How Leah Remini’s New Show Has Jolted Scientology

[mountaineer]

How Leah Remini’s New Show Has Jolted Scientology
Elizabeth Wagmeister
Variety (excerpted - click on link for full article).
December 20, 2016 | 10:00AM PT

Leah Remini is enjoying ratings success for her controversial A&E docuseries “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.” Weeks after her show debuted to 2.1 million viewers, becoming the cabler’s top new series, the actress is still speaking up against the church.

Having become a Scientologist at age nine, following in the footsteps of her mother, Remini departed in 2013, after spending 34 years in the church. She was one of the organization’s most prominent celebrity supporters.

In Remini’s A&E series, she visits former Scientologists who share their horror stories of being involved with the church, such as being abused, being stripped of money or being separated from their families. In the episodes, the ex-Scientologists have told Remini that they believe the church should be shut down. Remini agrees.

“I hope that the IRS takes a look because they’re hiding behind freedom of religion, and they love to run around and say that everyone is a bigot because we’re attacking their abusive policies,” Remini told Variety in a recent interview (watch below). “I hope that the government agencies that are responsible for protecting people like in this show start to get their heads out of their asses and do something about it.”  ...

Remini also hopes that John Travolta would leave, but says that he’s committed to the church.

“John loves Scientology and John believes that Scientology is everything. He’s a very sweet man,” the former “King of Queens” actress says. “I don’t think they’re going anywhere.”

Travolta’s reps had no comment. Cruise’s team did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.

When asked for comment by Variety, the Church of Scientology responded with a link to their new website, LeahReminiAftermath.com, launched in response to her new series.

I've been watching this series. It's fascinating.

[mystery-ak]

I keep forgetting to watch this....

[Gefn]

I keep forgetting to watch this....

Me too. I bet it's on On Demand....

[mountaineer]

It's on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (Eastern) and then they replay the episode the following Monday night.

[GrouchoTex]

I've seen two episodes so far.
It is good.

[kevindavis007]

I saw an episode and I love that show.. Scientology is truly a cult and I hope the Government cracks down on them.

[mountaineer]

I don't believe Leah has touched on this piece of the "church's" sordid past, the Lisa McPherson story or other suspicious deaths at the hands of Scientologists.

[kevindavis007]

I don't believe Leah has touched on this piece of the "church's" sordid past, the Lisa McPherson story or other suspicious deaths at the hands of Scientologists.

or the fact the Church was founded on a bet.

[mountaineer]

A&E is replaying previous episodes right now - Monday night.

[Cripplecreek]

I saw an episode and I love that show.. Scientology is truly a cult and I hope the Government cracks down on them.

Isaak Hayes left South Park over it so they doubled down and made Chef a child molester and it sounds like there may be a fair amount of that going on within the "church".

[sneakypete]

Scientology is truly a cult and I hope the Government cracks down on them.

@kevindavis

Yeah,unlike all the other religions,huh?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@kevindavis

Yeah,unlike all the other religions,huh?

Not a sane response.

There are certainly other cults abounding out there that pose as religions.

[Cripplecreek]

Not a sane response.

There are certainly other cults abounding out there that pose as religions.

Scientology was the product of a mediocre sci fi writer's greed and lust for young boys.

[sneakypete]

Not a sane response.

There are certainly other cults abounding out there that pose as religions.

@IsailedawayfromFR

My response was very sane. ALL religions are cults to those of other religions.

Which,by definition,means they are all cults.

You will never admit the truth of this because you will never admit you are a member of a cult.

[sneakypete]

Scientology was the product of a mediocre sci fi writer's greed and lust for young boys.

@Cripplecreek

Hubbard was a homosexual pedophile? I never heard that before.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@IsailedawayfromFR

My response was very sane. ALL religions are cults to those of other religions.

Which,by definition,means they are all cults.

You will never admit the truth of this because you will never admit you are a member of a cult.

By your own admission, most people in this world are insane as most belong to a religion.

Only in the mind of the insane can one claim everyone else is insane.

[mountaineer]

I didn't post this for it to become a "bash religion" thread. It's only about Leah Remini's series and scientology. If you're interested, watch it. If not, fine. Please leave other religions out of it.

[mountaineer]

Leah Remini’s Series Could Be Scientology’s Church Abuse Scandal
What makes Scientology a cult instead of just an extreme religion? The two latest episodes explained the difference better than any of the previous episodes.
By Bethany Mandel
December 27, 2016
Excerpted from The Federalist

Last week A&E aired not one, but two new episodes of its series exposing Scientology, “Scientology: The Aftermath.” Both shed light on the darkest elements of the group, which the series charges has terrorized and even caused the deaths of opponents and followers alike. What makes Scientology a cult instead of just an extreme religion? These two episodes explained the difference better than any of the previous episodes.

