Truth 1, Evil Empire 0

Comments (0) By Alan Scherstuhl Wednesday, Sep 7 2011

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Jewish Community Center of San Francisco

3200 California
San Francisco, CA 94118

Category: Community Venues

Region: Richmond (Inner)

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As far as great and powerful wizards go, L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige, and other high-level thetan-counters at the Church of Scientology have at last reached the “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” phase. High-level defections, public embarrassments, and excellent journalism have exposed the church that the press once feared. It now seems less mighty, more controlling, and much weirder than had long been rumored. (This might be the first time that the New Yorker completed the knockout of a target that South Park softened up.) Janet Reitman’s book Inside Scientology provides the fairest, most thorough account of the church yet. Reitman, who speaks tonight, traces Hubbard’s big idea from conception to self-help manual to money-suck religion to purported evil empire to motivator of Tom Cruise’s hyperactivity. Along the way, she digs deep into the alarming stories of ex-members who have escaped from the church, the maritime mysteries of Sea Org, the tragic death of Lisa McPherson, Miscavige’s disastrous courting of celebrities such as Cruise, and the now-familiar accusations of abuse and chicanery that Scientology’s army of lawyers have been unable to stanch.
Tue., Sept. 13, 7 p.m., 2011