Essay Jonestown - 2179 Words

Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a â€Å"system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.† Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused â€Å" tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet†(Beck 78). Opinions vary as to why people are drawn to cults. â€Å"Martin Marty, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, attributes the growth of cults to the frustrations of seemingly rootless people†(U.S. News and World Report 23). Marty’s classification of a rootless person is a person who is overly frustrated by modern†¦show more content†¦Jim still being a youngster was left in the care of a neighbor. Even though Jim and his mother were separated frequently they still kept close ties with each other. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Jim was brought up as a Methodist. He became quickly fascinated with the pulpit oratory. Vera Price, a childhood playmate remembers, †He’d always be the preacher, standing up making sermons†(Axthelm 54). Even at the young age of seven Vera, recalls Jim’s speeches encouraging strict discipline. She remembers occasions when Jim was playing with other children and â€Å"he’d hit them with a stick and make them cry. He had a power that most boys don’t have†(Axthelm 54). As Jim matured into a young adult this internal power he possessed was not fully matured. In high school Jim was in the popular crowd, but never the leader of the pack. â€Å"Only in retrospect does anyone claim to have spotted seeds of the horror to come.’ I had a hunch something bad was going to happen to him,’ says a middle-aged man in Lynn. He was smart as a whip. But he had some strange ideas. He never fit in with the town. He was different†(Axthelm 54). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Jones graduated from Richmond High School just outside of Lynn, It took him ten years of off and on schooling to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from Butler University. After graduation he worked for a short time as an orderly at a local hospital where he metShow MoreRelatedThe Jonestown Massacre610 Words   |  2 PagesThe Jonestown Massacre On November 18, 1978, in the South American country, Guyana, 918 people died from drinking cyanide poisoning. The Jonestown Massacre, led by Jim Jones, convinced men, women, and children of all ages to commit suicide or be killed in days to come by the U.S. government. This event would become known as the most deadly, non-natural disaster in U.S. history, before September 11, 2001. James Warren Jones, better known as Jim Jones, was born on May 13, 1978 in Lynn, Indiana. HisRead MoreCauses And Effects Of The Jonestown Massacre1049 Words   |  5 PagesThe Jonestown Massacre was one of America’s greatest tragedies in history. Due to extreme Racism and persecution innocent people were driven to create a socialistic society only to realize there is no such thing. There are many causes and effects to the event of Jonestown massacre. Some examples of those causes and effects are the background, events, responses, and efforts. Jim Jones and the people of Peoples temple did not set out to be one of americas worst massacres, they just want equality andRead MoreJonestown Massacre : The Mass Suicide1125 Words   |  5 PagesJonestown Massacre: The Mass Suicide On November 18, 1978, is what soon come to be acknowledged as the â€Å"Jonestown Massacre† in modern history of the late 1900s. Where a cult leader names Jim Jones brought his followers to Guyana, South America to commit a mass suicide of 900+ people. He accomplished this by having every one drink a laced Kool-Aid. A few other things that will be discussed about with be how the Peoples Temple (the cult name) grew and got this many members. Also on what was in theRead More Jonestown in Guyana Essay1255 Words   |  6 Pages Jonestown was a community built by Peoples Temple in Guyana that ended in tragedy with a death toll of 918 people. â€Å"Founded in 1956 by Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple accepted everyone into their church and focused on helping people in need. Jones originally established the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis, Indiana, but then moved it to Redwood Valley, California in 1966. Jones had a vision of a communist community, one in which everyone lived together in harmony and worked for the common good.† (Rosenberg)Read More The Jonestown Massacre: Jim Jones881 Words   |  4 Pagessomething that others have told you to do or did yourself. This saying comes from the cult society led by Reverend Jim Jones, named Jonestown. Jonestown was a small community in the jungle of Guyana, South America. After getting word of people coming to investigate the society, Jones had committed a mass suicide by poisoning Kool-Aid and giving it to the people of Jonestown. A cult society is an organization that basically disguises itself as a religion. In a cult, they normally perform rituals. ThereRead MoreA Look At Jonestown And The Peoples Temple1857 Words   |  8 PagesA Look at Jonestown and the Peoples Temple Many people have heard the phrase â€Å"drinking the Kool-aid† but few actually know where the term comes from. The story of Jonestown and the Peoples Temple is a complex one with many different causes and can sometimes be a tough topic to learn about. Nonetheless, there is much to be learned from it, as it shows the dangers of putting too much blind loyalty into a person or cause. The story of Jonestown began in 1955 when a man named Jim Jones Started a ReligionRead MoreJim Jones Genocide in Jonestown, Guyana947 Words   |  4 Pagesto remember and prevent future events. Little did we know that in Jonestown, Guyana, a holocaust-like killing would take place Saturday November 18th 1976. That date will be a day many will â€Å"Never Forget.† Jim Jones was a religious fanatic who started The Peoples Church. He preached socialistic views and lies to gain followers. With increasing paranoia he moved to Guyana with a thousand followers , most would never leave Jonestown again, but to be killed in a mass â€Å"suicide.†(Contemporary AmericanRead MoreJim Jones And The Jonestown Massacre Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesOn November 18, 1978, followers of Jim Jones shot and killed United States Congressman Leo J. Ryan and four others traveling with him on a fact finding trip to Guyana. Ryan was there to investigate complaints about the community called Jo nestown, which was largely inhabited by his former California constituents. After murdering a United States congressman Jones knew the end of his rule was near. He ordered his entire following, some 914 people, to commit what he called revolutionary suicideRead MoreThe Jonestown Massacre: Suicide or Mass Murder?1756 Words   |  7 Pagesarea of the small town of Port Kaituma in Guyana a horrid scene was taking place that would shock the world, and forever change the view of religion. Meant to be a paradise for the poor, the abused, the needy, and those wanting to change the world, Jonestown, founded by Jim Jones, leader of The Peoples Temple, was the location of a mass murder-suicide taking the lives of more than 900 people including countless children. â€Å"And, the way the children are, laying dead now, Id rather see them lay like thatRead MoreEssay on Jonestown Massacre: Mass Murder Suicide in Guyana545 Words   |  3 PagesThe worst mass murder suicide in history was the Jonestown Massacre. The Jonestown Massacre happened on November 18th 1978.More then 900 people were killed in the Massacre, 232 of which were children. The Massacre happened on a piece of land in Guyana that the People’s Temple, run by James Jones, had bought. The People’s Temple was a church run by James Jones who preached about diversity and racism. James was not a real preacher, all of his speeches were based on his opinions and theories of the