Lance Hoskins joined the church in the 1970's, and then worked for the Sea Org - the church's management body in the US. (duration: 44?58?)

Daniel Wesangula Nairobi There is a new religion in town. It recognises no sin, pays homage to no one, has neither angels in heaven nor fire and brimstone in hell and whose members say they can create miracles at will. Its head office in Hollywood, California is set in a white, seven-storey modern building that resembles a castle set among palm trees. To most Kenyans, it is a religion practised in the distant USA by Hollywood celebrities. It is called Scientology. ...

There is a national media storm surrounding the Church of Scientology. Celebrity members have said Scientology saved their lives. Celebrity ex-member Jason Beghe spoke out against Scientology in a series of YouTube videos. There has been widespread criticism and debate among Scientology proponents and adversaries. Tiger Weekly’s own Web site was submerged in one such debate in response to an article published April 23, “I visited the Scientology Center of Baton Rouge … and lived to write about it.” Local ex-Scientologist ...

For nearly a decade at the Int Base I was on Ethics as well as Qual Division lines. I was an MAA (Ethics Officer), the Chief MAA Gold as well as the De-PTSer for the entire base. As De-PTSer I was responsible for handling all of the people who had PTS situations on the base. I think the reason why I did so well on these posts is because I trully loved and cared about my fellow staff members and wasn't ...

Apparently all of Katie Holmes' recent naughty behavior has prompted loving husband Tom Cruise to reprimand her with a punishment that's slightly more severe than asking her to not only wash the dishes but dry them, too. After eating too little with bad influence Victoria Beckham and daring to consider a promising role on Broadway later this year, Cruise decided to step up her Scientology training with a fun-filled three-day vacation to Gold Base. And Canyon Ranch it is not. Gold ...

Two weeks ago, in a YouTube video and an interview in the Voice, Jason Beghe denounced Scientology as a "rip-off" that "brainwashed" its members. A veteran actor of films and TV, Beghe recently left Scientology after 12 years in the controversial church, during which he estimates he spent a million dollars on classes and training in Scientology’s arcane practices. Beghe went public with his newest offensive against the church last night by posting online a letter addressed to Scientology leader David ...

He's one of the biggest box-office draws in history, but in recent years Tom Cruise has become more than just the face of his films. He has also become the face of his religion – Scientology. A recent video of Cruise – made for a Scientology event and leaked online – showed the star's unbridled passion for his religion and piqued the public's interest in a belief system that has long been surrounded by controversy. "I think it's a privilege to ...

Is it a conspiracy or just bad luck? The anti-Scientology video we told you about on Monday afternoon featuring actor Jason Beghe has been removed from YouTube. Sort of. The original video, put up by videographer Mark Bunker, is gone. YouTube pulled it late on Thursday. In the video, which Bunker made, Beghe describes his 13-year membership in the sect and why he left. Bunker thinks YouTube took down the video under pressure from Scientology. It’s possible, of course, but unlikely. ...

[Embedded Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNUjMz9-W2I] American TV actor and former Scientologist Jason Beghe has labelled the controversial religion “destructive” and a “rip-off” in a video interview posted on YouTube, writes Veronica Schmidt. The 48-year-old is the first celebrity to speak out against the religion, telling how his 12 years with the church have damaged him. “My experience personally, and what I’ve observed for myself, is that Scientology is destructive and a rip-off,” said Beghe, who has acted on Cane, CSI and Veronica ...

Veteran television actor Jason Beghe tells the Village Voice that the Church of Scientology will be feeling blindsided by the YouTube video of him that hit the Internet on March 14. Long-held frustrations with the church motivated Beghe to leave Scientology seven months ago, after he had spent about 12 years in the organization as one of its most celebrated success stories. Over the course of about a year, he negotiated his "disassociation" with the church, trying to give every indication ...

The optometrist wants to hear about my most painful memories. This is an auditing session, an important component of a religion called Scientology. The optometrist is the auditor. His name is Steve Sasala. He is skinny. And tall. His face is long and narrow. I can make out the shape of his skull. We sit across from each other, on opposite sides of a tiny desk inside a claustrophobic room at the back of some historic building in Parma Heights. The ...

Hollywood, Tel Aviv is right behind you: Artists, businesspeople and middle-class seekers are filling the classrooms of local Scientology centers, hoping to rid themselves of excess spiritual baggage. Opera singer Gaby Sade used to have a very short fuse. If someone cut him off, he was capable of getting out of the car and giving the offending driver more than a piece of his mind. If if did not come to blows, he would at least tell him, in choice language, ...

