» Continued from Part 1

7. Scientology in Battle Creek: Church's workings a mystery to many
8. Scientology's Code of Honor
9. The Church's Creed
10. Church's teachings spark a bitter debate

» Part 3

11. Perspectives on church clash: 'The benefits are fantastic'
12. Celebrity members
13. Perspectives on church clash: Ex-member claims he was locked up
14. Classes offer Scientologists 'Bridge to Total Freedom'
15. Restoration planned for hotel

» Part 4

16. Church blends quietly in progressive Ann Arbor
17. L. Ron Hubbard
End of Battle Creek Enquirer Special Report

18. Interior Agency issues warning on Scientology recruitment strategy
19. Scientology's dirty trick with Einstein
20. 2001 Leipzig Award

=== Hate Groups
21. AP Corrects Aryan-Motel Suit Story
22. Health show drops anti-Semitic author


7. Scientology in Battle Creek: Church's workings a mystery to many
Battle Creek Enquirer, Feb. 25, 2001
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
ANN ARBOR - Parishioners trickle into a recent Sunday service, some forced to stand in the cramped quarters as the folding chairs are quickly filled.
(...)

Many of the 30-some parishioners traveled several hours to come to the church. (...)

For many Scientologists this Sunday, their day is just beginning - or reaching the halfway point.

The service is just a highlight of a day filled with study, course work and counseling. And even in a relatively small congregation, space is tight.

That may soon change. The Church of Scientology plans to buy the former Hart Hotel in downtown Battle Creek, much larger than the small office building it has leased in Ann Arbor the past eight years.
(...)

The new location will cut travel time and be more convenient for parishioners, who are expected to spend plenty of time at the church studying the writings and life-improvement techniques of Scientology's founder, the late L. Ron Hubbard.

Mention the Church of Scientology to average residents and they typically know a couple of basic facts: that the church has a somewhat controversial image and that actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise are among Scientology's large contingent of celebrity members.

The Church of Scientology is a relative unknown to those who haven't studied it thoroughly, and descriptions vary dramatically from the words of Scientology officials and the often harsh words of critics.
(...)

Church officials say Scientology is ''inter-denominational,'' meaning it has members who also practice other religions.

When asked if God has a part in Scientology, Delaware says, ''Absolutely, God has a part in it.''

During his service, neither ''God'' nor ''Jesus Christ'' was mentioned often.

The service begins, as it does every week, with the minister reciting the Creed of Scientology. (See ''The Church's Creed'' on next page.) Delaware then reads one of Hubbard's articles and gives a sermon based on that.
(...)

Many Scientologists then head to study those and other rules and courses after the service. Sundays usually consist of at least three hours of study and course work for parishioners, partly because many commute for the weekend and cannot come during the week.

The students are gradually working their way up the elaborate and lengthy ''Bridge to Total Freedom,'' a journey that requires a strong work ethic and dedication. When parishioners are taking a course, they are required to be in the church studying or taking other services at least 12 hours a week, said Margarita Davis, executive director of the Church of Scientology Ann Arbor.

While midweek visits to churches of other denominations may consist of choir practice or a few hours of Bible study, Scientologists can be found in their church - which is open from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. seven days a week - at all hours taking courses or being counseled in ''auditing'' sessions.

While no collection plate is passed during the weekly Sunday service, money changes hands for the services. The courses and the auditing sessions, which are one-on-one counseling periods for the members, can cost up to $3,200 for 12 1/2 hours, according to a course list provided by the church.

Scientologists readily compare the cost of the church's courses - all written by Hubbard, who wrote in a variety of genres, including science fiction - with the cost and benefits of a college education at a four-year university.

Church officials point to thousands of success stories showing people who've benefited from Hubbard's techniques for studying and improving communication skills.

Critics, including former members of the church, say Scientology is a ''destructive cult'' and both sides seem entrenched in a bitter war to discount the other's credibility.

Where does it come from, this controversy that surrounds this religion, which has more than 150 churches internationally and nearly 50 in the United States?
(...)

Church officials say Scientology is an ''applied religious philosophy.''

As Davis explains, ''We address every individual as a spiritual being.''

''In that sense, it is a religion and that's why, in principal, it is a religion,'' she said.

