Was Jim Jones A Prophet Essay Research free essay sample

Was Jim Jones A Prophet Essay, Research Paper Was Jim Jones a Prophet? RELI 320 February 12, 2001 November 18, 1978 it all ended. Jim Jones and his followings committed mass self-destruction in Guyana, South America. The history of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple is still studied a great trade today. Why did all those people follow Jones? Were they forced, were they encephalon washed, or was Jones merely that magnetic. In this paper we will examine deep into Jonestown and reply some of these inquiries. We will be utilizing Max Webber # 8217 ; s article # 8220 ; The Prophet # 8221 ; happen out if Jones was a prophesier, if so what sort of prophesier was he. We will besides compare and contrast Webber # 8217 ; s theories of magnetic leading at an effort to understand Jim # 8217 ; s activities, successes, and failures. Jones started off in Indiana a subdivision of the Wesleyan Church. Jones separated from the church because the Methodist church did non desire to let integrating of inkinesss and Whites. When Jones eventually separated from the church and started his ain church called the peoples temple. Here everyone was welcome. Jones believed that it was his ethical responsibility to incorporate the church they manner that God wanted it. He demanded obeisance as his ethical responsibility. Because of these things Jones was an ethical prophesier when he resided in Indiana. When Jones discovered that his church had more growing potency in California where the black population was much larger. They packed up the church and headed to California. Here is where Jones took more of an aggressive attack to recruitment of people. He besides developed a stronger power arrested development and would make anything for a larger fold. Jones had fixed healings to do him look god-like and to hold ultimate power. Jones besides convinced his married woman that it was acceptable for him to have multiple sexual spouses while others were non. In California Jones appeared to be out chiefly for his ain ego involvement non the church. Because of this Jones displacements from an ethical prophesier to an model prophesier. After the insurgent tactics of the Peoples Temple, they started to experience the force per unit area from the society around them. So once more Jones moved the Church and anyone able to the perfect Utopian society, Guyana South America. Here they named their society Jonestown. The Church made everything they needed and were basically isolated from the remainder of the universe. In Guyana, Jim was going less and less of import every twenty-four hours. Everyone built the society so everyone had somewhat of stock invested, doing Jim less of import. When Jim saw his importance attenuation, he faked legion hurts to derive attending. Jim claimed to have malignant neoplastic disease although an necropsy showed no malignant neoplastic disease was nowadays in his organic structure. Even though Jones forbid the usage of drugs, he became dependent on barbiturates and analgesics. His alibi was that he needed them for the hurting of his non-existent hurts. Then as rapidly a s it grew it ended. The People Temple killed a congresswoman coming to detect their life manner. Knowing the reverberations of this Jones organized a radical self-destruction that proved to everyone that they would non free. In Guyana, Jones became a selfish nut where all he wanted was more power that he could no longer obtain as he did in California. You can non sort Jim as any type of prophesier in Guyana. Jones was manner excessively selfish, lazy, and unimportant to be considered anything but a wimp. Max Webber has many theories about Prophetss and their categorization. Some of which describe Jones and some that do non. First, Jones had an unbelievable sum of personal appeal. He convinced his married woman it was OK for him to have kept womans. He told everyone that they could non take drugs yet he was an nut himself. Finally, He convinced everyone in Jonestown to perpetrate self-destruction. Any adult male that can make these things is a magnetic chef-doeuvre. Having this personal appeal truly helped Jones persuade others to make his command. Second, a typical prophesier propagates thoughts for his ain interest non fees or any regulated signifier. Jones truly neer demanded any money. He was out for the power and the glorification. This I think besides helped Jones. Peoples trusted him and neer asked for much in return merely to follow him. Third, a prophesier # 8217 ; s nucleus should be commandment or philosophy, non thaumaturgy. This is where Jones does non suit in. Jones in Indiana may hold had a nucleus of commandment and philosophy, but when he moved to California it turned to power and fraudulence. I mentioned earlier that he set up faked healings to do him look powerful when he was non. Even though Jones did non Fit into this class executing bogus healings truly gained him a batch of power and new recruits for the Peoples Temple. Do I believe that Max Webber # 8217 ; s theories and classs explain Jones and his actions? Not truly, even though Jones met most of the standards to be a prophesier, he was all of them and none of them. His behaviour was wholly fickle most of the clip and I believe he was corrupted by his ain power. Because of this it is really hard for the theories to work. Jim Jones was a adult male that started something good but was finally corrupted by his power and control. In this paper I talked about Jones and how he transformed from an ethical prophesier in Indiana to an model prophesier in California to Neither in Guyana. I described how some of Webber # 8217 ; s theories fit Jones and how others did non fit Jones. I discussed the activities, successes and failures because of Jim # 8217 ; s Charisma. I don # 8217 ; t cognize if we will of all time truly cognize all the inside informations of Jonestown, but nevertheless they should be a strong reminder and learning tool on how there is a thin line between right and incorrect when it comes to utilizing power and mistreating it. Max Webber # 8220 ; The Prophet # 8221 ; In Class Reading M.M Maaga # 8220 ; Hearing the Voices of Jonestown # 8221 ; In Class Reading