>>Oh, believe me, I know who he is. I was a devoted SF reader for many many years, and L.Ron Hubbard was a hack. He wrote one reasonably decent story (Typewriter in the sky), and even that one was a bit thin. The rest are junk.
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>>His best SF concept though was Dianetics. Unfortunately, a lot of people took it seriously. He became a very rich man by pandering to the seriously 'confidence challenged' with his cult. The thing just snowballed. I knew a few people who were sucked into it back in the early 70's.
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>Yeah, he's sucked in John Travolta and Tom Cruise too. I believe Tom had the correct line in his movie "Jerry McGquire" . . . "SHOW ME THA MONEY!"

That cult, like most cults, preys on those who desparately need approval and aren't getting it to the extent they feel they deserve. I think a lot of actors fall into that category. One of the reason they become actors is that need for approval. Ultimately they are brain-washed into believing that the only way they can really thrive is as members of the cult.

Don't get me started on whether I think organised religions in general, are ultimately cults. ;)