The xians I grew up with did pretty much the same thing, as far as I can recall. "God gave you this to draw you closer to him." is a phrasing I recall.

That whole 'Opiate of the masses' thing works on so many levels - I mean, I've seen LOTS of people do damage to themselves and others that they'd never even think of doing if they weren't all hopped up on religion.

My favorite was somebody I knew who had found a guru that demanded 'Absolute, brutal honesty' - Which basically ment giving his followers free reign to be the biggest assholes possible, while developing a massive persecution complex when nobody wants to talk to them anymore.