Yep, there are control freaks of all varying degrees within religious circles. That chaps my Republican a$$ when somebody gets up and goes on some big ol' ego trip-- cause that's all it is, plain and simple-- and gets hundreds, maybe thousands, to devote their lives to his teachings and interpretations.
Somebody said above that this is what happens when Christians don't interpret the Holy Scriptures for themselves, when they rely entirely on whoever is in the pulpit... Folks should think before signing their lives away to a mere mortal... I guess it's alot less mental work just to take somebody's word for it, that THIS is how you get yer happy a$$ through the pearly gates.
I don't buy. I think the road to Hell is paved with the carcasses of "Christians". I also think that there are many, many different paths to Heaven, and everybody takes his own trip...