Pinning our hopes on Old Doll Body I READ with interest Denise Harrison's statement of incredulity that a new religion could be the work of a science fiction writer. According to the saying, truth is stranger than fiction, so what about this one? In his early lectures, Ron Hubbard mentioned "Old Doll Body", a mythical figure from the past, who travelled freely in the universe in his flying saucer. In 1964, I was driving up the Turners Hill Road one night ...

An organization of Scientologists allegedly responsible for illegal spying and dirty tricks was not a part of the church when those crimes were committed, a top church executive says. "I feel that by their actions they had removed themselves from the church," Michael Rinder of Los Angeles said yesterday. The Guardian's Office violated the teachings of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and thereby became "something different and distinct," Rinder told Mr. Justice James Southey, of Ontario Court, general division. Rinder, 37, ...

The church says it will move some residents of Hacienda Gardens to satisfy the Clearwater building code. CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology has been cited by city building officials for overcrowding in apartments. In recent inspections, city officials determined that 34 apartments were overcrowded at Hacienda Gardens, a complex at 551 N Saturn Ave. used mostly for church staff. James Bond, the church's director of renovations, said some of the residents would be moved to different apartments, so that no ...

Eleven-year-old Laura Hutchinson went to Girl Scout camp scared. Not scared of camp. Camp would be fine. Laura was scared that when she returned, Mom and Dad might be divorced. Tom and Carol Hutchinson, self-employed commercial artists in the Atlanta area, had been having marital problems. When Tom started getting counseling at Atlanta's Dianetics center, affiliated with the Church of Scientology, Carol objected. The parents fought as Laura left. But when Laura came back, her parents were together. By then, both ...

Like the church he founded, the teaching methods espoused by L. Ron Hubbard create controversy. And they are spreading, across the United States and around the world. L. Ron Hubbard wrote science fiction stories and founded a religion — but he didn't stop there. He went on, according to his followers, to achieve tremendous breakthroughs in education. There are now more than 150 Hubbard-method schools around the world. They achieve superior results, according to supporters, and are free of drugs and ...

[Picture / Caption: Kristi, left, and Beth Erlich grew up in the Church of Scientology, but eventually left. In the top photo, taken by their mother when Kristi and Beth were children, the two girls perform TR-Zero, Scientology drill that calls for two people to stare at each other "without any compulsions todo anything." The routine is designed to improve communication skills.] When Beth Erlich was 11, she signed her first contract. A billion-year contract. Beth didn't understand it too well. ...

The Church of Scientology says that Dennis Erlich cannot be considered a reliable source of information about the church. Erlich, wrote church of Scientology spokesman Richard Haworth, is nothing more than a disgruntled former member who blames the church "for his troubled life." "Ten years ago he was asked to leave the church following complaints from his wife that he was physically abusing her. . . . Erlich was also violent and abusive to other staff." Haworth labeled Erlich a "hate ...

Scientologists believe they are saving the world from insanity, war and crime. "Saving the world is an understatement," said former member Kenneth Wasserman. "Saving the universe" is more like it, he said. This intense sense of purpose explains why some Scientologists are willing to work 12-hour days for $30 a week. Others pay up to $800 for an hour of counseling, and one couple brought a $35,000 counseling package. Critics say this sense of mission has another consequence: Next to saving ...

L. Ron Hubbard was a writer who conjured up tales of time travel and rocket ships to Mars. But science fiction was not all that sprang from Hubbard's pen. He also wrote the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. In it, Hubbard described a new kind of counseling, which he said could help people increase their IQs, cure themselves of arthritis, allergies, asthma and migraine headaches, and reduce their chances of having a car wreck. The book was published ...

Scientologists emerge as creators of mystery-shrouded movie firm Is it just a movie company, this one owned and run by members of a controversial church? Or is it a front? Future Films, the mysterious movie company that arrived in Burbank and in Garland, Texas, last month with ambitious goals and a huge marketing splash, is financed and managed by a small group of high-level members of the Church of Scientology. Critics of the church, who label the religion a cult and ...

Petrolia — A few miles outside of this coastal community, a massive 400-foot subterranean vault constructed of steel and concrete lies beneath a peaceful knoll overlooking the Pacific. The breadth and dimension of the vault stagger the imagination: 100 feet longer than a football field and 20 feet in diameter, the two-story sarcophagus is almost complete. It is designed to withstand the ravages of nature as well as man-made destruction. Humboldt County is now home to one of the most impregnable ...

Doris Braine says the transformation of her Patty Jo was heartbreaking. "It was," she said, "like my darling daughter had died." Before Patty Jo went to work for the Church of Scientology at the age of 20, she had been "fun and pretty and a joy to be with," recalled her 72-year-old mother. "Suddenly, she became a totally different person, shooting fire from her eyes." There were those hateful looks, and the dozens of letters that Patty Jo returned unopened. For ...

The IRS, which earlier took on the Scientologists in Washington and Los Angeles, now has brought its court battle to federal court in Tampa. Its target is Scientology's worldwide spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. Scientologists vehemently disagree, calling the IRS corrupt and accusing it of pursuing a vendetta against Scientology. ``We feel the federal government should investigate illegal drug running in Florida and should investigate money laundering in Florida banks,`` said spokesman Humberto Fontana. Scientologists also are in court with Pinellas County ...

[This is a reprint of an article published on Dec. 22, 1988 in the St. Petersburg Times.]

Operating under auspices of the Church of Scientology are dozens of groups, many of them separate legal entities. Untangling Scientology's lines of organizations can be difficult; even the sect's own charts that have been used in court cases are complex. Here are some of Scientology's organizations. Flag Service Organization — The legal name of Scientology's Clearwater operation, which serves as the sect's spiritual headquarters. Before 1981 the organization was part of the Church of Scientology of California, and Pinellas County officials ...

AS the Church of Scientology hits hack at last week's report outlining its "hard sell" techniques, we can reveal that some people were so desperate to raise money for courses that they used the services of a fellow Scientologist who loaned them money at exhorbitant rates of interest. Dozens of people rang to confirm the details of last week's story and some provided documents showing how one wealthy Scientologist loaned his own money to help people pay for the cult's expensive ...

Panorama's investigation into the Scientologists revealed an organisation which uses its founder's 'mixture of half-practical, half-gobbledegook psychological techniques' to draw large sums of money from its adherents, with threatening consequences if they opt out. Religious cults are a problem. They enslave the minds and empty the pockets of gullible young people, causing heartfelt grief to their families. The Moonies, the Children of God and the other cults have a poor public image, but they almost always operate within the law. The ...

Description of video is in italics. VO=VOICEOVER shot of Church of Scientology, Los Angeles; apparently group of ex-members VOICEOVER: The Church of Scientology, one of the largest and richest new religious movements, is being sued for a billion dollars by former members for fraud and breach of trust. They regard Scientology as a dangerous cult. group of Scientologists VO: Yet the church goes on expanding, making converts and claiming it is "The Road to Total Freedom". ''"Panorama" opening credits; while music ...