We've seen various mentions of Mike Rinder in the media and at www.scientology-cult.com

Mike was probably the most prominent spokes person for Scientology in the last decade or so.

I worked with Mike Rinder, on numerous occasions within my more-than-three-decade tenure in the Sea Organization. I last saw him in 2006 at Saint Hill, UK, at the IAS event. It has to be stated for the record here that in the entire time I knew Mike, and having worked with him at all levels of management myself, he was entirely respectful, dignified, refined and a gentleman.

I have worked with many, in fact, most of the top level Scientology executives in my many years and Mike was uniformly one of those executives that I respected and trusted. He, along with Guillaume Lesevre and a handful of others, could be counted upon to stand by certain pillars of Scientology, and more so, stand by their principles. You have to consider the order of magnitude of heinous acts and violence that would have to be brought down on him personally to finally drive a man of this principle -- to leave the organization.

I know because the same happened to me. I survived over 30 years, through more storms and bullets than most men took, and I still maintained my dedication to the cause until someone pushed it beyond the threshold of sensibility and declared, in so doing, that they were no longer following Scientology principles or tenets, but were engaging another agenda. That is when I left, and knowing Mike Rinder, that would have been his pressing point too.

Whatever you read about Mike Rinder, and I doubt very much that by his nature that he will say much about himself, realize that you are looking at one of the Martin Luther Kings of Scientology. A man who stood tall, took the bullets and still kept going - and only pulled up his stakes when the dictator (David Miscavige) of Scientology finally marginalized him in a hole and had degraded him to a point where Mike had no choice but to leave for his own sanity and integrity.

No doubt, Mike made his share of mistakes and compromises along the way. He was not perfect. We all did because we all believed in what we were doing. I still believe in Scientology and use it in my daily life, and I am sure that Mike Rinder does as well.

But no one can believe in or support an organization that marginalizes staff into a pseudo slavery-internment camp life-style, uses force and a fear campaign and engages dictatorial style "management" to arbitrarily mandate the lives and passions and beliefs, and more fundamentally, the spirituality -- of the millions. I may not be as high profile as Mike Rinder and the others are currently doing on this matter - but I am supporting and writing about the same things they are and it is my utmost belief that David Miscavige, the current "ruling" hierarchy of the Church of Scientology, must be brought to accountability for the violations of human rights and of the outright disregard for Scientology principles that he so sanctimoniously says he stands for, and that Scientology must be restored to management by the very type of executive body that L. Ron Hubbard instituted before he passed away in the 80s.

Written by OUTSIDE THE BOX

See my blog at http://nodamnkidding.blogspot.com/