Category Archives: the Reformation

New York Times

The New York Times – Sunday edition – has published an informative account of Christie King Collbran’s parting with the church and turning Indpendent (she is the first Independent, by the by). Don’t miss the multi-media pieces that go with the main story, particularly the video of Christie.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/us/07scientology.html?pagewanted=1

Stepping out of line

Do not confuse the Reformation with the reform of the Catholic church. The latter was a consequence of the former. The Reformation refers to the reforming of the religion of Christianity. That entailed the breaking of the monopoly the Catholic church held up to that point on Christianity the subject. Reformation began by pointing out to the Pope and Christians what was wrong with the monopoly, setting forth its abuses so that they might be corrected. The all powerful monopoly reacted much like the C of M of today. That is, rather than reform itself it branded the reformers as ‘heretics’, prounouncing them guilty of “blasphemy”. Instead of accepting the labels and conforming, the founders of the Reformation recognized they did not need the church in order to practice their religion.

 The “Counter Reformation”, wherein the Catholic church begrudgingly began to change some protested practices, occured long after the Reformation was in full bloom, only when it became clear that the monopoly had been broken and that in order to survive the Catholic church would have to compete in the marketplace of ideas.

 In the early 16th century Martin Luther didn’t consider then-reigning Pope Leo X was such a bad guy. He recognized however that the Curia and the priesthood had been so thoroughly corrupted over time – and its vested interest in keeping matters corrupt so precious and innate, the only reform of the institution would come as a reaction to enough people refusing to continue to empower and enable it. That is, discontinue lemminmg-like compliance to the church’s anti-Christian practices, and cease contributing to its vast building fund and war chest coffers.

 Luther’s attitude toward Leo X serves to demonstrate how the Scientology Reformation is that much more necessary and inevitable. In contrast to Leo X, Miscavige himself is the author of Reverse Scientology. He micro manages every action and utterance of Scientology management, ruthlessly controlling his kingdom with an iron fist.

 If you think the Catholic church analogy is far out, consider the fact that Miscavige doesn’t. He has directly ordered both Mike Rinder and Tommy Davis to position Miscavige as “the Pope of Scientology”.

 If you believe that Scientology managers will magically arise, topple Miscavige and right the ship you should consider the following facts. The last three people who I witnessed advise Miscavige contrary to his own spontaneous evil impluses on matters of importance were myself, Shelly Miscavige and Mike Rinder. When Mike Rinder told Miscavige which way was up, he was subjected to dozens of ruthless beatings and torture in the Hole (yes, torture by any current, civilized definition of the word). When I attempted to advise Miscavige against insane dictates one too many times, he threw a several hour tantrum at Int HQ whining that nobody in the Sea Org, no public, no media, not even the Internal Revenue Service backflashed him, but I did. His handling was to sentence me to the Hole jail house, where he tried to turn me into a mouse. Mike and I opted out of the game when it became apparent to us that independent thought had been oppressed into oblivion on the Int base and was about to be extinguished in ourselves. Shelly Miscavige was similarly handled by Miscavige. She was sent to do years of hard time at the Church of Spiritual Technology fortified compound near Lake Arrowhead, subjected to personal invalidation to the point of apathy and silence.

 There has been no, NO, check on Miscavige’s evil impulses since. None. The people who remain at Int have long since be neutered of the notion they could ever confront Miscavige. Those who dream of an internal uprising are whistling past their own graveyards. No one is left in Miscavige’s perimeter but mice.

 The idea of declaring independence from the C of M was not an arbitrary one. From long, hard experience we learned that the only way to break free of DM’s stanglehold on thought is to discontinue investing DM with power. In his 1998 profile interview with the SP Times DM defined power as “will people listen to you?” He rose to power on that principle and continues the practices of imprisonment of body and soul on the same principle. To play DM’s game requires you let DM win. He innately and instinctively applies the most ruthless and violent measures to squash dissent or even percieved disloyalty in his environment. This is a man who cannot even play a game of cards without overtly cheating.

 Exercise of independence, both physical and mental, is the historically proven solution to overcoming tyrany. It worked during the Reformation, it worked during the struggle for American Independence, it worked for India following Gandhi’s lead, it worked during the civil rights movement. It is working now.

