The ‘Oh my Godness’ of Scientology: A stunning new testament outsiders aren’t supposed to see

 
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Yesterday, we told you Scientology has a new tribute to its megadonors we have come to know so well. Today, we have something else from the same magazine, a stunning video about the sacrament of forking over cash to the church that you weren’t supposed to see! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

 
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Technology Cocktail

“Wherever any trouble has been had with a student in training, One of the following factors has been present. 1. The student was run while tired or when lacking in proper food. 2. The auditing the student received was bad, extremely bad. 3. The student had in his environ, while in training, an individual who definitely and demonstrably sought the mental failure of the student. 4. Too many auditors worked on the student. 5. Dianetics, in the hands of some student, was crossed with an older therapy. Directors of Training and Team Captains should do all possible to obviate the occurrence in training of any of the above five factors.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950

 
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Source Code

“Back about 1605, something like that, I was set up, I won’t go into the story in any great degree. But it took a warship and a company of marines and a broadside to kill one girl. She was protected by four redcoats and me. And of course, we caught it in the first three seconds of play. Don’t you see, that was the end of us. But it was such a terrific ferocity against this girl, who by the way, was blind. And her face was so disfigured through a bomb assassination attempt, when she was a child at seven, that she had to wear a mask. A whole man-of-war and a company of marines landing in boats and a full broadside to kill this one girl. She was the last of the family of Charles V. She was the granddaughter aspirant of the old Holy Roman Empire, and one of the innumerable French that lived down here about sixty miles had decided she was a great menace to the throne. Well, I was being audited one day. I found myself sitting around with a picture of a girl on a rock, apparently about 1870. Didn’t compare with any track I had. Nice exterior view. It just didn’t make sense. Here was a girl, sitting on a rock in exactly the same location, in exactly the same place, and I knew what happened to the girl and I knew all about it and so forth, but I hadn’t ever known the girl. Fascinating. Apparently I’d kept a spot of attention on this person as a thetan for the next couple of hundred years. It was very intriguing. Funny part of it is that this girl, picking up another body after that, had gone along for a very long time and had then happened accidentally to be taken by her parents to exactly the same rock that she was killed on in 1605. And she became very ill and she sickened and she died! Just keyed her in complete. You possibly know the place. It’s right across from Gibraltar, and the Hotel Reina Christina is on the Spanish coast side. And it’s one of those rocks right close to the Reina Christina Hotel. And of course, it’s a tourist resort and her parents had taken her back there. What a dirty trick. That must have been some vacation, man!” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 6, 1961

