Path,
***We all point fingers at someone higher until we reach the GB and they point fingers at the doctrines and "body of truth" that has been passed on to them and men that no longer are alive. They would certainly be victims of "conditioning" too would they not? ***
You have got it right, imo. A 'snowball effect' really starting with Miller and his end times predictions in the late 1800's. Charles Taze duped into believing all sorts of weird egyptian pyramid chronologies, coupled with adventist theory. People laped it all up, victims of a PT Barnum style of creating your own 'religious circus'.
Almost like anything in life, once you devote time, effort, resources to a project, its pretty damn hard to abandon the project, even if you discover some 'cracks in the plaster'. There is almost a point of no return.
You are right, those of us 'raised in the truth' had little choice if any. We did what we were told, by the time adulthood rolls around, your life course, friends, are fairly set in place.
That is why it is so hard to break free from jwdom. One must be willing to sacrifice your whole identity. Coupled with thier insane shunning policy, leaving or simply not believing is almost not an option.
Danny