Tessa Mayes is the first reporter to have gone undercover in the London Celebrity Centre of the Church of Scientology. It is, she finds, like a pious version of Pop Idol. The adherents want to be celebrities at least as much as Scientologists ‘A culture is only as great as its dreams and its dreams are dreamed by artists,’ wrote L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre in 1969, 15 years after he formed the church itself. ...

Scientologists describe their religion as a cathartic journey toward happiness and clarity of mind. Church of Scientology critics call it kooky science fiction disguised as religion. Whatever you believe, the church says it is growing. Although the church's membership remains a much-debated mystery, its land holdings tell the story of a robust organization in the midst of a new chapter of growth. Worldwide, Scientologists say they have bought 21 buildings they plan to turn into churches. Still, some former Scientologists and ...

Jackson, Miss. The Church of Scientology has opened its first mission on the Mississippi Gulf Coast amid the ruins of Hurricane Katrina. The Church of Scientology was created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. In his 1950 book "Dianetics," Hubbard said the mind has a subconscious level that exerts a "hidden influence" to make a person behave a certain way. The book also says the soul suffers from negative "engrams" implanted in this life and previous lives. The religion has ...

Silent births, purification programmes, claims that humans are an exiled race from outer space called Thetans... welcome to religion, Scientology style. The claims made on behalf of the controversial cult have been prolific over the years, not least because its most famous torchbearer, Hollywood star Tom Cruise, is never far from the headlines. But what exactly is the Church of Scientology? What does it teach and what makes it so popular among the Hollywood jet set as well as 10million people ...

By his account, Tom Cruise owes his cool head, defeat of dyslexia and, in a way, his unstoppable stardom to Scientology. But Scientology has much to thank Tom Cruise for as well. His glowing adherence to Scientology and the initiation of his bride-to-be, actress Katie Holmes, into the off-beat and oft-maligned system of beliefs has stirred a surge of interest. The search engine company Lycos reported that “Scientology” had leaped into the top 50 search terms last week for the first ...

L. Ron Hubbard's "Dianetics" is a fantastically dull, terribly written, crackpot rant — it's also the founding text of Scientology. So, what does it actually say? Most of us respond instinctively to "Dianetics." We glimpse the covers (for some reason, you only see this book in battalions of copies), with their lurid pictures of spouting volcanoes emblazoned with screaming, foil-stamp lettering, and as if by reflex, our steps quicken, our eyes avert and our faces compose themselves into the expression of ...

Greg Bashaw's father respected him and trusted him to make wise choices. Even after he chose to devote his life to Scientology. While the shock and grief of his son's suicide were still fresh, Bob Bashaw read back through their decades-long correspondence, looking in particular for references to Scientology. "I wanted to see what there was here I missed," he says. His son Greg had been a member of the Church of Scientology for more than 20 years. During that time ...

1. Scientologist doctors recommend that all thetans who want to be clear and disease free undergo a regimen of proper auditing and constant expulsion of liquid assets of at least $300,000 in order to drain completely their minds (and bank accounts). 2. A Tribble is a thetan that seeks to obtain OT III level status by foregoing shaving. Notable tribbles who have donned beards include Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson), Tom Cruise and John Travolta. 3. Xenu is the name ...

Apr 3, 2002 | Imagine my surprise at receiving an invitation to a dead man's birthday party; who knew they even threw those anymore? Birthday boy L. Ron Hubbard – LRH, in Scientology speak – would've been 91 if he hadn't "dropped his body" right smack in the middle o f Reagan's second term. The Church of Scientology wanted me to come help celebrate. A few days after I RSVP'd, a Scientology P.R. flack called back to calmly rescind my invitation. ...

Tory Bezazian was a veteran Scientologist who loved going after church critics. Until she met the darkest detractor of all. Last year, Church of Scientology operatives received an alarming tip: During the upcoming 2000 MTV Movie Awards scheduled for June 8, a short South Park film parodying Battlefield Earth would feature the character Cartman wiping his ass with a copy of L. Ron Hubbard's sacred text, Dianetics. The tip was erroneous. Cartman would actually be wiping his ass with a Scientology ...

Astra Woodcraft, apostate and defector, is the latest enemy of the Church of Scientology. Woodcraft, 22, never really joined this controversial psycho-spiritual movement, at least not as a free-thinking adult. Astra was born into it. Founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard, a prolific science fiction writer and freelance philosopher, Scientology describes itself as "the only major new religion established in the 20th century," as a bridge to increased awareness and spiritual freedom. Woodcraft, a third-generation Scientologist, paints a different ...