Holy E-Meter!

Is it just me or is L. Ron Hubbard totally channeling Dr. Evil in the above photo? All he’s missing is a pinky in the crook of his mouth. And that E-Meter- can it really tell if I’ve lived a past life and or is it just a souped up lie detector posing as a mind reader?

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m currently reading Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief. Wright takes a deep dive into the history and practice of Scientology through a series of over 200 interviews. Widely refuted by Scientologists as biased falsity, it is an eye-opening look into the religion.

I love the old story that Scientology came about as a result of a bet between L. Ron Hubbard and Gene Roddenberry as to who could start a successful religion. Oh how I wish it were true, but alas it is just a myth. It seems Hubbard was much less cavalier about setting his sights on building a religious empire. You gotta give it to the guy, as un-kosher as he may seem, the guy did invent a religion followed by thousands of people. A visionary he may have been but (apologies to my Scientologist readers) he kind of comes off as a complete nut job here. In Wright’s recounting at least, Hubbard is busy throwing church members overboard as part of the church’s RPF (Rehabilitation Project Force) while sailing the high seas for years at a time with his clergymen (the Sea Org). He perfects the art of pathological lying telling tall tales to all those he meets and woos into the church and takes to locking up his followers for months at a time as slave laborers in the RFP. The Church claims these stories as untruths and backs up its RPF by stating that no one is ever held against their own will. Maybe not. It is all very strange. And what’s with the all the alien stuff? It is truly fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Whether Wright’s accounts are biased or dead on, it makes for a very interesting read. I highly recommend. Read one of the most jolting chapters of the book, Spanky Taylor’s (great name, right!) escape from the church, excerpted here.

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