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Now for sale on Amazon: Marty's new book, Memoirs of a Scientology Warrior

CommunicatorIC

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
Marty's new book, Memoirs of a Scientology Warrior, now for sale on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Scientology-Warrior-Marty-Rathbun/dp/1484805666

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Memoirs of a Scientology Warrior [Paperback]

Mark "Marty" Rathbun (Author)

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Book Description Publication Date: May 27, 2013

An insider look at Scientology’s infamous war apparatus. This autobiographical history of Scientology is told by one of L. Ron Hubbard’s staunchest defenders.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark ‘Marty’ Rathbun was Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), the organization that controls the copyrights and trademarks of the materials relating to Dianetics and Scientology. His role was to head the Inspector General Network, described by the Church of Scientology as "an independent investigatory and policing body whose function is to keep Scientology working by ensuring the pure and ethical use of Dianetics and Scientology technology." The post is one of the most senior management functions in the Church and its related organizations. Rathbun left the Church of Scientology in 2004. He is now an independent Scientologist. As such he and his wife, Monique, provide counseling and auditing services for other Scientologists that have cut their ties with the Church of Scientology. He emerged as a critical source in a 2009 Tampa Bay Times expose on the organization, revealing that physical violence is a common occurrence within Scientology management, and that Scientology head David Miscavige regularly beats his staff, and orders staff to administer beatings to designated individuals. The series by the Times titled "Inside Scientology: The Truth Rundown" (http://tinyurl.com/mjcnfv) was recognized with honors including the 2010 Gold Medal for Public Service award from the Florida Society of News Editors, and was a finalist for the 2010 National Headliner Awards in the category of investigative reporting. Rathbun has also been profiled by the following publications: The UK Independent weekly magazine: http://tinyurl.com/cwahwzy Texas Monthly magazine: http://tinyurl.com/758rb75 The Village Voice: http://tinyurl.com/5tjnhuc Rathbun operates a blog called Moving On Up a Little Higher: markrathbun.wordpress.com

Product Details


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Kindle edition not yet available. My understanding, however, is that a Kindle edition will be available:

http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/dont-read-this-book/#comment-266091
martyrathbun09 | May 23, 2013 at 3:54 pm | Reply

JM,

Won’t be available till late next week. Hopefully, I can get to Kindle formatting in time.
Click to expand...
Marty: Ten Reasons to Avoid ‘Scientology Warrior’
http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/ten-reasons-to-avoid-scientology-warrior/

Excerpts specifically selected for this forum:
2. If you read it, you might get the idea that for Scientology to assert the idea some of its ideas are sacred and ought to remain hidden is the height of hypocrisy. This could be particularly difficult for those who cling to a sense of mystical superiority over mere mortals.
Click to expand...
4. If you read it, you might become curious as to the evolution of psychotherapeutic and spiritual practices during the time Scientology has existed. This could be particularly upsetting to those who find comfort in knowing without doubt that anything developed or discussed outside the halls of Scientology is destructive, dangerous business.
Click to expand...
7. If you read it, you might find out that L. Ron Hubbard did not live an immaculate resurrection as popularly accepted. This could be particularly enturbulating to those whose gains in Scientology are based upon the foundation of the stable datum of ‘doing what Ron would do.’

8. If you read it, you will more than likely forever lose the ‘ends justify the means’ think that Scientology implants upon its members. This will be particularly jarring to those weaklings who take some measure of pride in judging, denigrating, and black pr’ing those who don’t see eye to eye with them on Scientology.

9. If you read it, you might find out that much of Scientology takes away the positive that it is also capable of producing. This will be particularly unsettling to those who have a weak understanding on the observable mechanics that make Scientology produce results .
Click to expand...
 
CommunicatorIC

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
No, Marty, you are not following "The Great Middle Path"

One Good Reason To Read ‘Scientology Warrior’

http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/one-good-reason-to-read-scientology-warrior/

One Good Reason To Read ‘Scientology Warrior’

Posted on May 29, 2013 by martyrathbun09 | 47 Comments

Now for one reason you might want to read Memoirs of a Scientology Warrior. Tony Ortega hates the book, characterizing it as a love letter to the cult: Ortega’s take.

Rattling both ends of the extreme is an indicia of hitting the sweet spot. Reference: The Great Middle Path Revisited.

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Sorry, Marty, no. "Rattling both ends of the extreme" is most assuredly not an "indicia of hitting the sweet spot." Increasingly in these modern times, it reflects the epistemologically and ethically relativistic view that truth and justice are a matter of compromise. That to be "fair and balanced" is to give equal credence to (as opposed to being willing to listen to and confront) both sides -- even if one side is verifiably and demonstrably evil, and/or verifiably and demonstrably false.

The simple truth is that one side may attack you because what you say is verifiably and demonstrably false, and/or supportive (even if unintentionally) of evil. The other side may attack you because what you say is insufficiently false and/ or supportive of evil.

