints very strongly that it is a real and potent strategy that has been used to great effect for decades.
I'm not all that sure what you mean about Wright "taking a shot at all religion" and "cursing belief in general." That is not the message I am getting so far from reading this book. In fact, if you watch the interview I've posted a link to above, you'll see him say that people can draw beneficial things from most religions - even Scientology! The problem comes when people unknowingly cross the threshold into the "prison of belief" and allow themselves to be exploited.
Cedars
I agree that, in an ideal world, Wright should have "gone for the throat" more - especially in asserting the reality of brainwashing. However, that is not his style.
I would expect someone like Wright to take all measures to inform the public of the truth about cults as told by current scientific data. Right now the cult topic is hot and now is the time to educate the public. Scientology's system should have been exposed and strongly correlated to the science of mind control, which according to the world's leading mind control scientist, Steven Hassan, it does not. This makes me wonder about the motivations of both Wright and the publishing company he works with. Is this more about money or telling the truth? If it were about the truth, then why only dedicate a few pages to the science of mind control and label is a "contested science"? It's almost as if he is saying that Hassan's work is questionable, which it most certainly is not.
In the video Hassan speaks about commercial advertisments being fed into our minds. He said that we don't realize that we are choosing to buy a certain product simply because we have seen an mentally suggesting ad 50 times. That's mind control and it should be illegal. I get the feeling like the secular world is in denial about the very existence of mind control. I would suspect this is the case because they employ a measure of mind control tactics themselves. The way they justify this is that people are free to choose, but that's not the case with mind control, not at all. There is ethical salesmanship and then there is unethical and then there is just downright mind control and emotional coercion. People generally want to believe that they ultimately are in full control of their decision making. The very idea of mind control stands in the face of that delusion about ourselves.
Hassan suggests that the reality of brainwashing is left an enigma in Going Clear, but I actually think Wright hints very strongly that it is a real and potent strategy that has been used to great effect for decades.
I believe what Hassan is saying is that the book should have been centered around mind control rather than "hinting" at it as you say. I suspect the reason for this is that the publishing company wants to make as much profit as possible. By making the book about "belief" instead of mind control science is essentially telling people what they want to hear.
I'm not all that sure what you mean about Wright "taking a shot at all religion" and "cursing belief in general."
There is a phenomenon that happens with a lot of people who leave cults. They have a realization that all religions employ similar tactics that were used on them. Because of this realization they then turn on the idea of religion and then on belief which is what religion is founded on. They simply say, "If we just stopped believing in extraordinary claims without extraordinary evidence religion would cease to exist and the world would be better for it." Then they wage a campaign against God as the solution to all of life's problems. What is not realized, however, is that belief is human nature and will never go away. Therefore, belief in GOD will also always exist which means there will always be a percentage of people vulnerable to mind control tactics that play on that innate belief in God. To prevent against these attacks they don't need to stop believing in God, they need to be educated about the science of mind control. Not simply warned that religious scams exist. That's not enough information and history has proven that. People need in depth education as to how it all works and Scientology presents a lot of data to parse. It's very odd to me that the data is not being hashed out as vigorously as possible, which ultimately works to the favor of the cult. Cults want people to believe that people can withstand their methods because that means their victims will be unsuspecting. In reality mind control cannot be withstood without a proper education of the science. That's why they exist, because of ignorance. Wright didn't attack that aspect of the issue. I question that.
-Sab
Scientology should really be seen as an exercise in deliberate exploitation and manipulation of people all under a pretentious guise of doing good
for people, taking a close look how they first monitor and test people is a laugh in itself.
The end result is of course is gained money and labor by being put under this pretentious guise of knowlege.
The real laugh comes in when you see the Christian Cross placed on top of one their buildings.
This organization which is a mind and behavioral controlling cult, has nothing to do with Christianity whatsoever
they only took the identity of a Church to avoid paying taxes. $$$
By the way the people that get involved with this scam are expected to pay extremely high prices for books and videos
during their training process, which can continue on for years. $$$
I just finished Going Clear and thought it was the best book I've read on the topic. I guess I've probably read a dozen or so book exposing Scientology.
As far as the focus of the book being about MIND CONTROL or BRAINWASHING?
The author sticks to actual facts and let's those who have escaped from the cult have their say. But, he is balanced enough to play Devil's advocate and allow that people to claim to improve. It is a fact based book rather than a smear job.
I kept finding parallels with Jehovah's Witnesses in the damage done to people and families. But, the Watchtower Society isn't hand's on in outright kidnapping or physical violence against traitors. JW's stick with name calling and blanket indictments.
We should all be grateful for that!
Just half done with the book. A must read. Lawrence Wright doesn't have to express anything about points identifying this as a cult. All these experiences and insider identify this religion's leadership as madness. No one (in their right mind) after reading this book would consider one moment getting involved in this group. It is outrageous how it treats their people. Terrible for their youth also.
It is so bazaar and much worse, yet there are many methods that still have similarities to WTS/organization.
