The Church of Fear
Inside the Weird World of Scientology
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 3 months for £0.99/mo
The Church of Fear
Buy Now for £15.99
-
Narrated by:
-
John Sweeney
-
By:
-
John Sweeney
About this listen
Tom Cruise and John Travolta say the Church of Scientology is a force for good. Others disagree.
Award-winning journalist John Sweeney investigated the Church for more than half a decade. During that time he was intimidated, spied on, and followed, and the results were spectacular: Sweeney lost his temper with the Church's spokesman on camera, and his infamous 'exploding tomato' clip was seen by millions around the world.
In The Church of Fear, Sweeney tells the full story of his experiences for the first time and paints a devastating picture of this strange organisation, from former Scientologists who tell heartbreaking stories of families torn apart and lives ruined to its current followers who say it is the solution to many of mankind's problems.
This is the real story of the Church by the reporter who was brave enough to take it on.
John Sweeney is a reporter for BBC Panorama. He is the author of six previous books including the novel Elephant Moon.
©2013 John Sweeney (P)2015 Audible, LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Gripping." (The Economist)
"A brave book." (Liverpool Daily Post)
"Blackly comic." (The Humanist)
Nice one John
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you consider the audio edition of The Church of Fear to be better than the print version?
Yes, the text was personal to the narrator, who was also the author, so you could tell how personal the whole situation became. How he and Scientology were at war with one another was good, though it was such a aristocratic war I couldn't help but laugh at how pompous they all were at times.Who was your favorite character and why?
This is a personal account so I'd have to say Sweeney. Paranoid at times, angry at others he was also genuine and passionate, if a little dorky now and again. He knew his subject well and was able to highlight how he struggled during some interviews, what he had to deal with who can blame him, but he also used hindsight effectively to elevate his arguments later on. Just for the record, I think he won the war of words.Did the narration match the pace of the story?
Yes. John Sweeney drew on research effectively he described the scenes vividly.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There were some moments of shock for me. I could also understand why John became so angry.Any additional comments?
The book is basically exploration of Scientology as a cult. It highlights how the system works, mind control, mental prisons etc it covers what scientologist believe, that is, if you can believe what they believe, it's a bit out there. It was a informative listen. Though I would like to have heard him interview Scientologists from a wider range of people. enjoyed this listen.Scientology is worse than a War Zone!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What you do get is a very personal, wild and often darkly funny view of a reporter’s interactions with various members of said church, made all the more personal by the fact that the author is also the narrator. This is both good and bad. At times he gets so excited that he speaks very rapidly and his words run into each other with the same kind of frequency that he runs into members of the church. Consequently it can be difficult to follow. But you can’t help but get swept up in it all as he tries to deal with some really quite bizarre situations, and eventually just loses the plot completely.
There are also points where you feel the author is bending over backwards to appear to be fair whilst giving you a nudge or two - and a wink for good measure. Phrases like “they might have been from the church” really translate as “they were from the church. They know it. I know it. You know it. Your Uncle Tom knows it. But I’m from the BBC and I can’t prove it. So I’ll just throw a might in there. Balance achieved.” So although it includes interviews and comments from the Scientology side of the fence, it’s really a very one-sided piece.
The author also seems to take an absolute delight in trying to force any member of the church to say the word “cult”. At first it’s quite funny but after a while you sort of wonder what the point is. Mr Sweeney makes a compelling argument that they are a cult and is clearly firmly convinced that they are. But even if he had got one active member to agree, I’m not sure it would really prove much.
Overall I enjoyed the book, albeit with a certain sense of morbid fascination at some of the tales. However, I listened to it in small doses which I feel is possibly the best way. The excited narration can get a little overbearing during long listening sessions, particularly in the full-on arguments that devolve into two people just yelling the same thing at each other over and over again, or yelling it’s their turn to speak now.
It certainly gives an interesting and unique view of the church and some of its key members. It manages to be funny at times and heart wrenching at others when you hear some of the alleged (nudge, nudge) activities of the church. If the idea of such a personal view of Scientology appeals to you, I’d definitely recommend it.
It's my turn to speak now
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Interesting listen but I think that authors really need to think before they decide to read their own stuff. John has a good voice but I would have preferred a more measured emotion on display. Got in the way.Who was your favorite character and why?
John!How could the performance have been better?
Less emotion in the read.Was The Church of Fear worth the listening time?
Yes. There is a subtle story here about brain washing. Most people think it is like forcing a mind down tramlines. This would be obvious in a victim. In this church the BW is much more real and subtle. The idea is to make the victim internalise the message of the church and own it as their own ideas. They might say: "These are my ideas .. I just noticed that the church had them too". This is very powerful as a device to draw a mind in and orientate it to easy ideas to start with .. but then make the mix more potent. I can see how this is done in a gradual way and I think that Scientology is just an extreme form of mind control that we see all around us just about every day.Any additional comments?
I wonder how many other institutions could be approached as employing BW in the subtle form. I would like to read more about that.Insights into fear and moral capture
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Any additional comments?
This is a great insight into a truly bonkers world. Although John Sweeney makes it clear that there was much more that could have gone into the book, due to the litigious nature of the church the content was restricted. For me, this actually worked really well as it made the book far more powerful and personal because everything was based on hard, in your face evidence.And John, don't feel bad about exploding like a tomato, I thought you were really rather restrained!
Truly Bonkers
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.