Jonestown: The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple

Lastly, in the incident with Jonestown, showed the most extreme case of conformity and obedience. Jim Jones was a pastor at Peoples Temple, he was the leader of an interracial church. For its time, Jim Jones was pushing past race and ethnicity and introducing a new church that welcomed all people. Jones was the type of man that made people feel comfortable and at home; maybe that is why so many people followed him when he moved his temple across the county and then to Guyana. I think what made people interested in Jonestown was how the community seemed very close and simple, but who would have guessed that those 900 townspeople would all commit mass suicide just because one man said to. The question that remains is, why did so many people obey

After constantly meeting brutality and threats with nonviolence and love, one begins to feel impatient and stressed. While in jail in Birmingham, Martin Luther King Jr. stated “As in so many of our past experiences, our hopes had been blasted…. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action”(document 2). In

Jim Jones gave the people what they wanted to hear. He would help them try and find their better self. That is why he had such a rapid following. Many at the moment thought that the government were not taking care of them so he made them felt like they were going to be take care of. Also he made them feel like they had a community that they were not alone. He would manipulate people by using jesus name. That jesus wanted them to be a certain way or do certain things. His followers are usually vunerable people. Like for example people with addictions and the elderly. He was so persuasive that he told these elderly people to sell

In his correspondence to his fellow clergymen entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King, a promoter of peace and brotherhood, analyzes his act of non-violent resistance to clarify the necessitate of producing creative tension. King begins by elucidating the differences between just and unjust laws. According to King, unjust laws are human laws that are not harmonized with the natural laws of God that cause the degradation of personality and damage the soul. According to this ideology, King states that when injustice occurs there is a correct approach to civil disobedience. First, King expects one to collect information regarding the immoral implication of law with the intent of proving injustice. This requires one to be able to distinguish between the laws of man and the laws of good, the immoral laws and moral laws, the unjust laws and just laws. Next, negotiation is used to establish an understanding of the endured injustice; however, this purpose is not to humiliate or defeat the adversary, but to promote friendship through a form of selfless and spiritual love known as agape. As Martin Luther King Jr. points out, “It is an overflowing love which seeks noting in return. And when you come to love on this level you begin to love men not because they are likeable, not because they do things that attract us, but because God loves them and here we love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does” (“Non-violence” 2).

Martin Luther King’s adherence towards peace and especially social justice is clearly shown in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In this letter King writes with passion and conviction. Through this suggestive yet powerful letter Martin Luther King uses various rhetorical devices to get his point across by saying “justice too long delayed, is justice denied.” Through the clergymen’s arguments and use of ethos, pathos, and logos, he demonstrates to them that they need to take action immediately.

From the time they are children, these people learn the holiness of “we”—that the only good is the good for all, that solitary man is evil. Each day, they stand and recite the mantra, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. We exist through, by, and for our brothers who are the State.” Their entire adult lives are governed by a system of

Jim Jones had many jobs before he became leader of the peoples temple. As a child he spent much of his time alone. He began preaching at 10 years old after going on weekly trips to church with a neighbor of his. He continued his strong religious beliefs when moved to Indianapolis with his mother. Jones became a minister at a local church and held racially integrated services to the church’s displeasure. During the mid 1950’s Jones opened his first church of The People’s Temple while still living in Indiana. As the cult grew in the 60’s Jones relocated to Northern California and soon after opened churches in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Followers of the People’s Temple often referred to him as ‘father’ or ‘Dad’.

Throughout history, the rise of cultures led to the rise of cultural difference, and those differences both separated people and brought people together. Every culture must choose whether they will allow their differences from other cultures to cause political unrest and war or collaboration and growth. While most people within almost every culture strives for peace, political and religious radicals cry out that deaths of infidels will lead to the greater good. But the sons and daughters of the mothers and fathers, and the brothers of the sisters and the husbands of the wives, taken from them fail to feel justified.