The first new episode was an aired edition of a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) in which actress Leah Remini answered viewers’ questions about the cult.  ...

Last Tuesday night, as scheduled, A&E aired the second episode, profiling the current leader (or the pope, as Rinder says he calls himself) of Scientology, David Miscavige. Although Tom Cruise is the most famous member of Scientology, up until episode four Remini spent almost no airtime focusing on the movie-star face of the “church.” The opening of the fourth episode, however, uses Cruise’s words to introduce Miscavige to A&E’s audience.  ...

Miscavige’s official title in the Church of Scientology is chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Center. But who is he really? Rinder described him another way: “the undisputed dictator of Scientology.”  ...

During the AMA episode, Remini explained her greatest hope for the series is that law enforcement and legislators might take an interest in Scientology’s abuses. If practicing Scientologists are exposed to the fourth episode exploring the humanity and evil of David Miscavige, however, it may contribute to a potential exodus from the group that could lead to its implosion from lack of money and followers.

[sneakypete]

By your own admission, most people in this world are insane as most belong to a religion.

Only in the mind of the insane can one claim everyone else is insane.

@IsailedawayfromFR

Nope,YOU are the cult member that is saying that cult members are insane. All I said was they/you are cult members.

People believe all sorts of foolish shit,or nobody would buy lottery tickets. That doesn't make them insane. Granted,the ones that set themselves on fire or have themselves crucified are nuts,but there is always a certain percentage of the population of every organization that is nuts.

[sneakypete]

I didn't post this for it to become a "bash religion" thread. It's only about Leah Remini's series and scientology. If you're interested, watch it. If not, fine. Please leave other religions out of it.

@mountaineer

My apologies. I was thinking that Scientology is a religion,which means the subject is religion.

What the HELL was I thinking?

[jmyrlefuller]

@IsailedawayfromFR

My response was very sane. ALL religions are cults to those of other religions.

Which,by definition,means they are all cults.

You will never admit the truth of this because you will never admit you are a member of a cult.

First off, as a point of disclaimer officially I am not a member of any religion or church.  I do attend church regularly and my beliefs are in consistency with most Christian denominations.

That does not mean I view all other denominations or religions as cults. I may disagree with them on certain doctrine, but there are plenty of denominations who do not consider all others to be cults. They may be wrong, perhaps, but not all cults.

Your logic is also kind of sketchy.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@IsailedawayfromFR

Nope,YOU are the cult member that is saying that cult members are insane. All I said was they/you are cult members.

Since those same people who form a majority of those who live in this world do not believe themselves in a cult and you apparently do, then I stand on my statement:  You are insane.

[sneakypete]

Since those same people who form a majority of those who live in this world do not believe themselves in a cult and you apparently do, then I stand on my statement:  You are insane.

@IsailedawayfromFR

According to YOUR logic Hillary should be president now because the MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS VOTED FOR HER,AND BEING A MAJORITY THAT MEANS THEY ARE SANE,RIGHT?

Group thought just indicates shallow thoughts or points of view.

[mountaineer]

Had you bothered to watch the program, you would have heard last night how Scientology is like the Hotel California - you can check in but never leave. Leah spoke to a couple who escaped, separately. Each of them was followed, the guy was run off the road by Scientology enforcers who tried to kidnap him and take him back. The woman was required to have five escorts wherever she went (even to an appointment with the eye doctor).

Cults do that. Religions don't. Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, the various Protestant denominations - do not forbid their members to leave the religion. They don't surround them with razor wire like at Scientology's base in Hemet, Calif.  They don't guard them, kidnap them, track them down and harass them and their families. That's what Scientology does. That's what some other cults do. Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Sikhs (for example) don't do that.

WHAT IS A CULT?

Larry King asked me this very question after thirty-nine people took their lives in the largest mass suicide in U.S. history. He went on to ask whether Christianity might legitimately be referred to as a cult. As I explained on Larry King Live the word “cult” has various connotations.

First, a cult may be defined sociologically. From this perspective, a cult is a religious or semi-religious sect whose followers are controlled by strong leadership in virtually every dimension of their lives. Devotees characteristically display a displaced loyalty for the guru and the group and are galvanized together through physical and/or psychological intimidation tactics. This kind of cultist more often than not displays a “we/they” siege mentality and has been cut off from all former associations including their immediate families.

