Bingowings said:

One reads stories about Scientology which are almost entirely negative (controlling, brain-washing, money making scam, invented by a rubbish science fiction author etc) would you wish to counter those accusations at all as someone who has left and still has relatives inside the church?

Are there positives about being in that situation?

Hmm. Well, I don't really want to counter the negative comments, I maintain a pretty neutral stance, even when I was still in. It's not all bad though, there are many many good-hearted Scientologists out there doing what they think is the greatest good for the greatest number of "dynamics." I never held the "KSW #1" opinion that "the whole agonized future of this planet... for the next endless trillions of years depend on what you do here and now with and in Scientology." They would drill that into our heads often; one common practice was "Chinese School," usually during a morning meeting or in the Academy (training department) after the first roll call. The goal was to get you to the point of being able to rattle off all 10 points of How to Keep Scientology Working and remind you Scientology isn't a hobby. Quite often I would mouth the words and just sing a song in my head. It is a very controlling environment, but most people are control freaks because they believe that's what needed to salvage the human race. It's their goal to "put Ethics in on the planet."

I can't comment on L. Ron cause I didn't know him personally. The guy definitely had ego issues, but props to him for being so driven and successful.