WOW Noah!!!!!! You have hit the finish nail right on the head with a 20 lb sledge right here man. It's a lil late for me to be thinking real hard so I may be replying more on this topic but awesome statements and in my opinion you couldn't have said it much better. Holy Ghost must be in them fingers tonight lol. My opinion....Religion is DEAD. Like stated before...living a God fearing, humble, love for others kinda life is so SIMPLE. Our thoughts tend to try and take us other directions and instead of looking to the creator God for answers we try to hold a person on a pedastool and play follow the leader. Sure you can look at others lives and learn for yourself but when you start to get the thought of "I love to be just like him/her" is when we as humans get ourselves in trouble. We were created as individuals created to be what God wanted us to be. There is no one like us therefore we can never be just like anyone else. God created ME for Me and we are all made in His Image.
Genisis 1:26 Then God said,"Let us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." AKA wild pigs

lol
