Steward Lamont
English religious studies scholar, journalist and
broadcaster.
| «Stewart Lamont. Broadcaster and journalist
specializing in religious affairs. He joined BBC
Scotland as a radio producer in 1972 and since 1980 has
worked as a freelance producer and presenter in radio
and television. He is Religious Affairs Correspondent of
the Glasgow Herald, having also filled that position on
the Sunday Times. His books include The Third Angle,
Is Anybody There?, and Religion and the
Supernatural with Peter Moss. Author of
Religion Inc., one of the main critical books on
Scientology. — Lamont.» [Source: "Who's Who in Scientology"
by Martin Hunt] |
Religion Inc.: the Church of Scientology
«Then on Monday night, 27 January 1986, Earle
Cooley, Chief Counsel for the Church of Scientology, and Heber
Jentzsch, President of the Church of Scientology International,
made their fateful announcement. Hubbard was 'officially' dead.
They explained that he had left the bulk of his multi-million
dollar estate to the Church of Scientology. They revealed that
his body had been cremated and its ashes scattered. No post
mortem had been carried out, and although the coroner of San
Luis Obispo County had received blood specimens and
fingerprints, speculation inevitably arose that Hubbard did not
die in January 1986 but had been dead for over two years. During
the past six years since he had disappeared immense changes had
taken place in the leadership of the organization he founded.
During that time his followers were encouraged to believe that
he was still keeping a watchful eye on matters from his secret
retreat, now revealed to have been a ranch near San Luis Obispo,
150 miles north west of Los Angeles. His followers continued to
act as if he were still alive. He was away studying for another
book, they said. He was entitled to his privacy, they argued,
when asked why he did not come out of seclusion to answer the
charges made against him. He was no longer in charge of
Scientology, they protested, and could not be brought to court
to justify some of the malpractices of those who were.
His opponents took a different view. He was in hiding to avoid
his crimes of tax avoidance, criminal conspiracy and fraud, they
alleged. Far from his having retired from running Scientology,
they produced documents which linked him to the burglary by his
wife and nine others of Federal offices in 1977. He was laughing
all the way to the bank, they said, as money continued to pour
into the Scientology coffers in the early eighties. The banks
were in Luxembourg and Switzerland.»
St.
Andrew's Church of Scotland
«The current minister is Rev Stewart Lamont
B.Sc, B.D.(Hons) who was educated at Grove Academy, Broughty
Ferry and the University of St Andrews where he was a Hockey
blue, Convener of Debates, and President of the Union(1969-70)
and served on the University Court from 1970-82.
He was Assistant minister at Greenbank
Parish, Edinburgh 1971-2; then Radio
producer Religious Broadcasting with the BBC from 1972-80. He
then embarked on a freelance career as a television & radio
producer/presenter from 1980-91, and newspaper columnist and
freelance journalist (1980-2002) with The Herald and Scotsman
newspapers.
He also served as part-time minister at Abernyte, Perthshire
1980-82, and was Parish minister Kinning Park, Glasgow 1991-99.
From 1999-2002 he was posted to Brussels as Executive Secretary
(Brussels), of the Conference of European Churches (CEC)
before coming to Gibraltar as Locum minister in November
2002, and inducted as minister here on October 23rd
2003.
Mr. Lamont’s publications include In Good
Faith (1987) , his weekly column in “The (Glasgow) Herald”
published as a collection, and ten other
books, which include a thriller “The Third Angle”(1978); a study
of the paranormal(1980); an expose of
Scientology :Religion Inc.(Harrap1985); Church & State: uneasy
alliances (The Bodley Head 1989); The Swordbearer, a biography
of John Knox(1991) and St Andrew(1995) [both Hodder] . A study
of famous Scots “When Scotland ruled the
world” was published by HarperCollins in 2001 and is available
in paperback.»
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