Furthermore, a cult may be defined theologically. In this sense a cult can be a pseudo-Christian organization that claims to be Christian but compromises, confuses, or contradicts essential Christian doctrine. Such cults operate under the guise of Christianity but deviate from the orthodox teachings of the historic Christian faith as codified in the ancient ecumenical creeds. Typically, devotees become masters at taking texts out of context to develop pretexts for their theological perversions. ...

Hank Hanegraaff, Equip.org.
Hope this helps. Feel free to read more at Equip.org.

[sneakypete]

Had you bothered to watch the program, you would have heard last night how Scientology is like the Hotel California - you can check in but never leave. Leah spoke to a couple who escaped, separately. Each of them was followed, the guy was run off the road by Scientology enforcers who tried to kidnap him and take him back. The woman was required to have five escorts wherever she went (even to an appointment with the eye doctor).

Cults do that. Religions don't. Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, the various Protestant denominations - do not forbid their members to leave the religion. They don't surround them with razor wire like at Scientology's base in Hemet, Calif.  They don't guard them, kidnap them, track them down and harass them and their families. That's what Scientology does. That's what some other cults do. Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Sikhs (for example) don't do that. Hank Hanegraaff, Equip.org.
Hope this helps. Feel free to read more at Equip.org.

@mountaineer

They have in the past,and will again now and in the future if they are allowed to do so. Back when the Catholics held power,being booted out of the Church was almost a death sentence due to starvation and exposure. No one would have anything to do with you or help you,for fear of themselves becoming targets.

Some Protestant Churches have done the same with their members that started to ask uncomfortable non-Church PC questions.

Yeah,the Jews did this too,by banning disobedient members.

Both Protestants and Catholics banded together to weaken the Mormon Religion before they would "allow" Utah statehood. Granted,the Mormons themselves are more to blame in this than the Protestants and Catholics because they punked out and accepted outsiders/non-believers to dictate what beliefs they could follow or not follow.

And look at what Islam is doing today.

[mountaineer]

There's a reason I didn't include Islam in my mention of "legitimate" religions. 

[Idaho_Cowboy]

@mountaineer

They have in the past,and will again now and in the future if they are allowed to do so. Back when the Catholics held power,being booted out of the Church was almost a death sentence due to starvation and exposure. No one would have anything to do with you or help you,for fear of themselves becoming targets.

Some Protestant Churches have done the same with their members that started to ask uncomfortable non-Church PC questions.

Yeah,the Jews did this too,by banning disobedient members.

Both Protestants and Catholics banded together to weaken the Mormon Religion before they would "allow" Utah statehood. Granted,the Mormons themselves are more to blame in this than the Protestants and Catholics because they punked out and accepted outsiders/non-believers to dictate what beliefs they could follow or not follow.

And look at what Islam is doing today.

Good thing they banned religion in Russia it must have been paradise. 

Perhaps the problem is centralized power be it a religion or the party.

[sneakypete]

There's a reason I didn't include Islam in my mention of "legitimate" religions.

@mountaineer

Would that reason be you consider it to be a cult?

[sneakypete]

Good thing they banned religion in Russia it must have been paradise. 

@Idaho_Cowboy

The Soviets DIDN'T ban religion in the USSR. That lie was western propaganda,mostly from Christians,but pretty much everyone believed it,including the ruling political classes.

What the Soviets did was ABSORB religion. "Russian Orthodox Priest" became a KBG career field. Who can think of a better place to plant NKVD/KGB spies to spy on troublemakers than the priesthood? After all,the guilt-ridden confessed to their priest all their anti-Soviet deeds and thoughts each week.

Any priest already heading up a parish would either play along at first,or off to the gulag they would go to work and tend their flocks there.  After a few years ALL the priests were KGB agents or informers. The Patriarch of the RO Church was approved by the Politburo ,just like they had been under the Czars.

I don't know this to be a fact,but I strongly suspect the NKVD/KGB were also running informers amongst the Mosque crowds in their various shitstans. There is no doubt the Soviet leadership were evil people,but they weren't stupid,so it's hard to believe they would pass up a chance like that.



"Perhaps the problem is centralized power be it a religion or the party."

BINGO! It is an absolute fact that power corrupts,and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 
 

[mountaineer]

@mountaineer

Would that reason be you consider it to be a cult?

No.

[kevindavis007]

Isaak Hayes left South Park over it so they doubled down and made Chef a child molester and it sounds like there may be a fair amount of that going on within the "church".

