tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post1956003723061095726..comments2023-09-18T04:45:52.991-07:00Comments on Ask the Scientologist: Scientology: It's All About Threats and FearJust Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00700571144527474381noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-56744493244378306792012-11-08T23:37:04.056-08:002012-11-08T23:37:04.056-08:00So glad to see a new post!
Someone from AO called...So glad to see a new post!<br /><br />Someone from AO called the other day and asked when I was coming back on course. She needed a target date. I was polite. But I thought, "Ya know what. I just don't have to pretend any more."<br /><br />"I probably won't be," I said. "I'm just not interested."<br /><br />There was an awkward pause. Silence. And then an awkward, "Okay, Good bye."<br /><br />It was that easy. The trick is really waking up and realizing that they don't have all the answers and that they lie. What does that tell you?<br /><br />on.the.edge.latelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00593944567031019671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-76691303123492070622012-10-30T21:00:37.279-07:002012-10-30T21:00:37.279-07:00And think of all the "publics" who are s...And think of all the "publics" who are still "in" the church but inactive at one level or the other; it has to be a large chunk of the membership. I once ran across a person at the Ex-Scientology Kids board; she was a Scientologist for 20 years and had all but given up on the church, but could not leave due to family. If it weren't for relations stuck in the Sea Org and other entanglements I would say that the organization would vanish quickly.Strelnikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12660962615198939441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-83327277914818058422012-10-27T06:13:47.062-07:002012-10-27T06:13:47.062-07:00Excellent piece and as an anecdote, matches my own...Excellent piece and as an anecdote, matches my own experience of several decades of participation in the church.<br /><br />I might add that the FEAR aspect of Scientology permeates the inner workings of the group also. It is FEAR that prevents correction of the most egregious internal abuses, no matter how many field or staff members report identical and obvious outnesses, using the supposedly sacred internal communication lines. It is that very culture of FEAR that keeps people still inside (especially Sea Org members) operating the mechanisms of domination and control, even when they can see the corruption all around them. How one can watch dozens and dozens of former high profile executives and public be cast out and attacked by ones own group and not wonder what's going on is mind bending. It is FEAR that ironically causes loyal members to keep the culture of FEAR rolling along - even though history has shown that it is only a matter of time until those very same loyal members become victims of the very culture of FEAR that will consume and then spit them out too!<br /><br />The primary product of Scientology as practiced today is EX-Scientologists! And rightly so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-40391588211417439852012-10-26T21:54:00.221-07:002012-10-26T21:54:00.221-07:00Alle - ESMB is a great site, second to this site a...Alle - ESMB is a great site, second to this site and Just Bill. <br /><br />Re "Did they really believe Hubbard knew 750...00 old history of universe?" <br />Although I was "in" for many years, I did not believe this, at all, even though I believed in past lives. I thought this was made-up Hubbard BS. Don't ask me why I stayed in, if I thought part of his lectures were BS. I'm still trying to figure that out .....<br /><br />Bill - I am SO happy when I see a new article of yours. You reach a large audience, while you help those in need via private emails. I still remember and appreciate how helpful you were to me when I was in the grips and height of post-cult member stress syndrome, that was very rough. Life is infinitely better now, not perfect, but it just keeps getting better all the time. Still feel gratitude for you :)<br /> <br />AnneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-67142172241589937312012-10-26T10:27:48.886-07:002012-10-26T10:27:48.886-07:00Hi Alle,
About the "java script is running s...Hi Alle,<br /><br />About the "java script is running something" problem -- I'm kinda sorry we're on Blogger but we are. I'll look into it but I don't think I can resolve that issue. However, if you just tell your browser to <b>wait</b>, you should see everything come up just fine.<br /><br />Yeah, ESMB is an excellent site - and pretty lively at times. As far as that "trillions of years" thing, part of the <i>basic</i> beliefs of Scientology is that one has lived before. All Scientologists believe that. Well, if you have accepted that you've lived before, how far back does that stretch? You see? You really can't put a limit to how far back that goes without running into another rather knotty question: If there was a beginning, then what happened <i>before that</i>? It was easier for Hubbard to have no specific limit, so "trillions" or even "quadrillions" of years ago makes sense.<br /><br />As far as believing Hubbard, he was quite charismatic and spoke with <i>tremendous</i> certainty. It was easy to believe.<br /><br />BillJust Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700571144527474381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-73289750872441085172012-10-26T04:39:38.244-07:002012-10-26T04:39:38.244-07:00Hi Just Bill
Two things:1) for a few months I have...Hi Just Bill<br />Two things:1) for a few months I have been unable to read Questions, a message appeared “java script is running something" get out website. After you made the 5th Questions, it still is doing the same. I wonder if other people have the same thing.<br />2) I have been reading ESMB - amazing. But I still don’t get how people believed that Hubbard knew what happened trillions years ago. I can understand that they believed that he knew how the mind works or how to raise children etc. I also can understand how they believed it is possible to achieve superhuman abilities (many martial arts or yoga cults promise the same). But the origin of universe? If people really believed, it is a real religion then. Did they really believe Hubbard knew 750...00 old history of universe? <br />Thanks,<br />AlleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-12555774398364010982012-10-23T09:30:14.655-07:002012-10-23T09:30:14.655-07:00Actually, I did this back in 2008. I asked Is Sci...Actually, I did this back in 2008. I asked <a href="http://askthescientologist.blogspot.com/2008/05/is-scientology-cult_26.html" rel="nofollow">Is Scientology a Cult?</a> and then used Lifton's eight criteria to answer it.<br /><br />(You can see why I have a problem with finding something new to write about -- I've written a lot.)<br /><br />BillJust Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700571144527474381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-29211765475451003482012-10-23T04:28:44.758-07:002012-10-23T04:28:44.758-07:00Maybe in a future piece you could look in detail a...Maybe in a future piece you could look in detail at how each elements connects to Scientology's ideology? I have toyed with the idea of such a post at Infinite Complacency, but it might be better coming from an insider.jjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07221356763434456508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-86949302790331007122012-10-22T14:58:22.761-07:002012-10-22T14:58:22.761-07:00Here is a link to those same eight criteria from D...<a href="http://www.reveal.org/library/psych/lifton.html" rel="nofollow">Here</a> is a link to those same eight criteria from Dr. Lifton with a bit more information about each one.Just Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700571144527474381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-67671504867044413282012-10-22T13:36:23.118-07:002012-10-22T13:36:23.118-07:00Thanks Jonny, excellent comment as always. I high...Thanks Jonny, excellent comment as always. I highly recommend any Scientologist read Dr. Lifton's articles and books as well as those by Steven Hassan.<br /><br />It is mind-blowing to see how much of Scientology, specifically as created by Hubbard, adheres to the characteristics of cults.Just Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700571144527474381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5588150109003847843.post-74393191024523887072012-10-22T12:05:57.180-07:002012-10-22T12:05:57.180-07:00I've also come across this fear in former memb...I've also come across this fear in former members -- or at least their recollection of it: as you point out, it is a sense of being cast off their only road to salvation. This way of controlling people is a key feature of Robert Jay Lifton's theory of thought reform -- or mind control, if you prefer. It is perhaps most clearly expressed in the element he calls "the dispensing of existence".<br />For a summary of his model, see here: http://www.csj.org/studyindex/studymindctr/study_mindctr_lifton.htm<br />As you'll see, the other features are also a good fit with Scientology's control mechanisms. jjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07221356763434456508noreply@blogger.com