Excellent post, FK. I agree that we are already united on the major tenets of the faith and that God has certainly allowed liberty on minor ones. What happens far too often, in my opinion, is that some religious leaders demand complete obedience in those minor areas and, by exerting that control, they ensure their power over God’s people.
Yup. Follow the money becomes follow the power. In trying to figure out the reasoning behind so many of their extra-scriptural tenets, to me it almost always boils down to power and control. That convinces me they are on the wrong path. It simply can't be God's will that we direct loyalty and fidelity away from Him and into the hands of fallible men.