The Internal Revenue Service agreed in 1993, granting the Church of Scientology and all its secondary programs full tax-exempt status. Church officials considered it a major victory, especially coming off the heels of a 1991 article in Time Magazine depicting the church as a ''cult of greed.'' The church then sued Time -- another long-standing legal battle. This time the courts, most recently the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York in January, ruled the suit should be dismissed, according to Church of Scientology International vs. Behar.
(...)

Halfway up the ''Bridge to Total Freedom'' lies the state of ''Clear.'' The term refers to ''a person who no longer has his own reactive mind and therefore suffers none of the ill effects that the reactive mind can cause,'' according to the What is Scientology? book based on the writings of Hubbard.

Students must take a series of courses to become ''Clear,'' and there are seemingly infinite combinations of courses and audits that parishioners can take to get to that state. On average, it will cost between $18,000 and $35,000 to become ''Clear.'' The process can take anywhere from three months to a few years, depending on how often the student takes courses, Davis said.
(...)

The Battle Creek Enquirer has received about 10 letters from residents - about evenly split between church supporters and critics - regarding the church's plan to move here.

Todd Phipps of Battle Creek authored two of the letters and was greeted with a surprising message on his answering machine less than a week after the second critical letter appeared in the paper.

The message was from John Carmichael, president of the Church of Scientology of New York. Carmichael, in Battle Creek at the time, requested to meet with Phipps to speak with him about why Phipps, an Evangelical Christian, was so opposed to Scientology.

''He was trying to get me to a point where I would be quiet and play nice,'' said Phipps.

Phipps, who gathered information through the Internet from former members and other critics of the church, said the meeting lasted about two hours. Carmichael declined to comment on the details of the meeting. ''That's just between him and me.''

Is it common practice for a high-ranking church official to meet with a private citizen who writes two letters to the local newspaper?

''I don't know that it's common practice,'' Carmichael said. ''If I find someone who's got a problem with Scientology, I talk to them. The way the Church of Scientology deals with people who don't know about the Church of Scientology is to educate them.

''In every case, we feel we can resolve misunderstanding through education.''

Phipps said he was somewhat surprised by Carmichael's phone call but added there was also a part of him that expected it, from what he's heard about the church's aggressive nature in talking to critics.

''If an organization feels it has to do these kinds of things, coming in from New York to talk to me because I wrote a couple of letters to the editor, they have to be hiding something,'' Phipps said. ''There has to be something to it, or their reaction wouldn't have to be that adverse.''
(...)

Chuck Trammell, who grew up in Battle Creek, lived in Clearwater, Fla., for 16 years and moved back home in August. His main reason?

''To get away from the Church of Scientology,'' he said. ''They never did anything to me personally, I just don't like what they do. I want the people of Battle Creek to know that once they're in, they're in for good.

''They ruined the city of Clearwater,'' Trammell said. ''It wasn't bad when they first snuck in there.
(...)

Clearwater and Los Angeles are home to Scientology's two advanced organizations in the United States, where parishioners can take higher courses, including the Operating Thetan (OT) levels that are confidential.

The higher levels are kept confidential, according to What is Scientology?, because parishioners must have the information from the other courses to understand fully the upper levels.

''Scientologists believe that one must be properly prepared - spiritually and ethically - to receive these materials and that premature exposure could impede spiritual development,'' according to the book.
(...)

Delaware disagrees with Trammell's account of the church's effect on Clearwater, saying the Church of Scientology has revamped plenty of crumbling buildings in the city's downtown area.

''Clearwater, prior to the church's arrival in the 1970s, was a dying city filled with vacant buildings, and the church has really changed that,'' Delaware said.

In regard to revamping an older, historic building, there is a similarity between Clearwater - where the renovations began with a historic hotel - and Battle Creek.
(...)

The church has not been a problem at all in Ann Arbor, according to the city's mayor, a University of Michigan spokeswoman and a family that owns a bakery right across the street from the church. They say you wouldn't even know the church was there if it wasn't for the sign in front of the building.

Yet nationwide there are dozens of staunch critics of the Church of Scientology - including former members and mental health professionals who say Scientology controls its members' minds and urges people to separate from their friends and family.

''Scientology is one of the most destructive cults separating our country today,'' said Steve Hassan, a licensed mental health counselor and author of Combatting Cult Mind Control. Hassan's statement echoes those in the Time article, the case which appears to be over after a nearly decade-long legal battle.

What can Battle Creek expect when the Church of Scientology comes to town?

