Thursday, May 29, 2008

Myths about L. Ron Hubbard

More answers to Google Ninja's questions:

Lastly, LRH seemed to have been prone to illness, a consumer of both cigarettes and alcohol, and prone to accidents. Aren't all of those things either evidence of being around someone suppressive, or things that should be gone by the time someone is Clear?

it is very difficult to address generalities. You'd have to give me some specifics before I can directly answer the things you bring up. But, I will address them as best I can.

On smoking: I know that LRH smoked up until some time in the seventies. I know that he stopped. I don't know why you would consider smoking to be a sign of connection to a suppressive person. I don't consider it as such. (BTW: I don't smoke.)

On alcohol: what are we talking about here? An occasional beer? Wine with dinner? A six pack a day? A whiskey every half-hour? Just FYI, you can't get auditing within 24 hours of drinking alcohol and on some auditing actions you have to be audited every day. During most of his life after 1950, LRH was either getting auditing or researching it, so when was he supposed to have had time to indulge? Another piece of related data is demographics on Alcohol use by Scientologists. You will notice that we drink very little alcohol. (I don't drink any.) Do you think that would be the case if our founder was a boozer?

On "prone to illness": you'd have to give me specifics. I can't answer a vague generality. As far as I know, L. Ron Hubbard was in good health all his life.

On "prone to accidents": again I can't answer a generality like that. I don't know of any "accidents." As a young man he did stunts in airplanes and gliders and in later life enjoyed riding motorcycles. Someone who was accident prone wouldn't have lasted very long at activities like those.

You also seem to have been given the idea that a Clear would not smoke, drink alcohol or ever get ill. I have never come across such claims in Scientology. I don't smoke but if someone wants to then they can, it is a personal choice. Same applies if someone wants to drink (although I don't mean "to excess"). Do you think a French Scientologist is going to give up wine just because he goes Clear?

As to getting ill. If you live on planet Earth in a human body then I think you are extremely optimistic if you expect to never get ill. It doesn't say anywhere in Scientology that you will never have a physical problem after you go Clear. Actually what LRH says is: "The body is capable of having physical illness, acute (momentary) or chronic (continual). Broken bones, pinched nerves, diseases can any of them occur to a body independent of any mental or spiritual action. ... On a sick or injured person, you can reduce the time of healing or recovery by removing the spiritual or mental upset ... usually after effective physical treatment."

I don't want to offend you, but I think you have been reading too many anti-Scientology web sites. Just because someone makes a claim and puts it onto a web site on the Internet doesn't mean it is true. Go read some of the Holocaust denial sites out there. You'll see just how crazy the lies can get and how logically they can be explained when religious and racial hatred are allowed to run wild.

I am trying to not be offensive or anything, but as I read more about your faith these are some of the bigger logical problems I wonder at.

I appreciate your questions and the fact that you have been as inoffensive as possible. I like to be able to answer questions from people like yourself who are genuinely interested.

I hope I've answered everything. If I missed anything or if my answers bring up more questions, then please feel free to post some more comments.

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