Video: The anti-Cruise
posted at 11:52 am on April 15, 2008 by Allahpundit
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A late-morning palate cleanser. As tiny Tom is the definition of A-list, so is this guy nearly anonymous — and guaranteed to stay that way once this ripples through Hollywood. The two do share one distinguishing characteristic, though: According to Fox, they’re both OT5-level Scientologists. Or were, in Beghe’s case. This dropped yesterday on YouTube and is already creeping up on 250,000 views, for no reason other than the taboo that comes with watching someone publicly criticize a group known for not taking criticism lightly. There’s a lot of jargon, but if you know what “clear” and “OT” mean — essentially, the former means you’ve purged yourself of everything bad and the latter means you’ve started developing everything good — you should be able to follow along without a problem.
No words are minced so please observe this, your official content warning.
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When one’s religion is invented by a science fiction writer, one should ask a few questions.
CP on April 15, 2008 at 11:55 AM
2:29 for the win.
warrenmr on April 15, 2008 at 11:56 AM
… and was never heard from again.
newton on April 15, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Precise. Accurate. Substantive.
Weebork on April 15, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Some cults are better than others.
Branch Davidians … bad.
Scientoligists … good.
Polygamist Mormans in Texas … bad.
Polygamist Muslims all over the place … good.
BowHuntingTexas on April 15, 2008 at 12:02 PM
I’m sorry but is there ANYBODY who isn’t a member of the Hollywood set and who hasn’t abused massive amounts of mind altering drugs who thinks scientology is anything but ridiculous?
D0WNT0WN on April 15, 2008 at 12:02 PM
This cant be good for business.
BL@KBIRD on April 15, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Albeit filthy-tongued, but you can hear his rage. He’s got to be asking that age-old question, “What is Truth?” after this experience. Hopefully he can get there. I’ll be pulling for him.
BNCurtis on April 15, 2008 at 12:02 PM
The amount of jargon in that video is fascinating, he must be speaking to/with another Scientologist.
Theta trap?
Clear?
Engram?
What the hell?
Dr. Manhattan on April 15, 2008 at 12:02 PM
HAHAHAH…
Good one…
BNCurtis on April 15, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Indeed.
shaken on April 15, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Get’s me thinking… After all of that indoctrination, what do you suppose pulled him out of it? Something must have happened, or some tiny seed of doubt was planted and grew, or some youthful training re-emerged… I wonder…
BNCurtis on April 15, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Can’t wait to see the full length interview. This guy looks like his eyes have been opened, and he’s trying to help others escape from the delusions he participated in for 14 long years. Lucky escapee.
RushBaby on April 15, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPol_m8wm8Y
…and realize that once we get Muslims under control, these guys are the next threat.
MadisonConservative on April 15, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Actually, I’ve seen him a fair amount, usually as a tough guy – both hero and villain. It’ll be interesting to see if Mr. Cruise kills his career.
eeyore on April 15, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Manhattan,
A theta trap is something that is created to get a theta (Scientology word for the soul) to become curious about something. Once they are curious about it, this trap continually keeps their attention in whatever form. Most typically, a theta trap is self-created.
An engram is scientology’s version for a bad memory. Bad memories have pain attached to them in some way and this pain is revived, unconsciously when events similar to the events in the bad memory containing the pain. It is believed by Scientology that these engrams weigh you down as an individual and keeps you from reaching your full potential. Through Scientology counseling, they remove these engrams in their many forms ( I could go on) so that you are no longer weighed down.
A Clear is someone who has had all of their engrams (among other things!) removed from their mind.
Weebork on April 15, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Scientology is a cult, granted a capitalist cult, but a cult nonetheless.
What is happening is that some people, for whatever reason, have a void and regular religion doesn’t seem to address this void. These people then become the followers of Jim Jones’s and L. Ron Hubbards of the world.
Sure, religion is faith, but when faith is intertwined with crackpot notions of inner peace you are treading on very dangerous ground.
TexasDude on April 15, 2008 at 12:15 PM
So what is Cruise? An OT8 Or Darth Vader?
Tazz 55 on April 15, 2008 at 12:19 PM
when faith is intertwined with crackpot notions of inner peace you are treading on very dangerous ground.