Taking the "middle path" between truth and virtue, on the one hand, and falsehood and evil, on the other hand, is itself no virtue. It is, at best, a lesser form of evil and falsehood. It is, at worst, something that camouflages evil and falsehood, or makes them appear more palatable,

Your supposed "great middle path" has nothing to do with the Great Middle Path of Buddhism. To appropriate that term in support of a compromise between truth and falsehood, between virtue and evil, is insulting. This is perhaps not surprising given the Scientology and cult tactic of redefining words and terms.

To put it plainly and to risk invoking Goodwin's law, one could not properly take the "great middle path" between the Nazis and German Jews in World War II. And one very much doubts Buddhists take a "great middle path" between China and their persecuted Tibetan Buddhist brethren. The Buddhists I've known did and do not take a "great middle path" between victims and their oppressors.

So, Marty, no.

.


.
 
Vittorio

Vittorio

Patron Meritorious
The extract was painful enough to read.

Marty may change the window dressing but the core remains the same.
 
ChuckNorrisCutsMyLawn

ChuckNorrisCutsMyLawn

Crusader
WildKat

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
I got Marty's book and read it

OK, I just finished reading Marty's new book. And although the temptation was great to jump on the band wagon of Marty-haters, I have to say.... I'm glad I bought it and read it and I DO recommend it!

My first reaction, on reading the first few pages (a link was posted on-line) was that Marty was setting up the book to read like a script for an action adventure film starring Marty the conquering hero. I didn't like the way it was written, and said so on one of the threads. And it made me have doubts about investing the money and time to read the whole thing.

But I bought it and read it, and there is some actual meat in the book.

The first part deals mostly with Marty's early life and his failed but sincere attempts to help straighten out his psychotic brother, using Scientology. Then he deals with his early years in the cult and how his first wins (his certainty on going exterior, more than anything) cemented his belief in the "power of the Tech".

But the really interesting stuff comes later in the book. He details quite a bit about all the legal cases and the lawyers, and the Gerry Armstrong case, etc., which some may find of use. That part is interesting but a little difficult to get through.

If nothing else, though, the last few chapters have all the meat and I think are worth the price of the book. He writes a detailed verbatim interview he had several years ago with Sarge (Steve Pfauth), who lived with LRH for many years at Creston. There is some juicy stuff about LRH spending his last couple years in decrepit condition being harassed by BT's and his request for Sarge to build him a high-powered e-meter to blast the BT's and basically kill him. I really think EVERY true believer Scientologist should have this information. They deserve to know how their hero checked out this lifetime, with no intentions of "coming back'.

In the final chapter he comes round to admitting that LRH was a combination of genius and flaws. And why Scientology, in its official form, as created by LRH, does not result in super-humans with super powers, and why. And on this, I have to agree with him.

So all in all, I'm glad I got the book, and I'm glad I read it. I'd love to hear from anyone who has read it.

I'll post some more details later if anyone is interested.
 
ILove2Lurk

ILove2Lurk

Lisbeth Salander
In case you didn't "get it" by Book III,
Book IV will handle all your questions.

martyrathbun09 June 2, 2013 at 8:30 pm

There’s a lot of truth to what you are saying here. A lot
of this theme is covered in my next book, which treats
integration, evolution and transcendence in greater depth.
​

:coolwink:

Well, Ron complained that modern universities graduated philosophers
that couldn't philosophize. Well, it seems like that scientology does
create philosophers that can and do philosophize endlessly. You got
your wish.
bunny.gif
 
Last edited:
WildKat

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
ILove2Lurk said:
In case you didn't "get it" by Book III,
Book IV will handle all your questions.

martyrathbun09 June 2, 2013 at 8:30 pm

There’s a lot of truth to what you are saying here. A lot
of this theme is covered in my next book, which treats
integration, evolution and transcendence in greater depth.
​

:coolwink:

Well, Ron complained that modern universities graduated philosophers
that couldn't philosophize. Well, it seems like that scientology does
create philosophers that can and do philosophize endlessly. You got
your wish.
bunny.gif
Click to expand...

LOL!

And too much philosophizing, per my thinking, leads to insanity. Trying to explain it all, sort it all out, fix everything that is wrong... leads to not a good end. Like Hubbard, who ended up "just as good as" any wog in old age - decrepit, senile, muttering about demons, still trying to "fix" things.

I tend to think that anyone who buys the BT theory of existence, may end up the same. It's just a recipe for paranoia. My 2 cents.
 
WildKat

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
I'm surprised at the lack of interest in this thread. Thought I'd find at least one other member who read Marty's book and wanted to comment, but I guess I'm all alone here..... [sound of crickets.....] LOL!
 
Lone Star

Lone Star

Crusader
WildKat said:
I'm surprised at the lack of interest in this thread. Thought I'd find at least one other member who read Marty's book and wanted to comment, but I guess I'm all alone here..... [sound of crickets.....] LOL!
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Marty is sooooo 2011.

