Deep Thoughts: an occasional series...
Ever since we moved into our house 11 years ago we have been receiving mail for someone who lived here quite a while before us, who was a Scientologist (or on the wrong mailing list!). Despite our best attempts (ringing the UK office, emailing the US office, taking out a contract on their lives...) we still get an average of one mailshot a week. Mostly it's straight into recycling; sometimes I read it, just to break the monotony. Today's epistle from L. Ron Hubbard reads:
'The first principle on which we operate is that Flag auditing must be absolutely flawless, completely flubless and there are no failed sessions and there are no flubs. And this is not done by strain; this is done by excellent auditing presence and the auditor runs the session and the pc has nothing to do with it except answer the auditing questions and get well. ..There are no different pcs. There aren't any pcs who are good and pcs who are bad and pcs this and pcs that from the auditor's viewpoint.'
Clear?
It made me wonder how the language we use in 'regular' church, such as the Anglican one I am part of, or the 'emerging' church such as Foundation, sounds to someone outside looking in. Surely we don't use that much jargon...do we?
But maybe the impenetrable nature of the language used here is part of the attraction, further confirmation that you're part of the 'in' crowd.
Certainly I can't wait for the opportunity to use the phrase 'completely flubless' in a sentence.
Ever since we moved into our house 11 years ago we have been receiving mail for someone who lived here quite a while before us, who was a Scientologist (or on the wrong mailing list!). Despite our best attempts (ringing the UK office, emailing the US office, taking out a contract on their lives...) we still get an average of one mailshot a week. Mostly it's straight into recycling; sometimes I read it, just to break the monotony. Today's epistle from L. Ron Hubbard reads:
'The first principle on which we operate is that Flag auditing must be absolutely flawless, completely flubless and there are no failed sessions and there are no flubs. And this is not done by strain; this is done by excellent auditing presence and the auditor runs the session and the pc has nothing to do with it except answer the auditing questions and get well. ..There are no different pcs. There aren't any pcs who are good and pcs who are bad and pcs this and pcs that from the auditor's viewpoint.'
Clear?
It made me wonder how the language we use in 'regular' church, such as the Anglican one I am part of, or the 'emerging' church such as Foundation, sounds to someone outside looking in. Surely we don't use that much jargon...do we?
But maybe the impenetrable nature of the language used here is part of the attraction, further confirmation that you're part of the 'in' crowd.
Certainly I can't wait for the opportunity to use the phrase 'completely flubless' in a sentence.
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