Jim Jones And The Peoples Temple Mass Suicide
by Joel Hendon(756)
During interviews preparatory to making a documentary on his cult in 2007, some of his childhood acquaintances reported him as being a "weird kid" and was obsessed with religion and with death. Some said he conducted funerals for dead animals. He was also an avid reader and read from Marx, Ghandi, Stalin and Hitler. He became a member of the Communist Party USA in 1951 at age 20, but in some time later became frustrated because of being shunned by much of society and then the trial and ultimate execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
He finally decided that he could spread his Marxist influence by infiltrating the church. He joined the Methodist church and even worked as and became a student pastor in 1952. But he left that church because the officials would not allow him to integrate blacks into the congregation. He attended a charismatic faith-healing meeting at a Seventh Day Baptist church and decided he could start such a group and gain money from the healings. So he began his first church and named it several different names until he settled on "Peoples Temple Christian Church Full Gospel".
He reportedly sold pet monkeys door to door to raise money for his first congregation. Jim and his wife adopted a number of children, several of mixed race parentage and one African American. They also had one biological son opf their own.
It appears he preached and taught Marxism and Communism moreso than biblical teachings. He reportedly admitted later in life that the was an atheist. But his messages somehow captivated his followers. Here are some short samplings of his teachings:
By the late 1960s, Jones began at least partially openly revealing in Temple sermons his "Apostolic Socialism" concept. Specifically, "those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment -- socialism." Jones often mixed those concepts, such as preaching that "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin." (Wikipedia..Jim Jones)
"...former Temple member Hue Fortson, Jr. quoted Jones as saying, "What you need to believe in is what you can see...If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. As you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father...If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God." (Ibid)
During the cold war, Jones became obsessed with the idea that a nuclear holocaust was imminent. He even traveled to Brazil because he had heard that this would be the most likely area to be unscathed by such a catastrophic occurrence. He was searching for a place in which to relocate his people. He would later decide to move to Guyana where his people would create an agricultural project.
Jones, for a number of years, was highly regarded among politicians and othr people in high offices for his large integrated church. But San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Marshal Kilduff investigated and wrote an expose on the cult with accusations from former members of being abused physically, emotionally and sexually while in the cult. He encountered difficulty in getting his paper to print the story, so he had it published in the New West Magazine.
This event caused much deeper scrutiny by authorities and Jones gathered his group and moved to Guyana. They settled in the pre-arranged area near Georgetown and Jones named his settlement Jonestown in the Summer of 1977. He had become addicted to drugs bu had heretofore been able to keep it from the main body of his followers. But here in the area, he was unable longer to do so.
Relatives living in the U.S., of many members began putting pressure on the government authorities to investigate the cult because of rumors that Jones would not allow any to leave, which was true. Some former members and relatives of current members sent a delegation to Washington where several congressmen became involved.
In November 1978, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan led a fact-finding mission to Jonestown to investigate allegations of human rights abuses . Ryan's delegation included relatives of Temple members, Don Harris, an NBC network news reporter, an NBC cameraman and reporters for various newspapers. The group arrived in Georgetown on November 15. On November 17, Ryan's delegation traveled by airplane to Jonestown. The delegation left hurriedly the afternoon of November 18 after Temple member Don Sly attacked Ryan with a knife. The attack was thwarted, bringing the visit to an abrupt end. Congressman Ryan and his people succeeded in taking with them fifteen People's Temple members who had expressed a wish to leave. At that time, Jones made no attempt to prevent their departure. (Wikipedia: Visit By Congressman Ryan, murder)
When Congressman Ryan and his entourage plus the fifteen who had defected reached the airport and were boarding two planes for the flight back to the U.S., the action began. A large trailer, pulled by a farm tractor, loaded with armed guards who have been referred to as Jones' "Red Brigade" came onto the airport grounds and began firing at those boarding the planes. Five people were killed, Congressman Ryan, Don Harris and Bob Brown, reporter and cameraman for NBC, Greg Robinson, photographer for the San Francisco Examiner and Patricia Parks, a member of the cult.
Later that day, 909 member of the cult, 276 of which were children, died from cyanide laced grape Flavor Aid in the largest mass suicide ever recorded. Jones recorded a tape. Here is a paragraph telling about some things he said:
The reason given by Jones to commit suicide was consistent with his previously stated conspiracy theories of intelligence organizations allegedly conspiring against the Temple, that men would "parachute in here on us," "shoot some of our innocent babies" and "they'll torture our children, they'll torture some of our people here, they'll torture our seniors." Parroting Jones' prior statements that hostile forces would convert captured children to fascism, one temple member states "the ones that they take captured, they're gonna just let them grow up and be dummies."
Below are two very informative links concerning this, the Rick A. Ross Institute has perhaps near one hundred links to every facet where you may find any answers to any questions you may have concerning this subject.
http://www.rickross.com/groups/jonestown.html
http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_jones.html
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Article submitted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 & read 1076 times.
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