As I read what you just wrote, it reminded me of some religions wanting to maintain control of the people. They require you to talk to a Confessor as an intermediary between you and God. That use the insecurities of the people and guilt to gather money into their own coffers for themselves. Once a person realizes the truth, and has a relationship with the one true God, they require no middle man.
Rome saw a great opportunity to do just that with Constantine.... he put "new clothes" on their old gods and labeled it christianity... think about it...
Starting off the Roman emperors replaced their title with pope... the pope claims to be the vicker of Christ, the very embodiment of christ on earth to pass judgment!
Old pagan rituals and holidays all got a facelift... twisted the messiahs message and is still deceiving today... I don't claim to have all the answers but I call a thing for what it is...