''Unfortunately what they can expect is people to come in and recruit their loved ones and friends,'' Hassan said. ''The best possible thing for them to do is to educate themselves on this group and how its members operate.''
(...)

Scientology is extremely active in defending itself from critics.

Carmichael discounts the claims of Scientology's detractors. He says for every person who speaks critically of Scientology, there are thousands of success stories.

Scientology officials say those who speak against the church have a ''vested interest'' in doing so. When asked about specific claims, Carmichael produces arrest records against those making the claims.

Carmichael calls the reports ''false information correction packs,'' but when asked directly, he did say they have also been referred to as ''dead agent packs,'' the term Scientology critics used to describe the reports.

Carmichael said the term ''dead agent'' is borrowed from Art of War, by Chinese strategist Sun-tzu.

''When somebody is out there telling lies, you can prove they are telling lies so they are considered 'dead' for the enemy,'' Carmichael said.

Stacy Brooks and Jesse Prince, both former Scientologists, are among the most vocal critics and also considered ''dead agents.''

Both now work for the Lisa McPherson Trust in Clearwater, Fla., a group that has as its mission statement: ''to expose the abusive and destructive practices of the Church of Scientology and help those who have been victimized by it.''

Carmichael said both Brooks and Prince are ''paid anti-Scientologists'' and are making up stories about the church.

''How come these two people are spending their lives saying lies about Scientology, saying vile things about Scientology? You've got to ask yourself that,'' Carmichael said. ''I'm telling you why: because they can't get another job and they're getting paid well to do this.''

Carmichael says the church does have files, which include criminal records, on critics of the church.

''Do church attorneys employ private investigators to keep up on people who are making a dedicated effort to attack the Church of Scientology?'' Carmichael asked before answering his own question. ''Yes. We find all kinds of things when we look into these people.''

Delaware says Scientology's stance against drugs - including all psychiatric drugs such as Prozac - makes the church an easy target.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

The Church of Scientology is a destructive cult that acts more like a hate group than like the ''religion'' it claims to be. The publisher of Religion News Report fully agrees with the German government's view of Scientology:

''The German government considers the Scientology organization a commercial enterprise with a history of taking advantage of vulnerable individuals and an extreme dislike of any criticism. The government is also concerned that the organization's totalitarian structure and methods may pose a risk to Germany's democratic society. Several kinds of evidence have influenced this view of Scientology, including the organization's activities in the United States.''

The cult's ad hominem attacks - which, as the story above shows, often include blatant lying by Scientologist - on its critics can not erase its own record of hate, harassment, and criminal activities.

Given this cult's record of hate, harassment and privacy violations, the publisher of RNR / Apologetics Index cautions against providing Scientology with any personal information, including mailing addresses. Any information you need to have regarding Scientology can be found online and in print resources.

8. Scientology's Code of Honor
Battle Creek Enquirer, Feb. 25, 2001
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
This Code of Honor first appeared in November 1954, with an explanation from Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard that ''No one expects the Code of Honor to be closely and tightly followed.'' The reason, according to Hubbard: ''An ethical code cannot be enforced. Any effort to enforce the Code of Honor would bring it to the level of a moral code. It cannot be enforced simply because it is a way of life which can exist as a way of life only as long as it is not enforced.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

For information on how Scientologists put this ''Code of Honor'' into practices see: Scientology's hate and harassment practices

9. The Church's Creed
Battle Creek Enquirer, Feb. 25, 2001
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
L. Ron Hubbard wrote the Creed of the Church of Scientology shortly after the church was formed in Los Angeles in February 1954. According to the church's book What is Scientology?, the creed succinctly states what Scientologists believe.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

For details on how Scientology's Creed works out in real life, see: Consumer Alert: What Scientology really is

10. Church's teachings spark a bitter debate
Battle Creek Enquirer, Feb. 25, 2001
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
(...)
Behind the massive desk, the black office chair is tilted slightly to the right, as if its occupant had just stepped out to lunch.

A glance down to the nameplate, however, shows the name of a man - L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology - who has been dead for 15 years.
(...)

The desk and the tradition behind it are only part of the unique nature of Scientology, a religion that has seen its share of critics, especially in recent years. Scientologists speak glowingly of how its teachings have drastically improved their lives, yet critics contend Scientology is a ''destructive cult.''

