Sites about Scientology worth reading.

As a person who has been a practicing Scientology minister for more than half his life (I was ordained thirty years ago in 1976 by the Church of Scientology of California) I have been very interested in all the news Tom Cruise has been making about Scientology over the last few months. Although we don't normally read them, we picked up four tabloids that all mentioned Tom and Katie at the newsstand last week. People Mag, Us, Star and some other I can't remember. The magazines were fascinating -- very little fact, mostly opinion disguised as fact. "According to sources close to Tom..." Photos were either staged or paparazzi shots. I was thinking "That's a hell of a way to be presented." What if someone did that to you? Snuck up when you were on your way to your car, before you'd had your coffee, and took a roll of pictures while you opened your car door, scowling at what jerks they were. They can make you look like an idiot, even if you are normally as perky as Katie Couric.

I was wondering what someone completely new to the subject of Scientology would find in the search engines. Poking around at Google, I found the following listings that make good reading -- they aren't the main Church of Scientology website, and they put the subject in an understandable and humane perspective:

• US Navy Chaplain presents basic information on the Church of Scientology including history and basic beliefs.


• Scientology (CESNUR) Documents and updates on the Church of Scientology from CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions)


• Scientology Volunteer Ministers - Scientology Solutions to a ...
  Suffering from worries, sorrow, grief or fear, whatever the problem, Scientology Volunteer Ministers can provide practical help.


• Scientology Effective Solutions - Informational brochure series in PDF format about the Scientology religion and its activities.


• Church of Scientology: The Bonafides of the Scientology Religion -
  A description of the Scientology religion: the theology and practice, Scientology members and their community activities, a history of religion and papers ...