From: Tyagi@cup.portal.com (Tyagi Mordred Nagasiva)
Newsgroups: alt.magick,alt.religion.all-worlds
Subject: LRonHubbard/RobHeinlein and Religions (OZell/AWBW)
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 93 23:13:55 PST

931210

A while back we were having a discussion about Jack Parsons, L. Ron
Hubbard and Robert Heinlein either in a.magick or in a.r.all-worlds.
I suggested that I'd ask the folks over at the Church if they had any
ideas on the matter, especially about the differences between the
motives of the latter two.  This was their response via email:
_____________________________________________________________________

~Date: Thu, 2 Dec 93 00:47 EST
To: Tyagi <Tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com>
~Subject: RE: alt.magick/alt.r.a-w! :>

This is Adam Walks Between Worlds and Otter and I are sitting here
together going over the email. He asked me to respond to your note.

        Actually LRH did indeed mean to found a religion and make a
bundle at it and history shows he was more financially successful than
any other religious founder in his own lifetime. An envious record
which may someday be matched by Rush Limbaugh :)
        All kidding aside, LRH was in the business of religion and
spoke openly about it all the way up until it became impolitic to do
so and long after it became impolite. Remember that up until
Scientology, LRH made his money from pulp SF -- deemed an unworthy
occupation until well into the '60s and then largely because of the
genius of such writers as Heinlein, Asimov and Cklarke -- and as a
cheap con artist. He was wanted at several times for his flim-flam act
and even swindled the famous Jack Parsons, rocket scientist, foun der
of the Jet Propulsion Labns in Pasadena and Lodge Master for the OTO's
American Lodge in LA.
        RAH, on the other hand, emphatically refused that he was
attempting to set up a religion on many occasions -- see some of the
letters in his posthumous collection "Grumbles from Beyond the Grave."
He said something about wanting the money from his books and wishing
to leave the cults outside or some thing like that. On the other hand,
RAH enjoyed the pagan emergenced and seemed pleased to have provided
some inspiritation. In private correspondence with the Zells and
others, he spoke well of pagansism and seemed to have quite a body of
knowledge in magick and alternate interpretations of history. He was
intensely interested in social, political and cognitive change and
experimentat ion, but found a religion, no.
        You may be interested to read my article concerning Heinlein's
magickal methods and messages from Stranger in a Strange Land. The
article ran for three issues -- the longest article to run in GE
history -- from issues 97 to 99.  These issues are avialble from CAW
although rumor has it they're going fast! :)
___________________________________________________________________________

In case you didn't know it, 'GE' is an abbreviation for 'Green Egg', which
is the publication put out by the Church of All Worlds.  Enjoy.

Tyagi Nagasiva
Tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com