The weekly show where I answer questions from viewers left in the comment sections of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at AskChrisShelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I answer are:
(1) Hubbard wrote: “If the Org slumps: Don’t engage in ‘fundraising’ or ‘selling postcards’ or borrowing money. Just make more income with Scientology. It’s a sign of very poor management to seek extraordinary solutions for finance outside Scientology. It has always failed. For Orgs as for pcs ‘Solve it with Scientology’. Every time I myself have sought to solve finance or personnel in other ways than Scientology I have lost out. So I can tell you from experience that Org Solvency lies in more Scientology, not patented combs or fundraising barbecues. (HCO PL 24 February 1964, ‘Urgent, Org Programming’).”
Not only have there been too-numerous-to-count fundraisers (especially B-B-Q’s!) over the past 20 years, there were ‘The Basics’ (used exclusively to raise money) and ‘The Golden Age of Tech’ which basically ‘squirreled’ the original tech (supposedly another absolute ‘no-no’) in an attempt to generate more revenue. (In fact, this precipitated a major exodus of long-termers who left in protest.) So, how is it that they continue their ‘Fair Game’ tactics because it’s ‘what Ron said to do, and the tech can’t be changed’? This might have worked in the past, but has backfired stupendously since the advent of the internet/Anonymous. Is the Bionic Runt really so stupid?
(2) Increasingly, over the past several months, I’ve noticed an increase in expressions of religious (and political) belief from friends and acquaintances. These mostly come in the form of encouragement or commiseration. “I’ve been (or will be) praying for you,” and similar sentiments. “Turn to The Lord and He will help you through your difficulty. Sometimes there is an accompanying lecture on some variation of religious dogma. I’m beginning to take offense at the presumptuous nature of these communications. I’m being given a lecture with the assumption that I accept and agree with the underlying belief, or that common courtesy obligates me to listen. The sender of the message cloaks him- or herself in the unarguable righteousness of pious goodwill that deserves no disagreement. I’m sure that such lecturers have a lifetime of reinforcement within their corners of our culture, to make them feel that they are being “good people,” but I’m starting to see it as just plain rude. What is my question? How can a person caught in this “manners conundrum” cut through such rudeness and deliver a rational and frank response? With some people it seems effortless; they “don’t care what anyone else thinks,” and seem to earn respect for that. This seems like Mature Adulthood 101. How do some of us fail it so badly? Your thoughts?
(3) Chris, did you ever purposely go down stat really bad in order to make the next few weeks easier? Was this a practice you saw in the orgs?
(4) I watched your “What is Scientology” video today. Curiously I also watched the interview that Oprah had with Tom Cruise (I’m sure you must be sick of him by now *haha*) What I picked up is that in the Oprah interview TC said that he does believe in a God, and that he is of the view that parents have to make to choice of whether children should be placed on medicine/drugs or not. This contradicts the view of the “intense dislike of psychs” as was clearly visible in his “melt down” on the interview with Matt Lauer.
Do you think this is an attempt to create better PR, or is TC speaking out of both sides of his mouth, since he is OT 7, I believe or at that time he may have been OT 5. As you mentioned in your speech, belief in God is good and well in the lower levels of Scientology, but as one moves up the Bridge it becomes less or frowned upon, and not encouraged.
If the above assumptions are correct, do you think he would have been “disciplined” for anti-Scientology views; but then Scientology does not frown upon people not being totally forthcoming. I would love to hear your views on this.
(5) What are the books, shows, or movies that defined you?
(6) Do you think the Church doesn’t prioritize Sea Org members “going up the Bridge”, because auditing Sea Org members doesn’t generate revenue?
(7) I have a question about being an illegal PC due to being institutionalized. Would a case supervisor consider 12-step rehab as being “institutionalized”, assuming the person did not receive any psychiatric drugs while at the rehab and only went there to get sober. They would have had counseling sessions with licensed counselors and therapists but no actual prescription of psychoactive drugs.
(8) Did you ever feel Scientology was used cynically by some rich people as a way to keep the government from taxing them, since donations to a religious institution are something you can write off?
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