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“ATTENTION, ATTENTION: For this afternoon at 1500 when the Newsreel cameraman will come board to film the ship, please be sure to not war the clear bracelet, otherwise it could be noticed in the film. Thank you!” — Love, Jone, PRO I/T, September 6, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“That awkward moment when you do an OCA to somebody and discover she’s crazy.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: Esquire published a story on Reed Slatkin, a Scientologist accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that lost $500 million: “The dimensions of the scheme began to emerge at the end of April, when investors learned that their money was all but gone. in early May, Slatkin was forced to seek refuge in bankruptcy court. The horror was compounded when investors realized that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been suspicious of Slatkin since at least 1997; federal lawyers had even interrogated him and his bookkeeper at length more than a year before the investors finally ran him to ground. Month after month, the government did nothing while Slatkin sucked in tens of millions of additional dollars from those who now have little hope of recovering more than a fraction of their money. The train finally hit Slatkin in late April. His attorneys held a meeting of the many ‘friends’ who had entrusted their money to him and announced that Slatkin was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection. The room was packed with frightened investors, and dozens of others were connected by phone. Some were still wealthy; others were looking at utter devastation. ‘A bunch of lawyers were arguing,’ remembers an investor who was there, and this woman from Florida blurted out, ‘What am I going to do about my mother? I have no money!’ There was a moment’s pause. And then the lawyers ran over her like a dove in the road. In January 2000, nearly a year and a half before Slatkin was forced into bankruptcy proceedings – lawyers from the SEC questioned him in two lengthy depositions. The only subject that Slatkin seemed eager to discuss was his love for Scientology. Asked a simple introductory question about his education, Slatkin embarked on a lengthy riff that continued for more than 20 transcribed pages. He knew Scientology was ‘controversial’ and that the SEC lawyers ‘may have heard bad things’ about it, he said, but Scientology was ‘the basis of almost everything I’ve done in my life.’ At one point, he whipped out a book called ‘What is Scientology Doing In The World?’ ‘There’s much bigger books I could have brought,’ he confided, ‘but I didn’t bring them.’ Slatkin’s avowal of lifelong devotion to Scientology came as a surprise to a number of his investors when they learned of it after his bankruptcy. Several say Slatkin had downplayed his affiliation with the church. ‘He said, “I just audited a few courses to keep myself alert”‘, one says. ‘He said, “I want nothing to do with the church.”‘ The wealthy couple say they had once asked mutual friends if Slatkin was involved with Scientology. ‘I know two people who asked him, and he said he wasn’t,’ the husband says. ‘He said to one, “Of course not. I’m Jewish.”‘ He said to another, ‘My wife had an interest in it.’ Through spokesperson Aron Mason, the Church of Scientology says Slatkin was a parishioner but never an official of any kind. He also belonged to a ‘religious fellowship’ of Scientologists in the business world called the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, or WISE, Mason continues. But he adds, ‘Mr. Slatkin could not live up to WISE’s ethical standards, and he ended his membership [in] 1998.’ He declined to elaborate. Slatkin didn’t mention any such thing during his deposition. Slatkin said he’d obliged his investors only through a sense of duty, as prescribed by L. Ron Hubbard. Slatkin showed the SEC lawyers a ‘duty scale’ bearing Hubbard’s autograph. ‘There is is, L. Ron Hubbard,’ he said. ‘Like him or not, he’s my man.’ And so Slatkin had agreed to be of service. ‘These people called me and said, ‘I’m going to go on full-time [Scientology] training down in Clearwater. Can you help me?’ This gal came to me, she said, ‘I want to open up a Scientology church in Kenya. Would you give me a hand?’ I go, ‘Absolutely. Let me help you out here.’ And that’s sort of what happened. I felt like I was really helping, you know, really helping a lot. But I tell you, it’s gotten big.’ Throughout the SEC’s long correspondence, Slatkin had continued to collect huge sums from investors like Poitras. It now appears that Slatkin raised tens of millions of dollars in the months before filing for bankruptcy on May 1, 2001. Poitras counted up the times that Slatkin put the SEC off after the deposition was taken in January 2000. ‘Thirty-two excuse letters and phone calls,’ he says. ‘It’s just mind-boggling.’ Not all the money was impossible to trace. After receiving the $10 million from Poitras, Slatkin promptly sent out nearly $7 million to investors – to which ones has yet to be revealed. He also paid a clutch of personal bills, including membership fees at two country clubs. Now the country-club memberships – along with his house and everything else he owns – are being sold off by the bankruptcy trustee so that creditors can recover at least some small percentage of the money that has been lost. The trustee’s report shows that in the three months before his bankruptcy, Slatkin paid out more than $26 million to various parties, including $3 million that went to his family members. R. Todd Neilson is a former FBI man, a grandfather, a Mormon from Utah, a friend of Senator Orrin Hatch. As bankruptcy trustee, Neilson is supposed to find the money. Neilson says he’s dealing with ‘a deep level of concern on the part of the non-Scientologists’ about the role of the church. His preliminary findings show that Slatkin donated more than $200,000 to various Scientology causes in the year before his bankruptcy. But so far, he says, he sees no evidence of substantial sums going into the church’s coffers. Whether the trail eventually leads to the church, as some investigators suspect, is far from clear, but a knowledgeable source close to the bankruptcy investigation says one investigator told Neilson that he and other Scientology-affiliated investors were likely to withdraw from the creditors group should Neilson attempt to recover money from the church. Neilson is being circumspect about his plans. For strategic reasons, it’s in Neilson’s interest to try to keep the peace among his flock.”

 
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Random Howdy

“The church that never forgives and never forgets. The Scientologists always pay their debts.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, oral arguments scheduled for June 25. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence. Now serving time in state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for June 19.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal, which is now fully briefed. Oral arguments hearing set for July 23.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike upheld on appeal. Scientology expected to file additional petitions before case can return to Kalra’s court.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.

 
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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, Scientology Black Ops: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Common roots of Scientology & Nazi occultism: Jon Atack’s shocking new book!
[TWO years ago] Uncovering Scientology schemers: A tale of journalistic perseverance
[THREE years ago] Indie Scientologists go on the attack: Victoria Palmer plans Sep 23 protest at Big Blue
[FOUR years ago] How Scientology churchified itself to capitalize on its IRS tax exemption
[FIVE years ago] On this Labor Day, some insane stories of labor in Scientology’s ‘Sea Org’
[SIX years ago] New letter about Scientology by J. Edgar Hoover shows up in FBI records search
[SEVEN years ago] Elisabeth Moss snows another reporter about Scientology, but this one really hurts
[EIGHT years ago] Finally, Captain David Miscavige’s faux-military Scientology ribbons, described and decoded!
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s ultimate prize: For the first time online, the current ‘OT 8’ materials laid bare
[TEN years ago] As Louis Theroux’s Scientology movie hits theaters, its main subject accuses it of deception
[ELEVEN years ago] VIDEO LEAK: Rare look at Captain David Miscavige giving shipboard Scientology briefing
[TWELVE years ago] Deputy ambassador of a small African nation? Scientology wants to buy you lunch!
[THIRTEEN years ago] VIDEO: Scientology Leader David Miscavige’s Weird Explanation for the IRS Victory

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 6, 2026 at 07:00

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