You are 100% right, Christ said his message does, in fact, turn people away, they are not my words but his. 

And yes - the religions of the world are many times used to manipulate the masses, but the  biblically described Christian Church is built on local (independently owned - for lack of a better term) gatherings of believers, This paradigm you are describing would be a conspiracy unlike any other in the history of the world that makes Amway look like a Cub Scout pack selling cookies, it is pretty hard to swallow that line of thinking. 

And the Bible does not elevate man, it elevates God and emphasizes mans need to humble himself before God, there is not a whole lot of human opportunity in that business model for human gain. God also made a tremendous sacrifice for man, unlike any other.