The two sides paint sharply contrasting pictures.

Scientology officials say their staunch drug-free stance, which includes condemning all psychiatric drugs such as Prozac and Zoloft, has fueled a campaign against them that is funded by ''vested interests,'' a term several Scientologists used to describe all critics.

''It is a multimillion dollar industry, and when you're a group that does not support that, you can run head-on into some opposition,'' said Mike Delaware, an executive secretary with the church now based in Ann Arbor. ''Those that oppose us usually have a vested interest behind it.''

It's the ''vested interests,'' Scientology officials say, who are viciously spreading lies that range from people being held against their will to the church luring members to give it thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Critics, including some in the mental health profession and some former members, speak of innocent lives being ruined and bankrupted by the church.

''It all seems very innocent when you first start, and then you're needed to fight psychiatry, fight the big drug companies, fight the government because they're taking away man's only chance at freedom,'' said Jesse Prince, a former Scientologist who has come under heavy criticism from church leaders. ''A person quickly gets into a frame of mind that they're in a battle.''

Critics speak of being on ''24-hour watch'' by church officials, who respond by producing voluminous documents about the critics' criminal histories and describing them as ''paid anti-Scientologists.''

So where does the truth lie?

Success stories are in abundance.
(...)

Around the same time Stout and Green found Scientology, Stacy Brooks did as well.
(...)

After several auditing sessions, ''gradually, my whole life sort of became oriented around Scientology,'' Brooks said.

She started growing emotionally apart from family and friends. She then physically moved away, joining the Scientology staff in Los Angeles later that year.

''There were a lot of very stringent rules, very long hours, people not being able to sleep a lot, people being given a diet of rice and beans if they didn't earn enough money (through recruiting) for Scientology,'' Brooks said. ''I didn't agree with it, but I thought it was just people who didn't understand what Scientology was supposed to be.

''I tried to get high enough in the organization to teach people what Scientology was supposed to be.''

Brooks says she then tried to speak out about conditions, but was told to be quiet and was threatened with separation from her husband.

''It became a very closed world,'' Brooks said. ''If something was a violation of your civil rights or your human rights, you weren't allowed to go to anyone outside of Scientology for any recourse.''

The couple then began to play by the rules, Brooks said, and both were promoted to work as assistants to those in the upper levels of Scientology. It was then, Brooks claims, they saw the ''real'' Scientology.

''It's a very powerful, very wealthy scam which even people in the lower levels of Scientology don't know about,'' Brooks said.

Brooks now lives in Clearwater, Fla., and works as president of the Lisa McPherson Trust - just across the street from Scientology's flagship building in the waterfront town.

The trust is named after a woman whom some critics charge was starved by members of the Church of Scientology in Clearwater. The church denies the allegation, and criminal charges against the church were dropped in June. A civil wrongful death suit is still pending in Florida.

The trust's mission statement: ''To expose the abusive and destructive practices of the Church of Scientology and help those who have been victimized by it.''

Brooks says Scientology will try to silence its critics with allegations of criminal wrongdoing.

''What you're getting is a very carefully orchestrated plan to make us look like criminals,'' she said. ''We are characterized as criminals because we are criticizing and exposing the abuses and deceptions that are going on within Scientology.

''Scientology is not willing to listen to critics. All they want to do is destroy their critics.''
(...)

''I've heard what Stacy says and she lies through her teeth,'' said John Carmichael, who is president of the Church of Scientology of New York and handles some public relations work for the church. ''It really exasperates me because it's so far from the truth.''

Carmichael has been involved with the church for more than 30 years and says the church would not be around today if allegations such as those made by Brooks and by Prince -- also a Lisa McPherson Trust employee who described similar experiences in the church -- were true.
(...)

Carmichael calls the trust a ''hate group'' and added, ''I think anyone who makes a career out of harming a good group that helps people is evil.

''They are paid to say bad things about the Church of Scientology.''

But policies dealing with Scientology's detractors did exist.

Among Hubbard's writings are thousands of policy letters, which are indexed and available at any Church of Scientology. One letter dated Feb. 25, 1966, and not included in the index is titled Attacks on Scientology.

Davis, who joined the church staff in 1989, said she was not aware of such policy. Carmichael was.

''It's from a time when Scientology was under a very real attack from the United States government, when the Church of Scientology was on the United States government enemies list,'' Carmichael said.

