Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief

by Lawrence Wright

“To see you lie so easily, I am afraid to ask myself: what else are you lying about?” Then, he said, he had read the series of articles in the St. Petersburg Times. “They left me dumbstruck and horrified. These were not the claims made by ‘outsiders’ looking to dig up dirt against us. These accusations were made by top international executives who had devoted most of their lives to the church. Say what you will about them now, these were staunch defenders of the church, including Mike Rinder, the church’s official spokesman for 20 years! “Tommy, if only a fraction of these accusations are true, we are talking about serious, indefensible human and civil rights violations.” He continued: And when I pictured you assuring me that it is all lies, that this is nothing but an unfounded and vicious attack by a group of disgruntled employees, I am afraid that I saw the same face that looked in the camera and denied the policy of disconnection. I heard the same voice that professed outrage at our support of Proposition 8, who promised to correct it, and did nothing. I was left feeling outraged, and frankly, more than a little stupid.