@Cripplecreek they think that Isaak Hayes didn't leave South Park by his own choice..

[kevindavis007]

Had you bothered to watch the program, you would have heard last night how Scientology is like the Hotel California - you can check in but never leave. Leah spoke to a couple who escaped, separately. Each of them was followed, the guy was run off the road by Scientology enforcers who tried to kidnap him and take him back. The woman was required to have five escorts wherever she went (even to an appointment with the eye doctor).

Cults do that. Religions don't. Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, the various Protestant denominations - do not forbid their members to leave the religion. They don't surround them with razor wire like at Scientology's base in Hemet, Calif.  They don't guard them, kidnap them, track them down and harass them and their families. That's what Scientology does. That's what some other cults do. Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Sikhs (for example) don't do that. Hank Hanegraaff, Equip.org.
Hope this helps. Feel free to read more at Equip.org.

Nor does the Church of the LDS..

[kevindavis007]

Scientology was the product of a mediocre sci fi writer's greed and lust for young boys.

Yep.. Also, there is a rumor that created Scientology on a bet..

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@IsailedawayfromFR

According to YOUR logic Hillary should be president now because the MAJORITY OF THE VOTERS VOTED FOR HER,AND BEING A MAJORITY THAT MEANS THEY ARE SANE,RIGHT?

Group thought just indicates shallow thoughts or points of view.

you are senseless, as we are not talking about Hillary.

Better go read up the definition of insanity.

[Cripplecreek]

@Cripplecreek they think that Isaak Hayes didn't leave South Park by his own choice..

That's the nice thing about being a Christian. Individual Christians can denounce me for stepping outside traditional doctrine on a few issues and nothing changes. Even the Pope can denounce me and its meaningless to me partially because I'm Protestant and partly because nothing will happen even if I were Catholic.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@mountaineer

They have in the past,and will again now and in the future if they are allowed to do so. Back when the Catholics held power,being booted out of the Church was almost a death sentence due to starvation and exposure. No one would have anything to do with you or help you,for fear of themselves becoming targets.

Some Protestant Churches have done the same with their members that started to ask uncomfortable non-Church PC questions.

Yeah,the Jews did this too,by banning disobedient members.

Both Protestants and Catholics banded together to weaken the Mormon Religion before they would "allow" Utah statehood. Granted,the Mormons themselves are more to blame in this than the Protestants and Catholics because they punked out and accepted outsiders/non-believers to dictate what beliefs they could follow or not follow.

And look at what Islam is doing today.

What evidence do you submit that supports these baseless claims that this now exists?

[kevindavis007]

That's the nice thing about being a Christian. Individual Christians can denounce me for stepping outside traditional doctrine on a few issues and nothing changes. Even the Pope can denounce me and its meaningless to me partially because I'm Protestant and partly because nothing will happen even if I were Catholic.

I think that is what is special about this country.. People don't have to be forced to stay in a religion if they choose not too.

[Cripplecreek]

Yep.. Also, there is a rumor that created Scientology on a bet..

Robert Forward would have made a much better Cult leader.

His doctrine would be along the lines of " Go forth, explore and expand into space, multiply, colonize and prosper."

[kevindavis007]

Robert Forward would have made a much better Cult leader.

His doctrine would be along the lines of " Go forth, explore and expand into space, multiply, colonize and prosper."

Hell, I would join that cult.. Forwadism..

[Cripplecreek]

Hell, I would join that cult.. Forwadism..

You could even be a Forwardist and Judaeo-Christian because it doesn't come into conflict with either.

Gotta love a man who can write sci fi, fill it with rock solid science and open with the words "I've got a job for you. It pays a billion." (Saturn Rukh)

[kevindavis007]

You could even be a Forwardist and Judaeo-Christian because it doesn't come into conflict with either.

Gotta love a man who can write sci fi, fill it with rock solid science and open with the words "I've got a job for you. It pays a billion." (Saturn Rukh)

Never read his books, but I think I'll start reading them..

[Cripplecreek]

Never read his books, but I think I'll start reading them..

Saturn Rukh is where the real business "Tethers Unlimited" got its start. http://www.tethers.com/

Lots of interesting stuff about using braided carbon nanofiber tethers to climb down into and up out of Jupiter's gravity well.

[sneakypete]

No.

@mountaineer

Well,if it is not a legitimate religion and it is not a cult,what is it?

[sneakypete]

What evidence do you submit that supports these baseless claims that this now exists?

