Critical Q&A

This week, it’s answers about celebrities in Scientology, training levels, whether people deserve to be in cults or not and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) a) Do you think that a homosexual celebrity like Catherine Bell could ever be openly gay and still remain in good standing with Scientology or is she most likely pressured to never open that closet door in public? b) Are you of the opinion that certain Scientology celebrities are probably aware of the controversies and crimes of COS but choose to stay in anyway? Perhaps due to the privileges that they are rewarded or maybe even out of paranoia from what breaking away could mean to their reputations? The amount of dirty laundry that the Church has documented on all the celebs from their auditing sessions must certainly play a factor in any hesitancy to ever be critical against the Church.

(2) a) Since Dave took out a major part of the training bridge (Class VI course) how can they train Class VIII and Class XII auditors? Do they just say whatever and skip the most important auditor course there is? b) According to Jon Atack and Karen de la Carriere there were only a few Class XII Case Supervisors ever made in all the history of Scientology and currently there might not be even one left, is this true? And if so, how can they deliver the Ls?

(3) At the end of the podcast episode from Lloyd Evans’ channel with Sarah Edmondson, they discuss the circumstances where people do need to stay inside a destructive cult and where it would not be appropriate or advisable for them to wake up or be woken up. Lloyd Evans gives two examples: 

1. people who deliberately hurt other people just because it benefits them and who therefore probably deserve to be in a cult; at least to some degree their behavior is being controlled, and maybe if they weren’t their behavior would be even more psychotic and even more damaging;
2. people who have already seriously harmed their loved ones as a result of their cult beliefs (e.g. Jehovah’s Witnesses parents whose child has died because of a refusal to give blood transfusions) and where the person waking up would quite conceivably trigger a serious breakdown and possibly suicide.

When do you think it would be advisable not to wake someone up from a destructive cult? Do you agree with these two scenarios? Can you think of any more?

(4) I’m curious what your personal opinion is regarding Scientology successes. Have any of these people actually achieved ANYTHING in the way of inner healing, maturity and self-improvement through Scientology? Or is it possible they have simply slid deeper into hypnotic self-delusion?

(5) I was watching David Miscavige on a YouTube video called “Briefing to OT Ambassadors” from 2004 and he was presenting the Materials Guide Chart and the new video on demand displays for the orgs. In those displays he was talking about the different groups of LRH lectures and how many Scientologists don’t know the differences. There are Congresses, ACCs, Foundations and some others. What are the differences with these groups of lectures? 

(6) Over time, you have interviewed many interesting guests on your podcast. How do those interviews come about? Do you pursue potential guests? Do they find you? Or is there a person in the middle who can suggest a guest they know and make an introduction? 

(7) Hypothetical– a high-profile scientologist blows and becomes an out-spoken activist against Scientology. Scientology uses personal information from this person’s PC folder as part of a smear campaign, to embarrass or discredit or otherwise harm them. But there are laws around “priest-penitent privilege” which, if Scientology is a “church”, it seems they would have to follow. Is it against the law for them to publicly share anything revealed during auditing since it’s basically a religious confession?

(8) Before states and countries were beginning to lift travel bans, how did the Flag Service Organization deal with not being able to have people come down every 6 months for their OT7 security checks?

(9) Do you approve of tazers?