From: "Kerry Fouché" <khf@rmi.net> Subject: YOU HAVE A CHOICE[a de-lurkers story]part 1 Date: 16 Nov 1998 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <3650FEFB.8AA356BE@rmi.net> Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology YOU HAVE A CHOICE This is written for anyone contemplating hooking up with Scientology(tm), and is dedicated to Lisa Mc Phearson and any others who have died due to their association with Scientology; to the many people whose humanity, dreams, and goodwill has been twisted and perverted by their experiences in and with Scientology; and to those brave souls who have broken Scientology's code of silence risking defamation, litigation, financial ruin and degradation for daring to expose the hidden agendas, deceits, and contradictions regarding L. Ron Hubbard and his creations: Dianetics and Scientology. You have a choice, but choices always involve consequences. Pay attention to that key part-as the consequences you'll live may not be what you're promised or persuasively (dare I say coercively) led to expect. You can choose to jump right in, over your head, into Scientology without a thought or you can spend a little time researching and getting a variety of viewpoints. Hey, it's up to you-it's your mind and soul. It just may be that what's initially presented as Scientology is merely one face of a many faceted group. Before you leap maybe it would be a good idea to check out the other faces. Perhaps you're looking for answers. Answers to questions about life, the mind, society, or mankind. Maybe you're an idealist looking for solutions to our worlds problems that would result in Utopia-Heaven on Earth. It could be that you're wanting to better understand yourself, your parents, your friends, or your significant other. You perhaps feel you want to become more spiritual and better comprehend God, the cosmos, and your place in it. Maybe you're concerned, even afraid of the approaching millennium and the various predictions of social upheaval and world changes. Lost a loved one? Depressed? Confused? Mid-life crisis? Suffering from "optional paralysis"? Maybe there's nothing wrong in your life, but you want more: more money, success, friends, status, POWER. Need direction in your life? Want to get your life "under control"? How about mystical, supernatural powers and answers to the eternal questions posed by life itself? Feel drawn to the esoteric arts? Maybe you just need a friend, someone to REALLY understand you. Want to fix somebody, fix a relationship, fix society and just don't know how to go about it? Are you looking for a "worthy cause" to channel your good will, intelligence, and enthusiasm into? Perhaps you're a trusting person believing in the basic goodness of people and want world peace, freedom for all, an end to hate, an end to insanity, spiritual salvation for everyone. Very noble of you. Scientology will overtly or covertly lead you to believe ALL of the above is possible through their "applied religious philosophy". Sounds too good to be true, you might think. Well, find out for yourself. Find out what some people who were in Scientology for years, spending LOTS of time and money have to say . Plenty of books in the library, and the bookstores. Plenty of websites, plenty of newspaper and magazine articles, and of course this usenet group. I suggest that if you only seek your answers from a Scientologist or the publications of Scientology you will be doing yourself a great disservice. They can only present their own point of view. Of course, it's in their best interest to deny, obfuscate, and minimize any evidence contrary to their position. They have vested interests, as everyone does. So get the whole picture, read everything you can about this incredibly controversial organization. You know, it always seemed to me that there were three sides to every story: your side, my side, and what actually is. Check it out. Do your research. Become informed. Is Scientology really a cult? Well, go to the library and read up on cults, sects, and alternative religions What really constitutes brainwashing and how is it accomplished? Be an informed consumer, find out. Is there really such a thing as "coercive persuasion", and if so, what are the consequences to one so coerced? Interestingly enough, Scientology would advise/persuade you NOT to investigate what anybody else has to say. I guess you could ask Why?. Very good question. Could it be they have something to hide? Have you ever thought you'd found your "soul mate", your "one and only", only to find out, much later, that there was a dark side to the person that finally overwhelmed the relationship? Have you ever had that perfect job only to find out, much later, it was really a dead-end, boss was a jerk, the company's morals were only in terms of the bottom line, and you were to be used until you burnt out, and quickly discarded? The good thing about bad relationships and bad jobs is that you can leave and choose another. I'm not sure if it works that way in Scientology. But you have resources, you can find out from people who've been there. Why does Scientology spend SO much money and effort trying to silence critics? Seems kind of funny to me when you consider a portion of their creed which states, and I quote: 'That all men have inalienable rights to think freely, to talk freely, to write freely their own opinion and to counter or utter or write upon the opinions of others.' Yes, I'm an EX-Scientologist Yes, I wish somebody would have insisted I did not go blindly into Scientology Yes, I wish that what the internet now provides was around 20 years ago Yes, I wish I hadn't been so naive and trusting 20 years ago Yes, I wish I hadn't believed in a "magic bullet" And yes I believe in an oft repeated cliché: Think for yourself-and I might add-before somebody, unbeknownst to you, starts doing your thinking for you by emotionally appealing to all that's best in you. You have a choice. Respectfully, Kerry Fouché Some places you might want to check out: www.xenu.net/ www.factnet.org/ www.lermanet.com www.clever.net/webwerks/veritas/ -- _______________________________________________________________________ A truth that's told with bad intent, beats all the lies you can invent. _____________________________________________________William Blake_____