Yesterday I posted about and linked to that great Daily Mail article which detailed the grief John Travolta is having about the death of his son and speculated that he would be leaving Scientology, albeit quietly.
Well a few short hours after that came one of the scariest press releases I have read.
"There's no change in the relationship between the Church of Scientology and John. He is a member and it's as it was, now and forever."
That whole formality thing of the it's as it was is freaky enough but throwing in that part about now and forever just kind of stamps some finality about this whole thing. Once you are in, you are in. As much as I dislike lots of religions, I don't think there would be this kind of statement about them. It made me shiver the first time I read it. It makes me even feel more sorry for John. I mean he made his own bed in Scientology and I wouldn't be surprised if some people have contributed a whole bunch of money based on his advocacy of it, but still, they made their own decisions, and I hope they would be able to leave if they wanted, now and forever.
Gah! That ain't right.
ReplyDeleteI really wish that Nicole Kidman would come out with what she knows already. The separation from her older children, the living far away from them, etc. I am willing to bet she is at the least a little afraid, and a whole lot forbidden to spill.
ReplyDeleteThat is entirely chilling. Now and forever? Yikes.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong, but once baptized aren't you forever part of the Christian faith unless excommunicated?
ReplyDeleteI will say that the press release is a little formal, but that's what you get with a bureaucratic organization.
I read this and agree it sounds like the "church" makes the final decision on when and if a person is allowed to leave the organization.
ReplyDeleteI feel so bad for John. If this was Tom I wouldn't give a damn because he's too cocky but John seems to be a quiet follower.
now and forever... WOW.
ReplyDeletewow. sounds like a veiled threat to jt. that IS scary.
ReplyDeletei have mixed feelings, tho...on the one hand, he DID make his bed and as such, misled a lot of fools into the cult (hey, let's call a spade, a spade). they aren't going to let him go lightly. on the other, he deserves to have a spiritual awakening and realize what a farce the cult is and should have the right to get the f out.
so sad.
I love excommunication since Christianity is supposed to be about forgiveness.
ReplyDeletedn,
ReplyDeletethis is more so, if someone WANTS to leave a church, mosque, temple, etc. they have the right to do so.
only cults, regardless of the religion, blackmail or scare their members from leaving.
But wait - did the PR come from John's people or from the church? I'm guessing the church based on the wording, but that also doesn't mean as much as if it came from the other side.
ReplyDeleteNow and forever.
ReplyDeleteWell they do sign some sort of three trillion years contract, so I guess now and forever is about right.
It's horrible. Please John, just go.
wouldn't john travolta be MORE popular of he came out as gay and left the church? I'd like him more anyway.
ReplyDeleteThey must have some serious dirt on him. I agree with Kat, Nicole Kidman needs to hurry up and spill!
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI think John's people and the church are one and the same.
so what is the deal with scientology going after allegedly gay celebrities? I've never really understood that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with the rest of you..so scary and so sad.
I think the deal is that after auditng, they threaten to blackmail you by exposing your secrets. Gay celebs who are in the closet have the most to lose so they stay loyal to the church for fear of being exposed.
ReplyDelete@DNfrMN--I was raised Protestant and to my knowledge we don't excommunicate--I think that is only for Catholics.
ReplyDeleteBut I could be wrong.
I remember hearing as a young Catholic girl about excomunication. As I got older and the Church got older, there was less talk of it because there were less people joining and staying in the church. As far as now and forever, it sounds like the end of a prayer to me. Amen
ReplyDeleteI don't get why these celebrities are so afraid to come out of the closet? So what if Babarino wanted to fuck Horshack up the ass? What's the big deal?
ReplyDeleteExcommunication is in Catholicism. And I don't know anyone who left church and got a letter stating they couldn't leave (unless you're Mormon but that's not even a Christian denomination) Scientology is straight-up a cult. No one looked twice when I became agnostic.
ReplyDelete@Dorinda--HAAA! Now THAT was funny!
ReplyDeleteCrude, but funny...just the way I like it.
there are still many homophobic peole in the usa. although they may know of gay family members, friends co-workers, etc, they do not believe that someone can be born gay.
ReplyDeletejust think about how many gay or bi politicians america REALLY has, but they know 'political' wise that their career may/will suffer. we have a few politicians that are out, but trust there are many more on capital hill.
the cdan people from the usa is just one small blib of america.
much younger celebs may not suffer a lot of backlash, but that depends on what entertainment genre they are in.
The Jehovah Witnesses will excommunicate, too. I have a girlfriend who is happy to announce that when the JW come knocking at her door just to watch the expression on their faces.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I may have this wrong, but I believe the whole billion/trillion years of service contract is more for those who decide to join the SeaOrg division (the COS own special category of hell).
The power and (often invisible) reach that the COS has against anything they deem negative press and comments is a truly terrifying thing when you start to read more about what they have done, do and are totally capable of (and getting away with) doing to those who speak out or against them. And there are a whole lotta of them in the entertainment industry, so I'm sure that doesn't make it any easier for those (celebs) who want to break away. Why do you think Speilberg tolerates the "assist" massage tents on location when he films movies with Cruise? It's just the cost of doing business.
oh john........*sigh* this makes me so sad.
ReplyDeleteM,
ReplyDeletegood info there. i should be getting my andrew morton's book on tom cruise from the library soon.
i'm sure that i will have nightmares.
We have very good friends who it took them 3 years, 7 trips to the court house and a class action suit to get out of COS. I swear, if yall see them coming-RUN RUN RUN!!
