Hey Mark,
It’s not a correction and also wasn’t meant as such – I would be sorry to have my comment read that way. I merely took the liberty of giving my opinion inspired by the matter you brought up, responding to questions that I now recognize to be rhetorical!

I do not understand the intention of your second paragraph or how the first one fits into the previous conversation about people outside the Orgs/Missions. Obviously we are talking at cross-purposes? So I trust you will forgive my having lost the thread here… Nevertheless, thank you for taking the time and sharing your ideas!

Thank you. I know from personal experience that spiritual and material assistance are two different things. I think most people in the S.O. know that something is up, and that things aren’t 100% kosher. I feel it’s a combination of “I’ve already invested so much time/money/both in this that I want to see it get better before I decide to pack it in,” and “if I leave no one will talk to me any more,” and “if I decide to quit, I will have to face up to the fact that for the last X years, I’ve been taken for a fool.” All 3 of unpleasant individually, but as a whole it must be overwhelming.

I know that there are Scientology schools (although I would wonder how much schooling is actually given), so parishioner can feel good about that. But what about Narconon, another organization that Scienos were proud of until at least last year. Is the collapse of Narconon in Missouri and Florida causing any ripple in the CoS?

Finally, I wasn’t assuming them to be a homogenous group, but thanks for the correction.

Yes it does. Thank you!

Hey Mark,
of course I cannot speak to the reasons for other people’s decisions, but I have two general thoughts on your comment.

First, you seem to be operating under the assumption that practical help is most needed and worthwhile. Someone believing spiritual salvation to be of greater importance than survival or physical well-being might come to a different conclusion.
If one furthermore sees the current state of the human mind and conditioning as the root of most ill in the world, it makes sense to prioritize the spiritual over the material. Most human suffering is caused by humans, inflicting it on others as well as on themselves, so what’s the use of merely alleviating the effects? And why not start here and now, with yourself, your neighbour…? Well, you get the idea. Combine it with a deep belief that Scientology is the only answer. Though I don’t personally believe in all of the above, I can certainly understand the mindset.
Your bewilderment might have to do with your concept of a “real world”. For example, I was baffled when I found out the most important reason for always saving the preemie at the potential cost of the mother’s life in medieval times – no matter how low or nonexistent the probability of survival. It had to be christened or it forfeited any chance to get to paradise. If hell is real to you, this makes sense.

Second, I’d be cautious about assuming “they” to be a homogenous group; “their” reasons might be diverse.

This doesn’t address all of your questions, but will hopefully keep you from pulling your hair out in frustration. 🙂

To my outsider’s eye it seems like most Scientologists are very generous when it comes to giving money for what they believe is a good cause. It begs the question, WHY don’t these folk give to organizations that actually DO something?

Mark, you’d have to experience the life changing gains that honest, undiluted, unaltered Scientology can deliver, to understand why the corporate public gives to the organization like they do. They want everyone on earth to experience the same spiritual gains that they have. In their minds, if more people could (or would) avail themselves of this remarkable technology, the world would be a far, far better place.

Unfortunately, most of them don’t realize that the church stopped delivering real Scientology decades ago, and has now turned into a Nazi-like, money motivated cult that bears NO resemblance to the organization that once held so much promise. Still – there’s a steady stream of people who are coming to grips with how off the rails their church has become, and are now resigning. Most of these people recognize that their church has been gradually overtaken by a cult of personality that is ruthless, parasitic, and destructive of everything their church once was.

I hope that helps to explain “why”?

I’ll never forget that day…….. the chill that ran through my bones when I and my guards were off looking for Bruce knowing damm well what he was facing once we found him!
— Jackson

Never had a problem with James or Greg, until seeing later reports about Greg. Last saw James a couple of years ago doing surveys at the Kodak Theatre (now Dolby) in Hollywood, probably for ASI. The underlying reason for the mission was that there had been leaks to PAC via spouses and/or friends about TCs visits to the base. The overriding thought was ‘what a great place this could be without the midget’, which bacame more obvious as time went by.

ROFLMAO!

Oh Mike…..too funny! My ribs hurt! (It would be an excellent TR exercise if staff can keep a straight face throughout)