The "philanthropy" argument is a subset of the "know them by their fruits" criterion. I'm with Rob in that if you really can't find anything damaging in what a group does it probably is OK. However, it takes wisdom and sophistication to detect the fruits of a particular group and discern how worthy those fruits are--and young people lack that sophistication. As I think Cynthia is implying, the charitable acts of a group may fig leaf a mass of subtle mind control issues.

My bet is that the short term gains that have flowed from SSB's charitable donations mask a far deeper cost for the whole community.

Neville B