Context: I’ve watched a few documentaries on ideologically christian cult leaders. They all seem to emulate Paul’s methodology by distributing literature, tapes, establishing their authority by claiming Jesus has appeared to them. Their literature addresses questions raised by the pockets of communities seeking guidance, explicitly condemns other communities’ interpretations, and props the author up as an absolute authority on the matter of Jesus’s teachings. 

Question: Is this methodology something Paul came up with? Or is there a precedent from before Paul’s time that served as a template for spreading *his* brand of Christianity? 

Commentary: I’m struggling to see the difference between Paul and any of the modern era cult leaders. They all have a way in which they experience Christ and seek to define all of Christianity in their *own* light. Is Paul’s ideology just a sect that saw this vision come to fruition?