The Oracle - I once believed in the concept of meat in due season, or food at the proper time - coming from God to the faithful slave class and then to us.
This allowed my mind to rationalize all kinds of failed prophecies, and allowed me to accept new teachings without questioning anything.
When I started uncovering flip flops, new light that was actually old light - that entire concept unravelled and fell apart like a house of cards.
It gave me"permission" to start researching past teachings and the "foundation" of the "truth". Once I started discovering the real truth, the fog began to rapidly lift and it was the beginning of the end for watchtower mind control.
I think that this is the basis for every other problem with the beliefs. Once they have you think that they're the "truth", you will readily accept anything and everything they tell you.
For me personally, it's based off The Oracle's comment, just as I said:
- I once believed that questioning the WT doctrine was out of the question, since they've already done all the research and have gotten everything figured out. However, I think a lot, and started questioning certain things that didn't add up (questioning kept to myself). The more I did my research (online), the more I was finding out that not only there are other people with the same doubts, there are answers to those doubts as well. I also thought to myself: 1 John 4:1 gives me the right to question my beliefs, as well as any doctrine. Why then would I be disfellowshipped for doing this? This is definitely contrary to what the Bible says.
- I used to think that the WT doesn't lie, they just misunderstand. But I read on JWFacts.org how the WT deliberately lied in their publications about how long they've been teaching the current doctrine about 1914, and how they've also been inconsistent with their death told figures for World War 1, as well as lying about it being the deadliest war at the time. Those are BLATANT lies, easily disproved by the real facts from many historical sources. The same was said about earthquakes - how their claim that since 1914 major earthquakes have been on the rise, whereas the USGS, which keeps a record of these things, have said that the number of earthquakes have been steady. They BLATANTLY lie about these things to support their 1914 doctrine.