@IsailedawayfromFR

You ask me to produce evidence to support what I wrote,adn then claim in the same sentence that what I wrote is baseless?

And you no doubt still wonder why I think you are an idiot?

Logic ain't your strong point,is it?

[mountaineer]

I didn't post this thread to discuss Islam or the LDS church,  Pete, so I won't.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@IsailedawayfromFR

You ask me to produce evidence to support what I wrote,adn then claim in the same sentence that what I wrote is baseless?

And you no doubt still wonder why I think you are an idiot?

Logic ain't your strong point,is it?

No basis to support the claims you made that these religions force those to remain.

You certainly have a shallow retention time.  Go back and reread what you said.

[mountaineer]

Remini Series: Scientology’s Horrors Include Imprisonment And Forced Abortion
Leah Remini's newest A&E episode on Scientology reveals some of the most horrific and shocking stories of ex-'church' members yet.
By Bethany Mandel
January 3, 2017
Excerpted from The Federalist - click on link for full article.

In the fifth episode of Leah Remini’s A&E series exposing Scientology, she has a message for viewers, Scientologists, and the private investigators hired to follow the production team around: You ain’t seen nothing yet.

The episode’s focus rests on gala fundraisers organized by the “church.” Remini explains that these helped keep her tied to the group even after doubts began to surface. The galas center around Scientology’s great successes helping inner city school children and drug addicts—which are all demonstratively false, according to the former producer of these events, Marc Headley. ...

Sitting opposite Remini and Mike Rinder—the former International Spokesman for Scientology—the Headleys shared tales of false imprisonment, forced abortion, and working for slave wages during their 15 years in Scientology’s most elite group, the Sea Organization.  ...

When explaining how she came to leave the “church,” Claire makes a point of stating she didn’t just depart—she escaped. Both Marc and Claire describe how they fled: Marc on motorcycle, which was run off the road by Scientologists in the California desert. Claire had to sneak onto a bus, away from Scientology minders on a trip to Walmart—where she was shopping for contact lenses that had to be approved by a dozen higher-ups.

Upon arriving in Las Vegas, she was stopped by other Scientologists, at which time Claire sat on her purse in the middle of the bus station, prepared to raise a ruckus if they tried to physically drag her back to the International Base in California. The Headleys described how others escaped the Base: over barbed wire and through miles of desert to the nearest signs of civilization, four miles away.  ...

Given just the Headley’s testimony, viewers are left wondering why there has yet to be a raid on the International Base in California in order to, at the very least, interview its residents and give them the opportunity to safely depart. While police and prosecutors in areas in which Scientology operates may have been able to play dumb thus far, Remini’s bombshell special has now made that farce impossible to continue.

[mountaineer]

Tuesday, January 3, 2017
We Chose Wisely Weed-Hoppers.

I’d been planning to watch Leah Rimini’s Scientology exposé series and finally managed to squeeze in 3 of the episodes between important football games during the holiday weekend.

I discovered that the church of Scientology is a billion dollar earth-centric cult ministered by an elite organization (Sea Org) that practices unlicensed psychology for which they charge exorbitant fees (up to $250,000 over the lifetime of an ordinary, non-celebrity member). It was founded by  L. Ron Hubbard ...

While the foundation of the church’s doctrine is hardly the stuff of the world’s great religions, Scientology makes up for its lack of spirituality by imposing an impressive array of truths, doctrines and practices – all of which require separate processing and handling charges. Unlike many religions, in Scientology money can buy happiness, or at least a higher place on the bridge to consciousness. And if that’s not convincing enough on it’s own, the church very consciously attempts to recruit celebrities for the promotional value of their membership. And their money.

Following Hubbard’s death in 1986 the church leadership was assumed by a man (David Miscavige) who never finished high school, has an explosive temper, enjoys beating the crap out of people and whose wife mysteriously disappeared years ago butt nobody has ever investigated; it’s almost like he’s a Democrat…or a Muslim, or something.

Apparently when you sign up to be a Scientologist it is for life. If you attempt to leave you are totally cut off from your family and friends who are forbidden to speak to you but are encouraged to malign, denigrate and defame you in any way possible – again, just like with Democrats.  ...

Read the entire article at Michelle Obama's Mirror

[IsailedawayfromFR]

No basis to support the claims you made that these religions force those to remain.

You certainly have a shallow retention time.  Go back and reread what you said.

still awaiting
@sneakypete

[sneakypete]

still awaiting
@sneakypete

@IsailedawayfromFR

There is no convincing any cult member that THEIR preferred brand of delusion is just another cult.