OSA Network Order 18 

      :            OFFICE OF SPECIAL AFFAIRS NETWORK ORDER
: 
: 
: OSA NW ORDER 18                                17 February 1988
: 
: IMEC
: RPR Int/Conts
: SOCO Int/Conts
: FCB Executive
:  Division
: OSA NW


        [If anyone could translate these org abbreviations, I would be most grateful. -perry] 

      : 
: 
: 
: 
:              _WHY_GOVERNMENT_ATTACKS_RELIGION_
: 
: 
:          (Taken from an LRH advice of 1979.  Issued
:           as an OSA NW Order on 17 February 1988.)


        1979 was the period of the Snow White trials. The Guardian's Office had infiltrated the US Government to remove "untruthful" documents regarding Scientology and got caught. Hubbard undoubtedly saw this as a "government attack" on Scientology, his "religion". Apparently, Hubbard feels that when one declares criminal acts to be sacraments of one's religion, the law no longer applies.

        This attitude of Hubbard's carries over to the present-day situations in Germany and Greece. Cries of "religious persecution" are heard in the United States as well. When the Church of Scientology stops breaking the law, then perhaps the "persecution" will stop as well. :) 

      : 
: 
: 
: [According to Hubbard, the first reason is due to the overthrow of the 
: Roman Empire by Christianity.]


        This is not a fact. The Roman Empire eventually embraced Christianity as its official religion. The Roman Empire was not even overthrown; rather it simply faded in influence. Jesus Christ said "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's". Christianity looks toward the Kingdom of God, not the Empire of Rome.

        Hubbard seldom missed an opportunity to bash Christianity. For further discussion, see The Scientology Comparative Theology Page .

        Hubbard is saying that a powerful government was overthrown by religion, therefore governments must persecute religions. 

      : 
: [According to Hubbard, religions also attempt to force unwanted morality on government.]


        This is also not a fact. For example, feudal European governments during the Middle Ages often aligned themselves with the (Christian) Church to broaden their power base. It never hurts to have God AND an army on your side. Morality had nothing to do with it.

        The United States Government, due to the Constitutional separation of church and state, constantly resists having "morality" forced upon it. Laws may reflect the morality of the citizenry, but they are democratically determined.

        Perhaps Hubbard was objecting to the Government enforcing morality on him?

        The footnote on Cardinal Spellman is a reference to the Random House Dictionary. It does not add to the context of Hubbard's statement. A dictionary seems to be a dubious place to find the kind of extensive biographical information that one would expect from Hubbard's unsupported assertion.

        Hubbard is saying that government is immoral, therefore it persecutes religion to avoid morality being forced upon it. Apparently, Hubbard thought government could have used some of the "morality" of the Church of Scientology. 

      : 
: [Government is jealous of the devotion given to God, rather than the state.]


        This is also not a fact. Jesus Christ said "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's". Christians in particular and religions in general respect worldly governments. If they did not, they would not survive. Could this lack of respect for authority be the source of Scientology's troubles?

        Distilling the above quote, Hubbard is saying that government must persecute religion because religion diminishes allegiance to the government. The Constitution of the United States sharply disagrees with Hubbard. 

      : 
: ["Violently atheist" psychiatry and psychology rely on government to force their will
: on the populace.]


        This is not a fact. The "atheistic" comment is disingenious. Scientology has no concept of God. Since Scientology actively bashes the concept of God , psychiatry and psychology are actually less atheistic.

        When Hubbard brings the evil psychs into the conspiracy, one wonders if this is a thought-stopping technique. From earliest indoctrination, Scientologists are taught to hate psychiatry and psychology, dramatizing Hubbard's religious jihad. By associating Government with the arch-enemies of Scientology, perhaps Hubbard seeks to "Dead Agent" the Government. 

      : [Governments are afraid of charismatic religious leaders who could lead the fight
: against oppression, and attempt to stop them by any means necessary, including 
: attempted assassination.]


        ...and Hubbard is obviously a spiritual leader that will save mankind. Scientology is a cult, devoted to its guru, L. Ron Hubbard.

        Hubbard is wrong on at least one count here. Jesus Christ was assassinated by the Jewish Sanhedron. The Romans were merely tools, since Jews could not impose the death penalty. 

      : 
: [Religious persecution is a result of oppressive, totalitarian governments, like that 
: Hubbard claims has been in place since WWII.]


        Hubbard and his followers are severely deluded. Perhaps this statement may have applied to the Communist bloc at the time this was written, but lumping the governments of North America and Western Europe into this gross generalization shows that Hubbard was out of touch with reality. Here, he instructs his followers that governments are intent on dominating its citizenry. Given such "education", the actions of Scientologists in the Snow White era are not surprising.

        If you think Snow White is in the past, think again. This Network Order was issued in 1988. Since Hubbard has not altered it (he's dead), this is the standard education given to Office of Special Affairs staff. 

      : 
: 
: 
: 
: 
:                                      L. RON HUBBARD
: 				     Founder
: 
: 
: 				     Adopted as official
: 				     Church policy by
: 				     CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
: 				     INTERNATIONAL


        It is official church policy to believe that

      • The Government is "out to get" Scientology.
      • L. RON HUBBARD is an arising spiritual leader.
      • The Government wants to assassinate L. RON HUBBARD. 

      : 
: 
: 
: LRH:CSI:jk:ta:


        This line describes the Scientology management hierarchy:

        1. L. Ron Hubbard dictates to the Church of Scientology International.
        2. CSI dictates to Jane Kember (?) [Worldwide Guardian or head of G.O.].
        3. jk dictates to "ta", who is probably the person charged with typesetting this OSA Network Order. Note: typographical errors appear in the original.

        Hubbard is clearly controlling the actions of the Guardian's Office, despite Scientology's claims to the contrary during the Snow White trial. Hubbard also controlled the Office of Special Affairs.

        I'm unsure of the meaning of the final colon. Perhaps there was someone else in the chain. 

      : 
: Unpublished work: Copyright (c) 1988 L. Ron Hubbard Library
: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


        Copyright law changed in the 1980s such that copyrights are now held in perpetuity. Before that time, I believe copyrights were valid for 20 years. If this is the case, the copyright on this work may have expired and this material is now in the public domain.

        By declaring this to be an "unpublished" work, the LRH Library is attempting to start the clock after the copyright law changed. 

      : 
: 
:    (1) Cardinal Spellman, Francis Joseph, 1889-1967, U.S.
: Roman Catholic clergyman: Archbishop of New York 1939-67.
: (Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second
: Edition.)


        Hubbard, in an effort to bolster his perceived intellect, liked to include lame references such as this one. However, most people seeking biographical information would not consider looking in a dictionary. According to Study Tech, Scientologists must look up a word in the dictionary if they do not understand it. Thus, the Random House Dictionary reference is internally consistent.

      Send comments to: Perry Scott <perry@ezlink.com>.