TexasDude on April 15, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Just so. And scientology pushes it into even more dangerous territory: devotees have delusions of “saving the world”.
RushBaby on April 15, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Not sure the details of that, but it would be interesting to put Tom Cruise and Ibrahim Hooper in the same room and see who out-bravados the other.
eeyore on April 15, 2008 at 12:23 PM
You want to be an higher level scientologist?
Simple, become someone with no remorse.
That is truly what removing the ‘engrams’ is all about.
In other words, you actions which may cause negativity (to others or yourself) should be removed from your memory to allow you to again feel good about yourself and somehow advance in life.
Note, many evil people have no remorse.
TexasDude on April 15, 2008 at 12:24 PM
This is exactly the type of question that every diehard Scientologist, Cruise especially, will literally run away from rather than actually answer, much less ponder on.
pilamaye on April 15, 2008 at 12:25 PM
I like Tom Cruise pre-Scientology.
When he got into his ‘religion’ full bore, he jumped all over Oprah’s couch and declared ‘Religion is the shit.”
Around the same time or just predating this event, his ability to propel money-making movies declined.
TexasDude on April 15, 2008 at 12:28 PM
It’s like basing your life’s philosophy on the teachings of Stan Lee.
Pcoop on April 15, 2008 at 12:36 PM
I need my engrams it makes me who I am. My favorite engram is Laura Engram… (I know her name isn’t spelled that way)
saltydogg14 on April 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM
It took him a lot of money to find out what I could have told him without spending a cent.
Geronimo on April 15, 2008 at 12:50 PM
Heh.
labrat on April 15, 2008 at 12:51 PM
I read tons of science fiction when I was younger. L. Ron Hubbard has some good books.
I was surprised to find out, later in life, that he started a religion. And even more surprised to find that it was taken seriously.
It’s just too bad he didn’t work metachlorians into the story.
misterpeasea on April 15, 2008 at 12:51 PM
The thing about engrams is that, according to Scientology, they are attached to mental pictures. These mental pictures have a physical mass such that when you use one of their E-Meters, which merely sends a very tiny current through your body, the machine will “detect” a change in the current when one of these engrams surfaces.
Some of the theory in Scientology is interesting. Some of what they’ve come up with is actually helpful. Most of it is simply psychological processes that have been repackaged. Their fault is that they fail to deliver what’s promised, which is probably the crux of the fellow in the videos problem. I would be just as bitter as he, as to get to the “level” he is at, you would need to spend in access of several hundred thousand dollars. Yay!
Weebork on April 15, 2008 at 12:52 PM
mister,
There is no need for metachlorians in Scientology. Thetans, Scientology term for the soul, have, when they are completely free, god-like powers with the ability to create anything at will by simply thinking about it. Think of Thetans as the Q-Continuum from the Star Trek universe.
Oh, by the way, you think the universe is ~14 billion years old? Not so. It is actually several trillion, trillion years old! (This tidbit just confirms M-Branes in String Theory for me). Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Weebork on April 15, 2008 at 12:55 PM
I’m with Anonymous good riddance to scientology.
spacekicker on April 15, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Yes, the non-member citizens and government officials of Clearwater, Florida.
This is precisely why Scientology is not a religion. A religion encourages the development of your conscience not the suppression of it.
meci on April 15, 2008 at 1:15 PM
All (and more) that you ever wanted to know about scientology can be found here.
http://www.xenu.net/
Dig deep and it gets VERY wierd.
aquaviva on April 15, 2008 at 1:21 PM
still laughing…thanks!
dmann on April 15, 2008 at 1:22 PM
I’ll take scientology over Islam any day, wait, I didn’t see Valkyrie yet.
awake on April 15, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Welcome to the war of the intertubes.
Anonymous vs. Scientology.
Goals:
End the secret tax-exemption and “religion” status deal with the I.R.S.
Write your congress-person. See these responses from Senator Jeff Sessions (AL).
Pass resolutions are your local party conventions. See this example from Galveston, Texas: resolution
Titus Flavius on April 15, 2008 at 1:26 PM
Or the teachings of… Gene Roddenderry… or George Lucas.
LOL!
newton on April 15, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Quick question…what is tougher? An OT8 or a sixth level paladin with +1AC?
