Notice: Fredric Rice may have removed segments of the replies given to
questions if they contained copyrighted materials. After a very short
while, Scientology "experts" refused to answer questions and
started cut-and-pasting copyrighted cult propaganda. Additionally I
removed URLs in some of the replies, and left them in others. And it's
also important to note that eventually the unfortunate "Greg
Churilov" cultist was ejected from
askme.com for his typical Scientological behavior.
Subject: what's up with this clamstuff?
Anonymous asked this question on 5/6/2000:
I found this newsgroup called alt.religion.scientology. A lot of
critics refer to scientologists as 'clams.'
What's up with that?
honorarykid gave this response on 5/7/2000:
Yes, the term "clam" is used by some critics as an epithet for
"Scientologist."
Where the term came from is a long story.
Hubbard wrote a bizarre book called "History of Man" in which he made
all sorts of kooky claims.
One of the claims was that his work in Dianetics and Scientology had
validated the theories of Charles Darwin.
But that didn't really jibe to well with his already existing upper-level,
space alien, Xenu-implant cosmology. So Hubbard invented a new
term, the "genetic entity." So, now a human being IS a Thetan, HAS a
body, HAS a mind, and HAS a genetic entity.
This genetic entity carries engrams (negative mental pictures) picked
up all along the evolutionary track. One of those engrams goes back
to when we were actually clams, the bivalve type (yes, Hubbard
actually said that mankind's genetic entities had evolved through a
shellfish stage).
According to Hubbard, as clams, we picked up engrams due to pain
from opening and closing our hinged "shells." Hubbard said when this
pain engram is remembered ("restimulated") in humans, our
temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ, or jaw joint) hurts.
Hubbard also said ones clam engrams could be stirred up and
restimulated by seeing ssomeone opening and closing their hand, in
the fashion of a clam shell opening and closing, or when hearing a
snapping sound, the sound our clam engrams fearfully remember
from the days when our shell snapped closed to avoid predators.
IMO, Hubbard was a genuine kook of the first order.
It was these clam stories and beliefs that provided the impetus for
some critics to start calling members of Scientology "clams" as an
epithet.
Anyway, the belief in this clam theory of Hubbard's is, like the Xenu
myth, probably pretty rare in Scientology. Most Scientologists just
don't know about it. Scientologists are told that Hubbard's "History of
Man" is an upper-level book, and so they avoid buying it until they are
already well-conditioned and indoctrinated into the OT levels. And as
I've said before, a small percentage of Scientologists are actually at
the OT levels.
Scientology promises to help eliminate clam engrams. First they'll
indoctrinate to the point where one might believe this kookiness
(paying for the priviledge all the while), and then they'll audit out
those nasty engrams (paying some more). Later on, one is told that
they mocked up the whole thing (paying yet more), and later still,
they're told about Xenu and Body Thetans being the real cause of
your pains and pf course, more paying and more auditing is needed
to remove those as well.
Anonymous rated this answer a 5.
Wow, that's really whackier than I ever imagined!
Further facts
about this criminal empire may be found at
Operation Clambake and FACTNet.
Return to The Skeptic Tank's main Index page.
Answered by: honorarykid
Asked By: Anonymous
This web page (and The Skeptic Tank) is in no way connected with
nor part of the Scientology crime syndicate. To review the crime syndicate's
absurdly idiotic web pages, check out www.scientology.org or any one of the
many secret front groups the cult attempts to hide behind.
The views and opinions stated within this web page are those of the
author or authors which wrote them and may not reflect the views and
opinions of the ISP or account user which hosts the web page. The
opinions may or may not be those of the Chairman of The Skeptic Tank.