 It was the factors outlined herein that prompted us to encourage people to overtly declare their independence. The initiaters of the Protestant Reformation did not publish in anonymity or shyly sneak around in the shadows. Nor did the American founding fathers. Nor did Gandhi. Nor did Martin Luther King. They didn’t hide in little cliques and natter about how victimized they had become. A victim causes nothing but his own continued suffering. The only way to ultimately handle oppression and suppression is to turn around and face down the demons that have been hunting you. Only then do suppressives lose their power. Their only strength lies in others’ reluctance to step out of line.

 If you want to be at effect, stay in line, hunch your shoulders and remain silent. If you want to move on over to cause, step out of line with authority and sound off.

The Reformation

October 31, 1517 - Martin Luther posts his 97 Theses outlining Catholic Church leadership's corruption.

I’ve been reading up on Will Durant’s History of Western Civilization (an LRH recommended text) and am finding the parallels between the Protestant Reformation and what we face today uncanny. All quotations in this post are taken from that work.

What prompted Martin Luther to denounce the Curia as the “Synagogue of Satan” and the Pope as the “Antichrist”, and thus spark the social revolution that put Christianity back into the hands of the people in the 16th Century? 

First, it was the Curia practice of  the selling of indulgences. The Papacy gave a pass to Heaven to big shot sinners for a price. Regardless of how suppressive they might have  been to how many, for a price they would be officialy absolved.

The Pope’s Chief Reg was a fellow by the name of Johann Tetzel.  By 1517 the reging for what would become the most outlandish cathedral of all for the Pope in Rome had hit a fevered pitch. Here is what Tetzel dished out for those Patrons Maximus with Gargoyle Claws and Diamond Encrusted Buzzard Beaks who donated substantial funds for new buildings:

“May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on thee, and absolve thee by the merits of His most holy Passion. And I, by His authority, that of his most blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy Pope, granted and committed to me in these parts,do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they may have been incurred, and then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be…so that when you die the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of paradise of delight shall be opened…”

Can anyone see the parallels to how the Church of Miscavology’s ethics and justice systems have been fixed?  But while Indulgences (and vast financial irregularities) became  the primary issue as far as mainline historians tell it, something more subtle and yet more intolerable, cut to the quick with common Christians – the undermining of Source.

The Pope further authorized Tetzel to deliver sealed letters stating “that even sins men were intending to commit  would be forgiven. The pope, he said, had more power than all the Apostles, all the angels and saints, more even than the Virgin Mary herself; for those were all subject to Christ, but the pope was equal to Christ.”

Have you seen indication that Miscavige is similarly attempting to bring the name of L Ron Hubbard down while elevating his own?   One publication (Freedom) in 2009 had seventeen photos of Miscacavige against a postage stamp size reproduction of a film cel of LRH.  I submit that since at least the 2007 Golden Age of Knowledge event, Miscavige has been positioning himself not merely as LRH’s equal, but instead as his superior.

The second major protest against the Catholic Church was its monopoly upon interpretation of Scripture and its alteration to increase its own power, wealth and comfort.

Luther referred to it as teaching with the “knowledge of popes and cardinals” in the place of the original word of Christ, and was not meek in calling it for what it was:

“If Rome thus believes and teaches with the knowledge of popes and cardinals (which I hope is not the case), then in these writings I freely declare that the true Antichrist is sitting in the temple of God, and is reigning in Rome – that empurpled Babylon – and that the Roman Curia is the Synagogue of Satan…”

The abolition of Method 9 word clearing of Source material in favor of “COB” ramblings and his IG NW Orders, the plethora of arbitraries enforced by Miscavigie and his Curia in the name of removing them, the re-orientation of Management to “COB” orders over LRH policy, all make the the Papacy’s squirreling pale by comparison.

And of course Luther and others of his ilk, were beset by endless harassment and labelling as “heretics” (read Catholic squirrels) for having the temerity to protest.

I think most of us who have had this campaign run on us would agree that Martin Luther’s  words from A Sermon on Indulgence and Grace in response to such allegations couldn’t have been better stated nor be more applicable today:

“If I am called a heretic by those whose purses will suffer from my truths, I care not much for their brawling; for only those say this whose dark understanding has never known the Bible.”