I appreciate the link and read the article. I have a cynical “buyer beware” attitude about it all. I feel bad for the people who go into debt to be part of the group. However many people go into debt looking for fulfillment- just look at QVC and HSN for many pathetic examples. Not that that makes it right for the Scientology church to take advantage of its members, if it indeed does. But many evangelical churches do that to its members too.
I belong to a missionary church that teaches its members how to interact with nonmembers to gain their get them interest. So the salesman aspect of the church (outside of the draining the members of all of their money), purported by the article, doesn’t bother me. It just seems like another example of how it is like any other religion.
I guess being a member of a controversial religion that has been persecuted in the past and continues to fight against mistaken impressions makes me more tolerant and understanding of the members of Scientology (moreso than the media). For the record, I don’t believe in it but I also don’t believe in the many other religions which surround me.