Never bought into it. God is love.

Finding God "within" is the same fallibility as finding Him in other people's writings or claims. This is why He inspired man into creating the Bible and preserved it through the centuries. It's external. It's objective. It's infallible. It's easy to do for the God of all Creation.

And He did, so that we could know the truth apart from our demonstrably fallible existence as humans.

Look at it this way: Are you perfect? Are you perfectly good?

Me neither. But God is, and a perfect and just God could not allow the existence of any degree of evil, while still being perfect and just.

There's a concerted effort to water down God into only love. He is infinite love, but people try and leave out sin for a reason. Satan is happiest when nobody knows the truth. So he lies and deceives people into forsaking God and His Word and following themselves, if not also the world, all the way to damnation with him. If he can't be God, then he'll make damn well sure you can't even be with God, and are instead with him in the Lake of Fire.

Further, there is no basis for God without something concrete like the Bible. In my view there must have been an intelligent designer of our world, but without the Bible or some other holy book, there is no way to know Them. Said designer may just as well be an evil psychopath who takes pleasure in suffering. Our world is clearly governed at every level by laws and processes. The complexity, consistently, and objectivity are immense. It only makes sense that the Creator of such a world would provide a primarily objective way to know Him. Something you can cross-reference your personal relationship and feelings with to ensure the validity of them.

And I'd say there's a very good reason that the cabal only vehemently attack Christianity, while all the other religions get a near full pass despite also believing in a spiritual existence and god.

There's also a very good reason that Christianity has brought the greatest improvements to the world ever seen, and that the forsaking of it has led us to ruin so quickly.

Organized Religion has indeed been corrupted. And you won't find the Creator in any book "written by men." But there is a big difference in the Holy Scriptures. And that can be proven. You only need to type "ancient manuscripts" into Google for the proof that the Scriptures have indeed been preserved. Even the Dead Sea Scrolls offer proof of over 2,000 years of preservation.

"Written by men?":

2Pet.1

[21] For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

You will only find the Creator "within?" That's the original mistake.

Jer.17

[9] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Not Catholics. Only Protestants and their offshoots believe that all men are irredeemable sinners. Catholics say man is good by nature but falls into sin, but can be redeemed through confession and penance.