Inspired by Englishman's post, I decided to list a few things that I disagreed with as a JW.
1) Jacob lied.
I disagreed with the WTBS on this even before I was baptised. It is pretty obvious. The elders agreed to baptise me if I kept my mouth shut about it.
2) That Jehovah is a loving and just God.
Hitler killed 6 million Jews and is considered to be one of the most evil men in history. Jehovah plans on killing 6 BILLION people and is considered to be very loving?? That sounds pretty sick to me.
3) The publisher to population ratio in India used to be something like 1:1 million. Yet, in "a very short time" Jah is going to kill all the Hindus in India who never heard of JWs. And they won't get a resurrection because everyone killed in Armageddon do not get a resurrection.
4) The polar bear efficient method of getting heat to its body (its fur acts like a fiber optic cable, according to the Awake! article) is an example of Jah using brilliant design. But, JWs believe that all of the earth was slightly tropical when the earth, man, etc. was made. Since Jah intended for all the earth to stay that way, why design the polar bear for a cold climate?
5) All genetic diseases, different races, hair colors, eye colors, etc. came after Adam and Eve; i.e., in the last six thousand years. That is a rate of change that far exceeds anything evolution would need.
6) Jah cares enough about humans to make our tongues various shapes; it is in our genes. Yet, he designs the prostate so men can easily get cancer.
6) Being involved in politics. Being a mayor or a congressman is morally wrong. So who runs the country and cities until Jah gets around to making the earth a paradise. We would have choas without people to run our cities. And if Jah appointed all these "superior authorities", then we are saying that he appointed people to sin.
7) Satan. Satan is just too convenient. Why would anyone spend their whole life making an entire planet misersble? If I had a short time to live, I would try to enjoy it, try to help others.
The concept of an all-powerful, completely evil person is just too mythological for me.
8) That people from different cultures and religions than the JWs must die in Armageddon. How about the sincere ones who are genuinely fooled by "false religion"?
9) How about the householders who think we are just salesmen? Do they deserve to die in the big A?
10) Why did God give us artistic interests, scientific interests, etc., and then require us to spend every possible minute at meetings or in field service?
11) Why is the end always coming? If God knows when it is, tell us a few years in advance, not lifetimes in advance. Organize the preaching world accordingly. That way, we can balance a normal life with kingdom needs. Crying wolf constantly puts people to sleep and does not keep them alert.
12) Why get the same repetitious information at the meetings? i quit going to assemblies because I knew what the speaker was going to say before he said it. I could give most talks at assemblies from memory.
13) The Society's apology over 1975 was so wimpy, I was ashamed to call myself one of Jehovah's Witnesses when I heard it.
14) The JW teaching that premarital sex is wrong. You save yourself for marriage, then find that you and your spouse are completely incompatible in bed. A recipe for a failed marriage.
15) The JW teaching that adultery is always wrong. What about those who save themselves for marriage and then have their spouse cut them off of sex for 15 years for no reason and deceive them by saying they have a medical problem? Yet under JW rules there is no masturbation, no adultery, etc. A recipe for a very bad marriage.
Note that I am not saying that adultery is never wrong.
16) The JW rules about remarriage. Your spouse beats you physically, so you decide to get a divorce. Now, YOU cannot remarry until you or your spouse "sins". Isn't the wrong person being punished?
BTW, the "cure" for this is to get some sex, then "repent".
17) NT Bible quotes that don't quite match the OT original. Prophecies about Jesus fit this "a young woman will give birth to a baby" becomes "a virgin will give birth to a child" (I paraphrased). If Holy Spirit guided both writers, then could not Holy Spirit get the quotes right?
Richard