ReplyDeleteI have seen first hand how they manipulate and blackmail their former members. The things that we were told, it was down right scary-something out of the movies.
I think that Nicole or her daughter Isabella will talk. It will be a long time, but they will.
Sadness for John and Kelly though..Still a free country, they can still choose to practice whatever religion, but this it too far and too much.
@ jazzence - Mormonism is a Christian denomination. They believe in Christ, but have a few added books. Doesn't mean they're not Christian.
ReplyDeleteYou can be excommunicated in the Mormon church. In order to leave, you must resign. You'll still considered a member, even if you don't go to church for the rest of your life. Resigning is a lengthy process, but it's worth it to those who wanna get out.
Many people don't like the Mormon church. However, I still think it does have benefits for people who want to focus on family life. It's a lot less scary than what people think, and it's nowhere near as creepy as Scientology.
@karmen:
ReplyDeletethat depends on who you talk to. :)
it's more than what the scios can spill on the travolta family. they can ruin them both financially and psychologically. members who have left and tried to expose the cult have been driven to suicide, have been tied up in court to the point of bankruptcy, their families have been hounded to hell and back. it's a well known secret that they have members planted in the IRS and top echelon government (think i'm sounding paranoid? i'm not, i just did some research a few years back)-- this also is how they have managed to get/keep the non-profit status in the US.
anyway, this goes much deeper that just outing JT.
oh, and i read morton's book when it first came out. it is more of a scio bash than a cruise biography, but it still only breaks the surface.
i hope john can break from the cult, and that he and his family can survive it.
wasn't "now and forever" a tag to one of the batman movies?
Not only did Scientology contribute to Jet's death I'm sure they dissuaded the Travolta family from providing Jet early childhood therapy which could have made Jet's life on earth less isolated.
ReplyDeleteIt's Bad Bad Bad anyway you look at it. Hope John goes thru with it!
It sounds like John's in the mob.
ReplyDelete" Just when I thought I was out,they pull me back in."
Scary. Scary. Poor John. He does not deserve this mess when he is struggling with grief.
He's probably being audited in a darkened room right now.
ReplyDeleteKelly will never leave. She certainly doesn't seem unhappy about it. No doubt she's forcing him to stay.
The only rumour I have ever read about Kelly (via someone who supposedly audited her) is that she is allegedly heavily addicted to a certain oral fixation upon male members of a certain color.
ReplyDeleteThe rumours have always been out there about how Kelly is John's beard, and how they both have men on the side. And how John almost got out of the cult early in his career when he noticed non-celebrities getting the slavery treatment.
I personally think that scientology is so prudish about (gay) sex that whatever it is they are shaming John into hiding is probably nothing compared to whatever it is we already know about other gay celebrities.
Rather than seeing this as a threat, it reminded me of a doxology we used to say in church (Methodist) that comes from the bible, "As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."
ReplyDeleteI think it is weird that they call themselves a church. I had a teacher who was a Scientologist. I asked him who their God was and he said that it is left up to the individual person to determine who they want to worship. Very odd. I think they prey on people who are seeking answers in life and do not have a personal support group to turn to.
My husband and I had a visit from a church member once who wanted to know why we hadn't tithed the amount of money that we had pledged to at the beginning of the year. Turns out that pledges are legal documents and the church can take you to court if they want to force you to pay. The church uses the pledges to take to the bank to borrow money against them. If people don't pledge as they had stated, it can cause the church to get behind in payments and even go bankrupt. This is also true of pledges make to charitable organizations so be careful how you pledge.
I wonder what type of pledge the Travolta's made to Scientology? I have a feeling this particular church would follow through on forcing payment.
Yep .. that is pretty much spot on in terms of what one would expect in a statement from a cult. I am assuming that Mr. Travolta's publicist is also indoctrinated in Space Cult.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if John will ever get out. But at this point, I wish there would be a world-wide moratorium on even mentioning/monitarily benefitting [via movies, music, TV, anything else] anyone affiliated with this cult. Nothing like cutting off its revenue stream.
Hmmm. On one side we have John leaving COS and on the other the COS outing him. Which side do you really think the public would fall? Extortion is extortion, and COS members do not lose their civil rights just because they join a cult. I think they'd support JT because he'd be leaving COS.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the COS even responding to a Daily Mail article? Guilty conscience. They're insane and dangerous.
Cult, Cult, Cult. To me, the government needs to bust them up. Obviously, they control human beings and they are not free. No other religion is like that. Yes there is guilt in leaving a religion. This is not guilt, it is PRISON!
ReplyDeleteExcommunication is the complete opposite of what the CO$ would do to Travolta.
ReplyDeleteThey want to keep him, not ostracize him.
"He is a member and it's as it was, now and forever."
ReplyDeleteForever...."That is a mighty long time", to quote Pastor Prince.
I have no problem believing that as soon as Travolta decides he's going to leave CO$ he'll be a dead man. They have no problem silencing others in that way, and the only reason Jason Beghe didn't get that kind of final treatment is because he wasn't that big of a star in the CO$ ranks. If Travolta or Cruise walks, though, it'd be the last walk they take.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing religious to CO$. They are not a religion, and I think it's an insult to real religions to lump dangerous cults such as CO$ and the Forum with religions. I know far too many lapsed Catholics to know they don't really pursue the people who just drop out of sight, and I'm sure others in the Judeo-Christianic or other similar world faith systems act accordingly. Cults are more about control and CO$ especially appears to do more to control its members than just about anyone else.