Lady Liberty, that was an excellent letter you wrote and I'm glad that it's gotten some 'inactive' ones thinking.
I had several strong JWs write me. Those letters were more along the lines that I need to just have faith Blah Blah Blah! One person totally ignored the whole 607 issue and went into why clelbrating Christmas was pagan!!
That is no surprise. The reason most JWs accept the 607 BCE date without question is because it's easy to. Instead of actually doing the research like you did, all they are told they have to do is: 539 + 70 years = 609 BCE. Which still doesn't give you 607 BCE but what's a couple of years when your entire life is riding on it? Instead of facing the problem head on, they do what they always do: they ignore the evidence and try and different method of attack----in this case, the whole "Christmas is pagan" attack.
I remember a conversation I had with an elder friend years ago when he asked me why I didn't go out in Serve-Us. I told him that I had discovered that Jerusalem had not been destroyed in 607 BCE but in 587 BCE. At first he didn't see the significance, but I finally said "Come on Dave---think about it. If Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BCE, then they can't use 1914 as the date for when Jesus 'returned'.
He thought about it for a minute and then admitted "You're right----it would change everything." But because he was so dedicated, he didn't want to talk about it anymore.
It sounds like there are numerous Witnesses who know there is something seriously wrong with this date, but because they've got so much vested interest in it, they choose to ignore it and carry on as usual. Imagine: If you don't accept a date that has absolutely no historical evidence, you can potentially lose your family, your life-long friends, the social and spiritual network that is the basis for the foundation of many people's lives, you can be destroyed mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and possibly financially.
And some people don't think the WTS is a cult? 