Squarestate on April 15, 2008 at 1:37 PM
Apparently OT8’s don’t have those nasty alignment restrictions, so they can fight dirty.
TheUnrepentantGeek on April 15, 2008 at 1:46 PM
How can one verify the truthworthiness of the claims of Scientology?
You can’t.
What test of truth does Scientology offer in rational defense of its claims?
How do the advocates of Scientology propose to deal with basic questions in Epistemology:
how do you know what you claim to know?
One question for Scientology is:
what would, hypothetically, count as a “defeater” for your worldview? What “evidence” would make you, as a committed Scientologist, turn around, change your mind, and say: Scientology is now false?
Is Scientology even open to allowing for a discussion of possible defeaters? Why not?
What is Scientology’s view of the universal laws of logic?
How do alien members of the Galatic Confederacy view the immaterial laws of logic, including the law of non-contradiction?
Unlike Christianity, there are no eyewitnesses, and there is no empirical support at all for the spurious claims of Scientology.
Scientology is an irrational “faith” of a deluded mad man.
ColtsFan on April 15, 2008 at 1:47 PM
But…but…but I’ve based my entire philosophy of life around the words “Hulk SMASH!” and “It’s CLOBBERIN’ TIME!” You mean I need to get a new philosophy?
Rip Ford on April 15, 2008 at 1:52 PM
Oh dear. My two worlds collide.
Get ready for your C&D letter from L&W Big “A”. All the cool people get them. Some of the really cool people get a free DVD as well.
Sammy316 on April 15, 2008 at 1:55 PM
I was kinda rough on Scientology there, but let us be honest for a second…
The atheist writer Friedrich Nietzsche argued that, ultimately, there is no “meta-narrative” (or “Bird’s-eye” view of reality) for us humans. Each of us humans must “create and recreate” our own reality, knowing full well that Truth is impossible, and that, ultimately, no one paradigm or worldview is really different (or “more true” or “more false”) than another worldview.
After all, since we are left with no ultimate “Birds-eye” view of the world, we are stuck with creating our own reality, and our own little world using our own human imaginations and human inventions.
Nietzsche’s view implied some form of Nihilism concerning our definition of Meaning and Purpose in Life.
But if Nietszche’s atheism is true, how, and why is what R. L. Hubbard did really wrong?
Hubbard was just creating his own reality of Scientology, which the majority of HA readers deem as a distortion.
And Hubbard made a ton of money off of it. He did not get the money from a left-leaning government welfare program. He invented a false religion, and made a boatload of money off of it. R.L. was right-of-center, in a peculiar sense.
But if the atheist Nietzsche is right about truth being impossible, and if he is right about there being no “ultimate meaning or purpose in life,” then I ask,
“from a Nietzsche perspective, why should one be disappointed or upset at Scientology?”
ColtsFan on April 15, 2008 at 2:08 PM
The only answer I’ve got is the money issue. I don’t care what the religion itself is. Any religion that charges for its services or for information about itself is a religion that should be treated suspiciously.
Were it not for that, I wouldn’t be able to care at all about Scientology.
Esthier on April 15, 2008 at 2:21 PM
This will soon surpass the top video on Xenutv’s Youtube Channel. Wise Beard Man is being disrespected!
Typhonsentra on April 15, 2008 at 2:21 PM
You will know that the media has turned on Scientology when they start to refer to places as “compounds” >:}
Chakra Hammer on April 15, 2008 at 2:24 PM
Or openly refer to it as a “cult”.
“Looney SF cult” would be even better, but the COS lawyer Brigade would nix that pretty quickly.
mojo on April 15, 2008 at 2:28 PM
You bring up a very good question.
Which cult is worse…scientology or mormonism?
Well, the mormons are worse for other people as they were torturing and raping and kidnapping little children for their own polygamous idolatry.
Yes, Spiritually they are both anti-Christ religions, but the mormonism is worse because it takes people who are called by Christ, leads them to sin,perverts Christianity and claims they are Christians who are following Christianity and therefore do not need salvation.
Scientologists will most likely figure out they are not saved and need salvation and will run to Christ eventually.
Mormonism deceives mormons into thinking they do not need it.
