Critical Q&A #130

Critical Q&A

The weekly show where I answer viewer questions left for me in the comments sections of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at [e-mail]. This week, the questions I answer are:

(1) Your comment about peeling off layers of belief and thinking, “How could I have ever believed X”, got me to thinking more broadly. In a sense a family is a cult, though not always destructive. The local community, school, and so on are similarly cults as they support beliefs and values common to their respective communities. I have found as I grow older that certain non-Scientology things I learned or came to believe earlier in my life have elicited a similar “how could I” response. I do think that much of this is the process of aging and maturing, and/or keeping up with the times on social changes that come about. Any thoughts on that?

(2) How is it possible to have “natural” Clears, let alone “natural” OT’s? Let’s grant that maybe someone is a natural Clear, a prodigy or freak of nature. But the content of the OT levels was “discovered” by Hubbard alone for the FIRST time ever, and by enduring great perils to himself. This was unprecedented, in the entirety of history as he was the first one to brave the sizzle of the “Wall of Fire.” So if someone is a natural OT, they would have either “discovered” the OT contents by themselves. This would make them equal to Hubbard. Unthinkable! Or, they would have received auditing in a past lifetime. Yet how could they have been audited on this, as Hubbard’s inexpendable “research” did not commence until the 1950’s?

Finally, if people really practiced Scientology in previous lives, how come there is no historical record of such a movement? We have records of even minute cults dating back millennia. But something as momentous as Scientology – Man’s only hope – surely would have left some records in the past somewhere.

(3) Hi Chris, LOVING the informal chats with other Exes on the Sensibly Speaking podcast. I have a couple questions about two bits of terminology Jeffrey Augustine quotes in one of his posts.

“The Church sees Sea Org members as ‘coins’ that can be traded among Orgs and then kicked to the curb when they weaken from age or infirmity. The Sea Org euphemism for this cruelty is called Fitness Boarding. Old and sick Sea Org members are fitness boarded, given $500, and then shown the door.”

My question is, did you ever use the term “coins” or see others doing so when talking to management about moving Sea Org members around the WUS or even internationally? If so, can that term help as proof of human trafficking in court? Also, how many members approximately did you see get Fitness Boarded out of the Sea Org while you were in?

(4) What is the Church of Scientology’s stance on other religions? In your latest interview it was mentioned that during the holidays, Jewish members were targeted during Xmas, and Christians targeted during Hanukkah, to keep up stats. You also mentioned some time back that Sea Org members have Xmas parties. Do Scientologists not realize the irony of celebrating other religious holidays they find bunk? Since ya know, Scientology is the “one true path” and all?

(5) Every week I enjoy Mike Rinder’s Thursday Funnies, a sampling of Scientology’s internal marketing efforts. Most of them are pretty obvious: Come to this potluck dinner, and we’ll hit you up for more money. Come watch this video of an event held somewhere else, and we’ll hit you up for more money. But, the one that confuses me is the prosperity seminars. The advertisements look like typical get rich quick schemes: flashy and outrageous, pie-in-the-sky numbers. Grow your business. Boost your profits. Prosperity! Is this a sales pitch for the Scientology management techniques OR is it tools to make someone a better FSM? I appreciate you explaining them; they just seem so crass and materialistic. Oh, wait, this is Scientology! Silly me!

(6) If I told an auditor that I stole an apple and went back to similar incidents and finally told him or her that the earliest time I did that was in the Garden of Eden while I was living there with Eve, would that overt be seriously handled? Or does the E-meter register when you are making fun of the auditor?

(7) In addition to the answer you recently gave about disabled people seeking auditing, you mentioned that if a person is not able to hold the cans in an auditing session, there are wrist bands and foot peddles that can be used. I would like to know: what if the person is deaf? The person being audited could use the foot peddles or the wrist bands in order speak in sign language but what about the auditor? Are there any auditors that speak sign language (various forms – not just ASL) OR would the session just be the auditor and the person being audited writing down questions and answers and just passing things back and forth to communicate? Thank you for all you are doing!

(8) Who pays for your uniforms? And are you expected to return them if you route out? Do they then get reused? Are the jackets dry cleaned?

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