I've always seen it like a religion. The message is good, but some priests lose sight of it and focus too much on the ceremonies. When that fails, and the promise fails to manifest itself, they blame people for not following not following the ceremonies with sufficient zeal.

Yet if you look at the original scriptures, you don't find any ceremonies, just a message, and it's more like a guideline than a rule.

I like the message, but I don't like religious enforcement of the ceremonies. Some work, some don't. It depends on your team.