Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Hubbard characterized Scientology as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey.
Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Its method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counselling known as auditing, in which practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects. Study materials and auditing courses are made available to members in return for specified donations. Scientology is legally recognized as a tax-exempt religion in the United States and some other countries, and the Church of Scientology emphasizes this as proof that it is a bona fide religion. In other countries, notably France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Scientology does not have comparable religious status.[citation needed]
Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.
Haggis was born on March 10, 1953, in London, Ontario, the son of Mary Yvonne (née Metcalf) and Edward H. Haggis. He was raised as a Catholic, but considered himself an atheist until joining the Church of Scientology. The Gallery Theatre in London, Ontario, was owned by his parents, and Haggis gained experience in the field through work at the theatre. He attended St. Thomas More Elementary School, and after being inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard, proceeded to study art at H. B. Beal Secondary School. After viewing Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blowup, he traveled to England with the intent of becoming a fashion photographer. Haggis later went back to Canada to pursue studies in cinematography at Fanshawe College. In 1975, Haggis moved to Los Angeles, California, to begin a career in writing in the entertainment industry.
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV ( /ˈtɒməs ˈkruːz ˈmeɪpɒθər/; born July 3, 1962), widely known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards for the same movies: Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999). He started his career with the movie Endless Love. Cruise's first appearance in a major film was in 1981's Taps. His first leading role was in the film Risky Business, released in August 1983. Cruise played the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and successful 1986 film Top Gun, and also secret agent Ethan Hunt in the series of Mission: Impossible action films.
He has starred in a variety of other successful films, including: Rain Man (1988), Days of Thunder (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), and War of the Worlds (2005).
Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio, with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology.
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the situation comedy The Bill Cosby Show. He was one of the major characters on the children's television series The Electric Company for its first two seasons, and created the educational cartoon comedy series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby has also acted in a number of films.
During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in what is considered to be one of the decade's defining sitcoms, The Cosby Show, which aired eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. He also produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which became second to The Cosby Show in ratings. He starred in the sitcom Cosby from 1996 to 2000 and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things for two seasons.
James Joseph Lippard (born 1965) is an American skeptic and activist freethinker who has written and spoken widely.
Lippard works for Global Crossing as its head of information security.
He founded the Phoenix Skeptics in 1985 and was its executive director until 1988, and edited The Arizona Skeptic from 1991-1993. He is the former president (2003-2005) of the Internet Infidels and former webmaster for the Skeptics Society (1994 to 1997).
Lippard is the author of The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah on the Secular Web, and a contributor to Ed Babinski's Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists, to Joe Nickell's Psychic Sleuths: ESP and Sensational Cases, Gordon Stein's Encyclopedia of the Paranormal, and to Skeptic magazine and Reports of the National Center for Science Education.
It's just up the street
The address is 669
Young men and ladies
Are losing their mind
It's not a church
But they fuck with your head
Dyanetics!
The guy who made it up
Shot himself dead
Scientology!