Are Jehovah's Witnesses a cult?

Awhile back I posted on a blog where a person explained their attempts to leave Jehovah's Witnesses and so I periodically receive emails with newly posted comments as they trickle in over time. The one today had an accurate message (the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the corporation which IS the religion):

The Cult word gets over-used, but in some cases it is appropriate.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is not benevolent and won't let you leave their organization in peace. If they try to ruin your reputation and break up your family for trying to get out then they are a cult! Whenever you surrender your logic and reason to anyone who asks you to trust them because they know better and to please donate generously, it's a cult. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck...

It's true. Jehovah's Witnesses can SEEM like really nice people, but they will TURN ON YOU in a heartbeat... and more viciously than some other religions. I think it has to do with a high level of devotion to the religion. The more serious you are about those beliefs, the more seriously you take your orders. 

Thankfully, when I finally left Jehovah's Witnesses I was already far away from them. So, they couldn't really strike out at me. To officially leave Jehovah's Witnesses you have to send a formal letter to your home congregation, so I did. Amusingly, THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT! When they had last seen me, I was a well-behaved, upstanding, devoted, baptised member of the congregation. They started trying to contact my family members to verify if the letter was real. One of my family members told them, "Yes, that's Kenny" and they said, "Well, we're not so sure... we're going to hold on to it and leave Kenny on the membership list, just in case."

/facepalm 

So, somewhere, my name... well... my previous name, because I've legally changed it since then... is still on the membership rolls of Jehovah's Witnesses. heh.