Scheherazade is the classical example of a woman saving her head by using it.

ultimately, no one can ever be greater than the quality of his or her thinking.

Jesus ... said - long before his followers had established churches and a priesthood - 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.' This Way is the life of the Spirit. To follow it entails no necessity for places (all places are holy ground), no priesthood, since every man becomes a priest unto God.