"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."
--Thomas Paine The Age of Reason Ch. 24
I haven't talked to you for quite some time. Have you ever read Thomas Paine? I suggest The Age of Reason. It's often considered a statement of atheism, although it is not. At any rate, I consider it to be some of the purest truth I've ever read.