The changes society had undertaken during the time was a vast advantage to Jim Jones and allowed him to gain followers for the Peoples' Temple. Because of the war in Vietnam and racial tension people felt a strong calling to take action, especially the youth of America. Whether in protest, service, or community support they wanted to be involved in a fight that would create an impact. Jim Jones wanted youth in his church since they were more open-minded and he catered to their desires to be a part of something greater. Jones was for the black man and integration. His family was integrated and so was the Peoples' Temple. He believed firmly in activism and made some contributions to politicians in their campaigning by having members of his congregation at rallies, protests, and even going door to door. It was a politicians dream ensemble due to of the diversity of age and ethnicity. They were enthusiastic to be there, always on time, and there where so many members willing to be whatever was needed . Jones benefited from his congregations activism by becoming the appointed chairman of housing while in San Francisco. Parts of the social

One of Jones' long time followers Tim Stoen explained, "There wasn't anything magical about Jim's power. It was raw politics. He was able to deliver what politicians want, which is power. And how do you get power? By votes. And how do you get votes? With people. Jim Jones could produce 3,000 people at a political event.''

: The structures that make up the Temple of Heaven are meant to signify the relationship between heaven and earth, more importantly the connection between the emperors and God. The through in It was believed that offerings made by the emperor to the Gods, would bring a flourishing harvests, as he was believed to be the closest being to god. The structure itself was built so majestically to represent it descending into heaven. The main ceremonies that were held within the hall were all on the basis of worshipping heaven and so it was believed by doing so, it would be seen as favorable to the gods, enough to be blessed with an abundance supply of harvests such as grain. The ceremonial interior of the hall was built in such a way as to emphasize

The first public challenge to Jones’ leadership of the Temple came in 1972 from the media, which then increased his paranoia that his followers would turn against him. Jones went to greater lengths after being challenged by the media to declare his control by constantly testing his followers. He would organize “white nights”, which required his followers to drink a red liquid which may have contained poison, then Jones would see how many of his followers wouldn’t hesitate to drink the red liquid. Jones was still paranoid and made the decision to move Peoples Temple to Guyana and start a community called Jonestown.

On November 18, 1978 more than nine hundred people died in one of the largest mass murder/suicides in history. The man that implemented and carried out that atrocity was James Warren Jones, otherwise known as Jim Jones, a self proclaimed Second Coming (God). His exposure to an intensely emotional Pentecostal church service influenced and shaped his future beliefs and actions. In 1960, despite his lack of theological training, Jim Jones became an ordained minister. He made racial equality one of goals. Jim Jones also used fear arousal to recruit his followers by Genocide and thermonuclear war.

Jesus' decision to physically cast out the moneylenders from the temple stands as one of the most interesting events of his life, because it represents what seems to be the only moment in the Gospel narratives where he becomes visibly angry to the point of physical action. While one could argue that Jesus is frequently (and justifiably) angry with the disciples from time to time, this is the only moment that Jesus' anger moves him to physical force. Although the event is recorded in all four of the Gospels, this study will focus specifically on its rendering in Matthew, because when considered in the context of Matthew's larger narrative, one can see how Jesus' decision to cleanse the temple does not represent an aberration in either his character or theological message, but rather the natural culmination of Jesus' life and works prior to that point, and demonstrates a kind of revolutionary, anti-authoritarian element of Jesus' message of salvation that is all too often overlooked by Christians and critics alike.

The intention of the Quakers was to rehabilitate the offender and bring him/her to repentance understanding that all answers came through God. As the laws changed abolishing the use of capital punishment for any crime other than first-degree murder, Quaker ideology recognized that the opportunity to rehabilitate individuals incarcerated or their crimes would make them better citizens and not merely institutionalized individuals when they were released. “It was believed that penitence; pastoral counseling and reasonable discipline would correct antisocial behavior” (Bartollas, 2013). The goal of the institution was solitude as this would provide the individuals time for reflection