The policy details investigating those who are speaking against Scientology and feeding the findings to the press.

''It was a time when we were growing up tough, from a time that said, 'Find out who's attacking you and why,' and we still do,'' Carmichael said. ''If someone wants to make a career out of attacking Scientology, we want to know why.''
(...)

In a broader sense, Scientologists contend that much of the criticism can be traced back to Scientology's stance against drugs.
(...)

The church, through several other nonprofit extension agencies, is fighting against war and crime, which also puts them at the forefront for attacks, Scientologists say.

''If you look at those three aims, a world without war, a world without insanity, a world without crime, and you look at how much money is in those three interests ... we are talking big money,'' said Laurie Gailunas, a Scientology minister who represents the church on the Interfaith Roundtable of Washtenaw County, which includes 31 churches in the county. ''I've seen for myself over the years, Scientology is really making inroads in these areas.

''Every single attack can be traced back to someone's money. Follow the money.''

Prince, now executive vice president of the Lisa McPherson Trust, said Scientology officials have been trying to follow the money of the trust in the organization's 13 months of existence. That's why he says he won't disclose how much he and the trust's other six full-time employees are paid.

''It's really a matter of privacy,'' Prince said.

Yet some small details of the trust's funding by Robert Minton came out in court last week in a case involving the trust and church officials violating court orders to stay more than 10 feet away from each other.

Minton, a retired New England investment banker who now lives in Clearwater and is chairman of the trust, told the court he has given $1.3 million to the trust since January 2000.

''I can tell you that less than 20 percent ($260,000) of that goes to staff pay,'' Prince said. ''We're not getting rich here like they say we are.

''What makes this trust so expensive is us in court with them, us having to pay lawyers to be in court with them.''

Carmichael said the church will aggressively try to protect itself from ''lies and false statements'' in court, and he described the trust as the primary source of those statements.

''The point is, if one person is dissuaded from getting help because of the lies these people told, as far as I'm concerned, that's too many,'' Carmichael said.

In terms of following money headed into the church, Scientology officials and some parishioners acknowledge the services are not cheap, likening it to the cost of a college education.
(...)

The money members pay the church is among the things Steve Hassan, a licensed mental health professional in Massachusetts, follows. He says he's counseled hundreds of former Scientologists in his 23 years in the field and sees the same patterns again and again.

''Essentially, this is a group that wants to take over the world,'' said Hassan, author of several books including Combatting Cult Mind Control. ''This is a group that will extract large sums of money from people, this is a group that will encourage its members to disconnect, that's their term, from family members and friends that raise questions about the church.''

The term ''disconnect'' is referred to in different court cases involving the Church of Scientology, including Padgett v. Padgett, a divorce and child custody case in Kentucky stemming from a man who left the church while his wife stayed.

The man then sought custody of his two children, both raised in Scientology.

Potential parishioners are lured in by Scientologists whom Hassan says claim to have all the answers people need in life.

''They often act friendly and whatever you're into, they'll push it. If you're into making more money, they'll push that. If you're looking for a better relationship with a person, they'll push that. They'll get you in the door and they'll begin controlling things.''

''I think on one level, one could grant it status as a religion, but I look at it as a destructive cult.''
(...)

Hassan claims Scientology leaders have tried to destroy his career and reputation for speaking against them.

''They are very effective at creating fear,'' Hassan said. ''I've had private investigators follow me. They go through my trash. They've threatened to sue me.''

Hassan's latest book, Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves, features his ''BITE Model'' to determine if a group practices mind control.

The model tests to determine if the group practices behavior, information, thought and emotional control. If it has components of all four, which Hassan says Scientology does, the group practices ''destructive mind control.''

Hassan said the mind control is geared to make money for the church.

''Typically it runs in the tens of thousands into the hundreds of thousands to climb the 'Bridge to Total Freedom,' that's what they call it,'' Hassan said.

''Unlike legitimate religions where they tell you what the beliefs are up front, this religion makes you pay and get through these processes before they tell you what the beliefs are.''
(...)

''The term 'cult' has been used to describe religions throughout the centuries,'' Delaware said. ''The term 'cult' does not apply to Scientology. Cults don't survive after their founders pass, and ours has.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

In the opinion of the publisher of RNR / Apologetics Index, the term ''destructive cult'' applies to Scientology - as does the term ''hate group.''

» Part 3