Critical Q&A

This week, it’s answers about critical thinking and recovery from cultic beliefs, Scientology monitoring OT information on the internet, how Tom Cruise manages to stay away from the tough questions and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) As an ex Sea-Org member and Scientologist, it was hard to ask for any help from therapists when I left as psychiatrists and psychologists were the evil ones. The way they get you to believe that is by digging into mass shootings and saying “Look, he was on Prozac,” which was very true in some cases. Or they say there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance and we take it as fact. Words like dopamine hits or serotonin were always in my mind “psych” terms so completely disregarded as idiotic and made up to sell more drugs. How did you get in the frame of mind to start believing “them” vs LRH?  I think you know where I am going with the whole us vs them.

(2) If you take Scientology doctrine seriously, the monitoring of entheta on the internet and on television seems to present a number of serious “ethical” dilemmas. If you outsource the task to non-Scientologists, you run the risk of  undetected SPs in their ranks sabotaging the job. Alternatively, you are ruining the eternity of non-suppressive, non-Scientologists by exposing them to deadly secrets like Xenu. If you give the job to a fanatic in OSA who has gone up the Bridge, would you not be condemning that person to a life of sickness and unhappiness?  

(3) In re-listening to Tom Cruise’s Medal of Valor acceptance speech, something stuck out to me which I am curious about: “It’s not how to run from an SP, it’s how to confront and shatter suppression. Because they don’t come up to me and do that to my face or anywhere in my vicinity where they feel they can be confronted they just don’t.” So what is the magic technology Tom has that prevents people coming up to him and opposing him?

(4) Are there any criteria that you would use to decide which individuals would and would not appear on your podcast and channel? I’m asking this question because I would like to know your opinion on the boundaries of acceptable dialogue. Any one in the world of cult studies knows the importance of dialogue in getting people to change their mind. Take the example of Daryl Davis, who goes out of his way to befriend and speak to racial extremists (the Ku Klux Klan) and, in so doing, has helped to de-radicalize them, which is one of the best case studies illustrating the benefits of dialogue. Jon Atack also made a noble attempt to converse with Andy Nolch in the hope of helping him open his mind. Are there any individuals who you would never, under any circumstances, invite on to your show or accept their request to appear on your show? For example, what about the cult apologists such as Reza Aslan or the New Religious Movement academics?

Flash answers

(5) Your last clip about a Scientology front group that is a school for kids made me wonder what is the youngest age you could be to start auditing?

(6) Do you know what’s happened to the Fair Game podcast? Last I remember was that they were taking a week off and there’s been nothing since. 

(7) You recently mentioned that Scientologists who own e-meters (except the latest model) must periodically send their e-meters in for recertification. But who actually does the work testing and calibrating the devices? Sea Org members? Or has the church contracted an outside company for this?