From Xenubaby: "What confuses me is that from what I have read Hubbard was PROVEN a liar. If this is the case, why do people believe in his theories or whatever you would like to call it? Surely if he is a dishonest man then that shakes the foundation that scientology is built on. Isn’t this something that is plain to see or am I missing something." Hi Xenubaby, I hope this helps to answer your question. Here is how they roll in the cult: When a scientologist dares to face the truth (internet, facts unknown to general scientologists (hidden from them, actually)...they are, quite simply, punished. The whole process is made to appear subtle and reasonable but it is real brainwashing. If someone who is "in" voices a disagreement with Hubbard, then the punishment begins and it goes like this.... Someone talks to them to find out their disagreement. This someone may seem genuinely interested in what they have to say. But they are not...they are on a mission...handle this guy and make him see the light (dark) or put him through the proper ringer so this eventually happens. The person "listening" to the guy will then write a "Knowledge Report" and send it to the "Ethics" dept. Ethics gets it and calls in the guy. Ethics tries to find the guy's crimes which would, of course, be the only reason that he is critical of Hubbard, in their mind. If he doesn't find any obvious "crimes" such as murder, pinching cable TV from the neighbor, masturbating or talking to someone who is on the outs with scientology, the guy is sent for "word-clearing." This, now, will fix him because it is the sole reason for anyone's "wrongdoing" and being critical of Hubbard is, of course, just plain wrong. He will spend hours painstakingly reviewing policies with another whose mission it is to "fix" him. Now, the guy will either "find his mis-understood" and be celebrant about this being the source of his diseased ill-thinking about Hubbard and his whole world will now change and he will repent by making amends to the cult for having such bad thoughts and grovel to be accepted back in. Or, if no "word" is found, there will just be more grueling word-clearing until there is such a word or words found. Should words still not be found, it could be the word-clearer's head on a pike, so this can turn into quite an ordeal. If no word is found and no change of heart, the guy is sent back to ethics where he will receive a lengthy "program" to re-educate him on scientology basics and things he's so obviously missed and he will be taken off his intended course of what he may have considered to be pleasant study or auditing and will now be side-tracked into oblivion until he shows the necessary and approved enlightenment at which time he will now make amends to the cult and grovel to be re-accepted. This "program" (or "re-programming" to be more exact) can be quite lengthy costing much time and money to the individual. He may be ordered to receive "security-check" auditing (as, if he is critical of Hubbard, he would be a risk to the cult, no?) This is something the individual must pay for himself to the tune of anywhere from $3,000 to about $8,000 PER 12.5 hours of such "sec-checking." This auditing digs as deep as possible to find anything possible to potentially use against the person should they continue to be critical and ever become publicly so. It can take one 12.5 hour block or two or three blocks (aka "intensives"). And this is at the guy's own expense. This guy probably has family in the cult, some may be staff, his or her children or his own parents. Knowing he will be jeopardizing their "Bridge to Total Freedom" as well as his own, he is seriously reluctant to cause trouble for anyone in spite of his criticisms, for if any of his friends or relatives maintain any loyalty to him it will cost them the same "re-programing." They do not want to be disconnected from and lose their friends and/or family. The guy will feel too bad about causing anyone what he's had to go though so will learn to keep his fucking mouth shut about any future disagreements. This is the end result of the "re-programing" pure and simple! It is not an easy maze to get out of. Not easy at all if you stay in and try to "handle" these insanities and alternative methods of brainwashed thinking because it is just insane. Through one's career in scientology (as Sea Org, Staff or Public) one encounters more and more points of truth. One may brave several of these and come out ahead. But they will eventually be worn down by the same rigamarole time after time, year after year, disagreement after disagreement, truth after truth. The only easy way to handle any of it is to just walk out the door and stay away. But because of the complexities mixed with one's original goal of obtaining more spirituality and true enlightenment for themselves and others it can take some people, such as myself, over 35 years to finally just disengage. And that's the short answer! Hope it helps answer your question, xenubaby!