He paid dearly for putting all his stock in Debbie Cook. :duh:
 
Lone Star

Lone Star

Crusader
CommunicatorIC said:
How? Why? I don't see how the Debbie Cook situation had anything to do with Matty's popularity or the popularity of his books.
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Oh I'm just engaging in a little hyperbole. It does seem to me that he had high hopes that Debbie's coming out would benefit himself more. I think that he wanted her to join himself and Mike Rinder's little "Moving On Up A Little Higher" gang. But she made a deal with DM, so it didn't pan out. IMO he's been fading away steadily in the public's eye ever since. But that just may be my perception.....or dub-in. :biggrin:
 
WildKat

WildKat

Gold Meritorious Patron
Lone Star said:
Oh I'm just engaging in a little hyperbole. It does seem to me that he had high hopes that Debbie's coming out would benefit himself more. I think that he wanted her to join himself and Mike Rinder's little "Moving On Up A Little Higher" gang. But she made a deal with DM, so it didn't pan out. IMO he's been fading away steadily in the public's eye ever since. But that just may be my perception.....or dub-in. :biggrin:
Click to expand...

I think you may be right.

Probably the only thing that could put Marty back in the spotlight is if someone like Tom Cruise defected and turned up on his old auditor's doorstep. But that ain't gonna happen. Marty was the "power NEXT to the big power" and that's where he derived all his influence. He needs another "big power" to align with him, or he will slowly and surely fade away. By himself, he is just a very minor cult figure. He has a few loyal followers, but even they are getting a little tired, judging by the comments section on his blog.

I would LOVE to know some stats, like how many books has he actually sold? Who are his buyers? (Besides me, LOL!) And has he sold more of Book 3 than Book 2 and Book 1? Or is it dwindling numbers each time? That information would be very telling.
 
CommunicatorIC

CommunicatorIC

@IndieScieNews on Twitter
WildKat said:
Probably the only thing that could put Marty back in the spotlight is if someone like Tom Cruise defected and turned up on his old auditor's doorstep.
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The other thing that would put Marty back in the spotlight is if he finally wrote the tell-all book, and gave tell-all interviews, coming completely clean and telling all he knows. I doubt that will happen because of his possible criminal and/or civil liability.

Even that at first might appear to be a one shot deal, but if it is he would probably make enough on his book to comfortably retire -- assuming no costs re: potential criminal and civil liability. And it might not be that one shot. If he did what I suggest, he would again be the "go to" interview every time the Church of Scientology was in the news.

Short of that, yeah, he's fading. He has and will probably always have a core group of followers who need a new guru, a new leader. But leaving them aside, his tech and philosophical musings aren't of interest to many people.

Marty's value in the world outside of Scientology and Independent Scientology has always been his knowledge of the recent history of the COS that few people possess, and fewer (if any) are willing to disclose. It appears he has slowly disclosed all that he is comfortable disclosing in that regard. Thus, his lower profile and lesser value.
 
ChuckNorrisCutsMyLawn

ChuckNorrisCutsMyLawn

Crusader
WildKat said:
I think you may be right.

Probably the only thing that could put Marty back in the spotlight is if someone like Tom Cruise defected and turned up on his old auditor's doorstep. But that ain't gonna happen. Marty was the "power NEXT to the big power" and that's where he derived all his influence. He needs another "big power" to align with him, or he will slowly and surely fade away. By himself, he is just a very minor cult figure. He has a few loyal followers, but even they are getting a little tired, judging by the comments section on his blog.

I would LOVE to know some stats, like how many books has he actually sold? Who are his buyers? (Besides me, LOL!) And has he sold more of Book 3 than Book 2 and Book 1? Or is it dwindling numbers each time? That information would be very telling.
Click to expand...

"When someone asks, "so who is this Marty guy?" ....

All you have to say is "He's the one walking around with a fork stuck in him"

His fifteen minutes came and gone.

Basically he's now the Joe The Plumber of Scientology
 
Mick Wenlock

Mick Wenlock

Admin Emeritus (retired)
to be honest I am not surprised at the lack of interest on here concerning Marty's book. There are several reasons I think:

1) Marty does not write very well. And he does not seem to be getting better which means he is not learning so while he could skate on that with his first efforts by this point he really should have learned. But to learn you really need a good teacher and coach and editor and you need to know you need to be taught. Part of the problem is, of course, that most Scientologists think they already know everything. Hubbard found everything that was needed - slear some misunderstoods, read a couple of articles, add water - instant expert.

2) He does not have much to say that is worth listening to. It really is a case of familiarity breeding contempt. The more Marty has pushed himself out on to the public stage the "less" he looks. When people were concerned about him and the speculation was around about what he could say - there was really no way for him to measure up. He was always going to be smaller than the shadow he cast. Although this reads like a slam at Marty but I'm not trying to beat up on him. Just trying to explain why I am not interested in buying his book.

In fact there hasn't been one book of this genre that I have been really interested in - John Duignans was probably the one that caught my interest the most mostly because I think John brings some writing talent and some good insight.
 
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