Minimus said: Please re-read Stilla's own comments. His sentiments are not the same as Gumby's.
OK, this is what Stilla said:
That is just not true - all I am, is trying to being balanced. Of course some of the stuff they do is total and utter bull
The disfellowshipping and reinstatement policy is utter bull
the way they make you feel worthless (you can never do enough to please Jah) is utter bull
I understand what others have said about other avenues that can help a person quit smoking, be a good public speaker, etc. and that is not something privy to the WTS. However, I think the difference is that Stilla is saying that in certain areas of his life, the Borg did help him in a positive way. I think most of us would be lying if we didn't acknowledge that we're probably better public speakers today because we (were forced to) join the Ministry School when we were young. While that one positive outcome cannot come anywhere near to compensating for all the crap they put us through, on its own, TMS did in fact, have some benefit to it. And while I'd rather stick needles in my eyes rather than have to attend 5 meetings a week again, there are a couple of things they teach that I still believe. (ie. I don't believe Jesus was God).
I will assume your original question has to do with doctrinal issues and in that, I concur that most of their doctrines are indeed, "bullcrap". I did not get the impression from Stilla that he believes alot of the doctrines and stated that he was simply "trying to be balanced". For him, he found that there were some positive aspects of being a Witness and that's entirely his perogative. No, I wouldn't be building KH's in my spare time, but hey---I still attend Witness funerals when necessary and even the Memorial, so who am I to judge what he does? If it makes him happier partaking in the Quickbuilds, then that's up to him. Unfortunately, it would seem that the brow-beating finally got to him and shit, maybe he'll go back to the Hall full time now.