Yes islam is also an anti-Christ religion and extremely dangerous, but which cult is the average American more likely to follow: islam or mormonism?
SaintOlaf on April 15, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Scientology costs about $400,000 to be disappointed(OT8). But you don’t know this until you are totally broke and jump from a building clutching your last $171.
L. Ron Hubbard said that Jesus Christ was just an implanted thought that the alien souls called thetans carry around. Implanted by the evil alien overlord Xenu to mess with us because evil Xenu is evil.
So, how does Nietzsche’s perspective fit into any of this?
Sammy316 on April 15, 2008 at 2:35 PM
This is WBM’s video. Its on his channel.
Sammy316 on April 15, 2008 at 2:37 PM
This foul mouthed scientologist clearly explains the dilemma of the scientologists.
He said becoming “clear” doesn’t happen in scientology, no matter how much you spend.
They just can’t get rid of their bad memories..
There is only ONE WAY to get rid of your bad memories..and that is to become a new creature.
I can attest to this fact.
When a person becomes a born again Christian, all things become new…he is a new creature.
Praise God!
If you repent,turn from your sin and put all your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ which saves us…you will become a new creature.
Your old painful memories will no longer have any hold over you.
It is an unexplainable mystery, a miracle!
Hopefully that scientologist sees this and tries it.
It is exactly what he is looking for and can’t find anywhere else!
SaintOlaf on April 15, 2008 at 2:44 PM
That is a fair question.
The relevance of the Nietzsche issue is that the far majority of us HA readers, including me, are very quick to criticize R. L. Hubbard’s Scientology for lacking rational support.
And many of these anti-Scientology threads tend to generate a lot (at least in the past) of interesting and insightful comments by HA readers who are atheists.
And I thought it was noteworthy to draw out the issue of logical consistency here between the atheist Nietsche’s views on Truth and R. L. Hubbard.
Just an observation.
ColtsFan on April 15, 2008 at 2:48 PM
I STRONGLY recommend the South Park episode on Scientology.
exhelodrvr on April 15, 2008 at 2:59 PM
Sammy316,
my bad, man.
When I initally watched the video, the first thought that jumped into my mind was “Epistemology 101.” And then my later comments posted here were just a knee-jerk reflection of that.
Sorry for veering off-topic.
ColtsFan on April 15, 2008 at 3:01 PM
Weebork,
“These mental pictures have a physical mass such that when you use one of their E-Meters”
Hopefully, Scientology will never merge with WeightWatchers. It would be unstoppable!!
exhelodrvr on April 15, 2008 at 3:02 PM
It’s clobbering time!
While I’m sure Lee has flaws, like all humans, he’s a saint compared to LRH, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
rokemronnie on April 15, 2008 at 3:04 PM
OK, I can see what you are trying to do here. Trolling for a atheist vs. religion debate.
But the one problem is L. Ron Hubbard wasn’t sharing any kind of truth. What L. Ron Hubbard did was make up a religion because thats where he thought the money was. This is about a for profit corporation masquerading as a “church” and their enjoying all the tax free benefits that being declared a church brings with it. I don’t see a God versus Man correlation here. I don’t even see how debating the tenets of this cult even comes close to the direction your going.
I’m not trying to be an ass here, I just think you picked the wrong thread to introduce your argument.
Sammy316 on April 15, 2008 at 3:05 PM
I posted before I saw your latest post.
My apologies too.
No worries.
Sammy316 on April 15, 2008 at 3:06 PM
Hubbard died in hiding, after stealing $200,000,000.00 from the “Church”. (Does this not pretty much sum this cult up?) Did the “founder” not receive his proper “cleansing” (or whatever these nuts call it)?
Check out http://theunfunnytruth.ytmnd.com/ for more info.
Squiggy on April 15, 2008 at 3:13 PM
Happy premise #1: There are no aliens.
Happy premise #2: There is no giant foot trying to squash me.
Happy premise #3: Even though I feel like I might ignite, I probably won’t.
