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.

FredricRice asked this question on 5/11/2000:

An anonymous individual told you: "It is obvious even to a school child that your actions on this board would "hurt" scientologists and our religion."

Your answers on this forum have been wonderful, detailed, and backed up with suitable references. But I'm wondering whether you know if Scientologists are told that answering questions about Scientology honestly some how "hurts" their "religion."

Do you know of a policy?

Desertphile gave this response on 5/11/2000:

Hi. I did not see Larry's (anonymous') statement, nor am I interested in it. I have no idea why he believes I am hurting Scientologists, nor any idea why he believes I am hurting a religion. One will have to ask him that. If he believes that telling the truth to Scientologists "hurts" them, then I submit that the poor chap needs to consider -WHY- the truth hurts them. I think that one should be told the truth about a product before they buy it--- NOT doing so hurts them! Maybe "anonymous" has an odd definition of the word "hurt." Here's how I use the word:

v. hurt, hurt/ing, hurts. --tr. 1. To cause physical damage or pain to; injure. 2. To cause mental or emotional suffering to; distress. 3. To damage or impair: The bad publicity has hurt the candidate's chances for victory. See Synonyms at injure. --intr. 1. To have or produce a feeling of physical pain or discomfort: My leg hurts. 2.a. To cause distress or damage: Parental neglect hurts. b. To have an adverse effect: "It never hurt to have a friend at court" (Tom Clancy). 3. Informal. To experience distress, especially of a financial kind; be in need: "Even in a business that's hurting there's always a guy who can make a buck" (New York). --hurt n. 1. Something that hurts; a pain, an injury, or a wound. 2. Mental suffering; anguish: getting over the hurt of reading the letter. 3. A wrong; harm: What hurt have you done to them? [Middle English hurten, possibly from Old French hurter, to bang into, perhaps of Germanic origin.] --hurter n.

As for "hurting a religion," I have no idea what he is talking about. What religion? How am I hurting it? I'm a member of a minority religion; I actively and agressively defend the rights of -ALL- to worship as they please (barring it harms others). I've put my money and my shoe leather in that defense. I have spent good money defending religious liberty and opposing religious bigotry. Just where "anonymous" gets his ideas about me "hurting a religion" is therefore a mystery.

You rated this answer a 5.

Thanks. I have no idea, either. I have captured most of your answers and I have reviewed most of them, so I was at a loss, too.

Oh, well. It'll remain one of those unanswered mysteries of life, I suppose.

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