In terms of everyday behavior, you may be right in that JW's are no worse than non-JW's morally. However, the constant activity of judicial committees bears adequate witness that they are also no better. And that's the crux of the issue: they claim to be morally superior to others. They claim that their teaching produces better people. But they aren't.
On top of that, there's a certain type of fundamental dishonesty that goes with being a JW. A form of doublethink, to use the Orwellian term. One cannot be completely honest with oneself, but must program his mind to disregard or rationalize information that would be detrimental to the organization. And, of course, JW's also do not respond completely honestly to many questions that are posed to them in the field service. In another recent thread, I made these comments on the topic:
...in my opinion, JW's are somewhat less honest than non-witnesses. Maybe they are about equivalent in areas like monetary things (i.e. finding a wallet, getting too much change from a clerk, etc. - here's a thread I started a while back that relates to that: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=35497&site=3)
But JW's will say anything to avoid making their organization look bad. Ask yourself: When I was out in service, if someone asked me, "Do you believe that everyone except members of your group will be killed by God?" Would I have answered in a straightforward fashion? Or would I have attempted to dance around the issue and leave the householder with a false impression? What if I was asked, "Would you allow your child to die rather than have a blood transfusion?" or even, "Are you here to try to convert me to your religion?" All of us who are former JW's know we would not have answered these questions directly and honestly. Instead we would have attempted, in effect, to deceive the householder by giving the impression that our beliefs were something more palatable to him/her (without actually saying that they were). Such equivocation from people knocking at the door allegedly to dispense "truth" is an indication of fundamental dishonesty.
In the same thread, Quotes pointed out that JW's also engage in criminal activity when it suits the organization's purpose:
Remember, they already commit crimes in the name of The Truth(TM):
- vandalism/destruction of opposing view (a.k.a. Apostate) books at public libraries
- illegal entry into homes and apartment buildings clearly marked "No Tresspassing"
- failure to report suspected and alleged child molestation, contrary to mandatory reporting laws
- failure to pay taxes ordered by the French government. They simply moved out of the contry to avoid payment. So much for "paying Caesar's things to Caesar".
- abducting children to prevent court ordered, life saving, blood transfusions
- abducting children to prevent court ordered custody of a "non-believing" parent
- bribing Mexican government officals to receive a "cartilla" which indicates that mandatory military service has already been served
- telling lies while under oath, claiming it is not a lie but rather "spiritual warfare"
Can we really say that people who subvert their sense of right and wrong to the will of a corrupt organization in these ways are "no worse than anyone else"? I don't think so; I think we must conclude that by condoning and participating in all these types of behavior, JW's have made themselves morally and ethically worse than the average people whom they hold in contempt.
By the way, the thread I refer to (and excerpted) above can be read in its entirety at http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=36019&site=3&page=1