The Ugly American on April 15, 2008 at 3:14 PM
I think over the past few decades, actors/entertainers/celebrities have become more worshipped than admired, to the extent that some begin to see their whole life as one huge big screen drama . And that would possibly be why they dont have any qualms about paying huge sums of money to participate in a religion invented by a science fiction writer. There have to be some narcissistic tendencies at some level to even succeed in those professions to begin with. Or, maybe its all a big theta trap, hell I dunno….
surrounded on April 15, 2008 at 3:19 PM
You can say that every non-Christian religion teaches adherents that they don’t need to be Christians. It’s only a deception if they know it’s a false teaching. Since Mormons, and Muslims, and Jews too are expressing their faith honestly, in good faith as they believe it to be, you can’t call it deception.
Now do I think the hierarchy of the CO$ are engaged in deception? Yeah, I’m pretty sure they don’t believe that crap but enjoy the power and the perks.
If you want to see how subversive the CO$ is and to what lengths they’ll go to suppress criticism, try to find a copy of A Piece of Blue Sky by John Atack, a former fairly high level Scientologist, at a public library. Lyle Stuart, who published the book said at the time he’d never seen such a massive effort to prevent a book’s publication. While you may find the book in the card catalog, the book may not be available because some $cientologist dumped it in the trash. Gay activists did the same with Michael Fumento’s Myth of Heterosexual Aids.
You can read and download Piece of Blue Sky here:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/
rokemronnie on April 15, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Combined they both constitute less than 2% of the American population.
People are far more likely to be agnostic or atheist (15% of the American population).
Esthier on April 15, 2008 at 3:43 PM
Hummm, just convince the Scientologists to move the main headquarters to Texas and it won’t be long until their headquarters is either raided and everyone taken to jail on a possible false premise or their compound will be burned down to the ground with all the scientologists inside.
all your posts!
Nothing like taking every opportunity possible to bash Mormons. Is your faith that insecure that you have to bash other faiths in order to promote your own? Why the unadulterated hate? Guess it really doesn’t matter in the eternal scheme of the Creator. He knows what He is doing and you are just a man, subject to all the follies of being a man.
On another note, the compound in Texas is not part of the LDS/Mormon faith that is headquartered in Salt Lake City. Furthermore, comparing the two as one and the same is like comparing all denominations of Christian Sects (to include Mormons)as the same faith as Catholics which is really just an apostate faith as the Jewish Religion according to the Jewish faith.
PrettyD_Vicious on April 15, 2008 at 3:47 PM
I haven’t seen this guy in a movie or much of anything else since “Monkey Shines”. Now I know the possible reason why – he’s putting the facts out about Scientology.
Torch on April 15, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Or the teachings of … George Lucas. LOL! – newton
Hey, don’t laugh, in Australia there’s an actual Jedi church!
On second thought, go ahead and laugh!
Tony737 on April 15, 2008 at 4:08 PM
Video no longer available. What’s up with that?
reine.de.tout on April 15, 2008 at 4:24 PM
OK – got it now.
reine.de.tout on April 15, 2008 at 4:25 PM
… and any religion that requires several hundred thousand of your dollars to ‘progress’ in should also be highly suspect, on that matter alone.
Wow, scientology has a lot of baggage; its amazing to me that people would go for that kind of thing.
Midas on April 15, 2008 at 5:40 PM
“If you want to make a million dollars, start a religion.”
Too true, and it is working for Algore as well.
JeffB. on April 15, 2008 at 5:56 PM
Having first hand knowledge watching my cousin self-destruct with Scientology, it’s very scary!!!!
The really scary part…
That WAS my cousin. (No, not the guy in the video). It took almost 10 years to come back to some sense of reality. So when you mention Scientology, it leaves a really bad taste for me.
If you’re naive enough to think that they’re NOT a cult…Run, as fast as you can, away from them.
HarryStar on April 15, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Yaayyyyy the obligatory know-nothing-insert anti-Mormon-argument post from St. O, patron saint of evangelical trolls. Each ignorant post further illustrates your lack of depth on all things Mormon. Do me a favor brother, and just give in. It’ll make you feel that much better. You know you want to. We’ll even let you keep the Saint title you love so dear. Thank you for checking in on this topic: I couldn’t go a day without seeing you go sideways on another fundamentalist tangent.
Cold Steel on April 15, 2008 at 7:56 PM
And a bad SciFi writer that that.
- The Cat
MirCat on April 16, 2008 at 2:38 AM
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