Critical Q&A

The weekly show where I answer viewer questions left for me in the comment section of my Q&A videos or sent to me by email at AskChrisShelton@gmail.com. This week, the questions I take up are:

(1) Some time ago, you posted a video of your conversation with Nora Crest. One story Nora told was about having a conversation with a friend from before Scientology who was on active duty in the U.S. Navy at the time of the conversation. She recalls him being offended by her Sea Org uniform. Have you heard similar stories from other Sea Org members? A lot, a few, none other than Nora’s? Any personal experience or comments?

(2) I have a background of being a Fundamentalist Bible-believing Christian. It’s awkward to admit, but I bought it hook line and sinker to the point that I thought that there were even Satanist Illuminati conspiracies. In fact there was certain brands, music and other things I’d avoid as if I could catch Satanism from them or something. You can imagine how funny it was to me when I found out the Church of Satan is actually an athiest activist group. With the conspiracy mindset of the Church of Scientology, did you have similar experiences in avoiding certain things? I heard one former Scientologist saying that their mother would always buy those cheap off-brand generic plasters instead of Band-Aids, because apparently Johnson & Johnson has a large psychiatric drug business and she didn’t want to give them money. Did you ever experience or see anything like that, or is that example more of an outlier?

(3) I know it will never happen, but if disconnection was outlawed, would Scientologists be okay with it?

(4) Hubbard lost the rights to the term Dianetics in the early ’50s and then he brought about the term Scientology to replace it, along with past lives being a factor in the creation of a reactive mind. I remember seeing the TV commercials for Dianetics in the 1980s. I thought Scientology replaced Dianetics with LRH’s resurgence in popularity in the early ’60s, and new book. What I am not clear on (no pun intended) is when, how and why “Dianetics” came back to LRH’s usage. Can you explain the history of the word from the loss of the rights to the word to current use?

(5) From watching Scientology and the Aftermath, and from various websites, people who leave Scientology or “blow” are afraid that other Scientologists will come after them and bring them back. In Scientology and the Aftermath, the Headleys describe how they “blew” and had to evade those seeking to find them and bring them back. Also in the same series there was a story of one ex-Scientologist being tracked down in South Africa and being brought back to the States. My question is what does it mean to be “brought back”? It sounds like people have a real fear of being brought back against their will by being kidnapped or abducted. Is this fear real? Or does being “brought back” mean persuading an ex-Scientologist to come back by the use of arguments, e.g., “you left behind family and friends and they all miss you”, or “you know Scientology is right, and now that you’ve been in the world, you know how right it is”? The latter I can understand, but if it is the former, it makes one wonder why no one has ever filed a police report.

(6) There was a post on Tony Ortega’s blog recently showing that it was mandatory that all Scientology staff members keep themselves informed and stay up-to-date by watching all the programs aired on the Scientology Network. To me, this does not bode well for the atmosphere inside the bubble. Miscavige opened Pandora’s Box when he unleashed Scientology TV; could this be his Achilles heel? At any rate, could this ‘hissy fit’ be an indication of the beginning of the end? Will this spur another mass exodus? Any speculation on if/when/which celebs or whales might be jumping ship (pardon the pun) next? At the very least is the Mental Midget beginning to totally unravel?

(7) You and many others have pointed out that one reason people stay in Scientology and put up with all the abuse is that they’re afraid of losing their immortality. At what point do Scientologists GAIN their immortality? And what of the wogs out there? Do only Scientologists have immortality?

(8) I’ve always noticed that a lot of class V staffers usually work in Investment Management. As a former member of the Sea Organization and Class V staffer I never understood how someone with little education (especially when you go to Delphi Academy) could work in such a critical job. I did know someone who actually held a course in business that was part of the church. Just before he held the event he told me his business was failing and he had no idea how to fix it. To this day he is now in Clearwater, FL teaching people about advertising, business investments, and how to find potential clients. I guess registrars, recruiters and treasury staff have all the best ideas. Have you ever noticed this?