Scarier than the lifelong (many times over) commitment is the fact that the MV Freewinds, the massive Scientology-owned cruise ship-cum-Sea Org training center on which Tom Cruise completely lost his mind while celebrating his 40th birthday, was sealed by Caribbean authorities in April after it was alleged that the captain hid the presence of cancer-causing blue asbestos in the ventilation system while workers tried to refurbish the vessel. Anchors away!

No Divinity In Scientology

By Jeannette Walls MSNBC

Updated: 2:41 a.m. ET April 18, 2006

Tom Cruise has been sitting down with a lot of reporters lately — but one recent chat didn't go so well. The "Mission Impossible" star walked out of an interview with Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet S ö ndag after the conversation turned to his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman.

The conversation was all smiles until reporter Bjorn Benkow insisted that experts say that dyslexia cannot be cured by Scientology as Cruise has claimed. There was an awkward pause, then Cruise burst into laughter. "I'm going to, in any case, admit that you have the courage of a madman," according to our translator. "This is something no journalist has dared say to me face-to-face. . . . Scientology is a religion without divinity. Its teaching is a spiritual liberation from life's problems that can only be reached through advice, courses and deep studies. Your cynical media colleagues cast doubt over all the good that we do by spreading a bunch of hocus pocus about us."

Then the reporter mentioned Kidman and the two children that she and Cruise adopted. "Now you've gone over the line," Cruise replied. Then, according to Benkow, one of Cruise's two bodyguards put his hand on the reporter's shoulder, and Cruise said: "Now, unfortunately, I have to end this, Mr. . . . ?"

From http://www.radaronline.com/fresh-intelligence/2005/06/27/index.php

Scientology ' s Catholic Guilt

Before Katie Holmes ' devoutly Catholic parents officially sign their daughter over to the Church of Scientology, they might want to get in touch with Philip J. Spickler . One of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's original disciples, Spickler is the father of Mimi Rogers , Tom Cruise 's first wife and the person responsible for recruiting him into the cult in the mid-'80s.

Like his daughter—who, at her most pious, worked for the Church full-time—Spickler has since left Scientology. Unlike his daughter—who spent last week on the talk-show circuit spinning her ex's increasingly unhinged behavior—he has quite a bit to say about the sect.

Of particular note to Martin and Kathleen Holmes might be Spickler's firsthand account of L. Ron Hubbard's virulent anti-Catholicism. Although Scientology publicly portrays itself as compatible with Christianity, in one of a series of emails he has written to friends and associates since his defection, Spickler writes that Hubbard "often referred to the Pope as ‘Dr. Pious,' and the priests as his ‘witchwater boys.'"

In addition, Spickler writes, Hubbard ironically dismissed Catholicism as a "very successful operation to control the spirit, minds, and bodies of those who fell under its thrall before they attained an age where they could reason and discriminate and choose for themselves."

Unfortunately, the ex-Scientologist could not be reached by press time for his perspective on the newly affianced couple, and a rep for Rogers—who traded her cult membership for a prominent seat on the celebrity poker circuit—did not return calls for comment.

http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_8568.shtml

WHAT ETERNAL GOOD DOES TOM CRUISE DO BY MARKETING SCIENTOLOGY?
By J. Grant Swank, Jr.
MichNews.com
Jun 29, 2005


What Scientology fails at is truth.

Scientology is all about Me. It's my happiness and money success.

Scientology is not about my sins, my need for repentance, my total inability to redeem my
soul, my need for a Savior who provides His holy sacrifice by which to rescue my hell-bent
soul.

Scientology is amoral. But there is no such entity as "amoral." It is moral or immoral.
When something is referred to as amoral it is immoral. There is no middle ground between
righteousness and unrighteousness. All is either smiled upon by heaven or urged on by
hell. The only entities that may be regarded as "amoral" are inanimate objects such tables
and chairs.

Christianity presents the truth that the mortal is born in sin. Mortal is in need of a
Redeemer who presents Himself as holy before heaven's courts, providing His own life as a
ransom for repentant souls.

Christianity is based upon the New Testament records. There one reads that Christ died for
our sins, in our place, providing justice in the heavenly courts for mortals not able to
provide that justice themselves due to their sinful natures.

Scientology has no place for heaven or hell. There is no Judgment Seat of Christ. There is
no accountability at death.

It is all about now and one's earthly successful future. There are symbols and terms and
definitions in Scientology that waylay the inquirer from the Bible into the writings of
Ronald Hubbard, an esoteric visionary given to wild imaginative spinning.

In other words, Satan has manufactured still another cult based on man's ability to redeem
himself. However, such redemption totally focuses on this earthly sojourn. In that
self-redemption, ethics are defined as working for Scientology, growing in mind through
Scientology, applying the techniques for self-expansion via Scientology, mastering founder
Hubbard's tools for self-happiness.

Satan takes all praise and glory from Redeemer Christ for all honor and esteem granted
Hubbard and his wild spheres of inner ascendancy. Hubbard, in other words, espouses the
teachings of Satan as Lucifer - the Angel of Light. Hubbard presents the evil one as the
gospel of the inner understanding.

Satan appears in gross state in order to lead mortals astray, away from Savior Christ. For
instance, Satan appears in drug trips and drunken stupors, in murder lust and sexual
perversions. In other words, Satan appears in all the obviously immoral venues of this
spiritually fallen planet.

But Satan also appears dressed in fine clothing, espousing ethics and wisdom, gathering
for fellowship and sharing, delving into the meaning of life, investigating the definition
of the soul, and testifying to having discovered higher levels of personal accomplishment.

Scientology is Satan dressed in fine grab. However, many have found Scientology's dark
side to be clothed in murder and intrigue, kidnapping and lies, deceit and fear. One of
the most insightful sites for exposing the dark side of Scientology is "ABC News 20/20
Exposure of Scientology Cult: Transcript" at http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/2020.htm .

So now we have Tom Cruise once again in the news. In this recent limelight given the
actor, Scientology repeatedly comes to the fore.

The AP reports: "Tom Cruise says girlfriend Katie Holmes 'digs' the Church of Scientology.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cruise says the 26-year-old 'Batman Begins'
actress is curious about Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard.

"'Yes, absolutely. She digs it,' the 42-year-old actor tells the magazine.

"When asked if he's become more passionate about Scientology, Cruise says: 'I've always
been passionate about it. I've always talked about it when people asked about it.'

"He also confirmed there was a Scientology massage tent on the set of his upcoming film,
'War of the Worlds.'

"'I also had a cappuccino tent on that set. And I made sure the crews were fed well, too.
And if someone wanted an assist from a (Scientology) volunteer, it was there for them,' he
says. 'People are curious about it - they're always asking me about it, they want to know
what Scientology is.'"

"In an EW.com poll, 61 percent of respondents said they liked Cruise less now after the
recent exhaustive attention to his personal life, 3 percent said they liked him more, and
36 percent said their viewpoint of the 'Top Gun' star hadn't changed."

Cruise, like many other famous individuals, particularly actors, furthers the cult of
Scientology as Satan uses this means by which to direct eternal souls away from Christ to
Hubbard.

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Email: joseph_swank@yahoo.com