Today’s saint, John of Damascus, lived in the 7th and 8th centuries. His elderly spiritual director placed on him a set of five rules to follow, worth reciting here to demonstrate the degree to which Christianity has, for so much of its history, sought to obliterate the core human-ness of its adherents and replace it with the ideas and attitudes of its leaders. John was instructed in this way, as quoted by Butler:

First, That he should never do his own will, but study in all things to divest himself of all inordinate self-love or attachment to creatures.

Secondly, That he should frequently offer to God all his actions, difficulties, and prayers.

Thirdly, That he should take no pride in his learning or any other advantage, but ground himself in a sincere and thorough conviction, that he had nothing of his own stock but ignorance and weakness.

Fourthly, That he should renounce all vanity, should always mistrust himself and his own lights, and never desire visions or the like extraordinary favours.

Fifthly, That he should banish from his mind all thoughts of the world, nor ever disclose to strangers the instructions given to him in the monastery; that he should keep strict silence, and remember that there may be harm even in saying good things without necessity.

Don’t do what you want. Divorce yourself from all passions and interests. Don’t turn to friends for counsel. Deny what you know and declare yourself worthless. Don’t trust your own instincts (above all, don’t yell out that the Emperor has no clothes on!). Don’t seek Divine Guidance, either, inasmuch as it might contradict what you’re being told by us to do. And shut the hell up. Best not to talk to others, only us.

How is this different from cults? It isn’t. Ironically, a 2001 Christian book on cults by Ron Rhodes, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions: The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan) offers these six sociological characteristics of cults:

• Authoritarian Leadership
• Exclusivism
• Isolationism
• Opposition to Independent Thinking
• Fear of being “Disfellowshiped”
• Threats of Satanic Attack

Notice that the subtitle of Rhodes’ book includes “Our Response”–a unified, singular approach that speaks for all Christendom.