As Kate becomes more entrenched in Love International, Ray continues to compare her experiences and the message of Love International to Biblical quotes. In one of their first meetings, Ray summarizes Love International’s purpose as aligned with Matthew 25:35, from which Ray recites the series of lines in which Jesus thanks the Christians he intends to save for offering him hospitality. However, in Ray’s presentation, he interprets the passage as referring to the methods by which Jesus will judge humanity when he returns, including how those who did not serve Jesus during their lives will be excluded from the “kingdom.” The idea of inclusion versus exclusion from the “kingdom” later becomes a dominant motif in Ray/Abner’s conception of Love International, and he promises to lead disciples into the kingdom and demands obedience in exchange for inclusion.

Other Biblical references, such as Ray’s comparison of Kate’s time in the basement to Jesus’s temptations in the desert, serve a more practical purpose in terms of Ray’s manipulation of his followers. By modeling his abuses after Christian stories, he adds a spiritual undercurrent to behaviors that seem obviously violent and cruel. These comparisons serve a specific purpose in the context of Ray/Abner’s aims, in which he compares himself to God and his disciples to other Biblical figures, creating the appearance of grace and piety to mask his abusive intentions. Nonetheless, Ray’s methods echo a lengthy history of Christians following or emulating the events of the Bible, such as fasting or self-flagellation, both of which appear common in Love International. Brian and Dean suspect that most of Kate’s injuries are self-inflicted, which hints at further use of Biblical dogma to convince Ray’s followers to hurt themselves, hurt others, or allow themselves to be hurt by Ray.