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
followers committed mass suicide in Guyana, South
America. The history of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple
is still studied a great deal today. Why did all those
people follow Jones? Were they forced, were they brain
washed, or was Jones just that charismatic. In
this paper we will probe deep into Jonestown and answer
some of these questions. We will be using Max Webber’s
article “The Prophet” find out if Jones was a prophet, if
so what kind of prophet was he. We will also compare and
contrast Webber’s theories of charismatic leadership at
an attempt to understand Jim’s activities, successes, and
failures.
Jones started off in Indiana a branch of the
Methodist Church. Jones separated from the church
because the Methodist church did not want to allow
integration of blacks and whites. When Jones finally
separated from the church and started his own church
called the peoples temple. Here everyone was welcome.
Jones believed that it was his ethical duty to integrate
the church they way that God wanted it. He demanded
obedience as his ethical duty. Because of these things
Jones was an ethical prophet when he resided in Indiana.
When Jones discovered that his church had more
growth potential 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 approach to recruitment of people. He also
developed a stronger power fixation and would do anything
for a larger congregation. Jones had fixed healings to
make him look god-like and to have ultimate power. Jones
also convinced his wife that it was acceptable for him to
have multiple sexual partners while others were not. In
California Jones appeared to be out primarily for his own
self interest not the church. Because of this Jones
shifts from an ethical prophet to an exemplary prophet.
After the subversive tactics of the Peoples Temple,
they started to feel the pressure from the society around
them. So again 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 essentially isolated from
the rest of the world. In Guyana, Jim was becoming less
and less important every day. Everyone built the society
so everyone had somewhat of stock invested, making Jim
less important. When Jim saw his importance fading, he
faked numerous injuries to gain attention. Jim claimed to
have cancer although an autopsy showed no cancer was
present in his body. Even though Jones forbid the use of
drugs, he became dependent on barbiturates and
painkillers. His excuse was that he needed them for the
pain of his non-existent injuries. Then as quickly as it
grew it ended. The People Temple killed a congressman
coming to observe their life style. Knowing the
repercussions of this Jones organized a revolutionary
suicide that proved to everyone that they would not
loose. 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 cannot classify Jim as any
type of prophet in Guyana. Jones was way too selfish,
lazy, and unimportant to be considered anything but a
crybaby.
Max Webber has many theories about prophets and
their classification. Some of which describe Jones and
some that do not. First, Jones had an incredible amount
of charisma. He convinced his wife it was OK for him to
have mistresses. He told everyone that they could not
take drugs yet he was an addict himself. Finally, He
convinced everyone in Jonestown to commit suicide. Any
man that can do these things is a charismatic
masterpiece. Having this charisma really helped Jones
persuade others to do his bidding. Second, a typical
prophet propagates ideas for his own sake not fees or any
regulated form. Jones really never demanded any money.
He was out for the power and the glory. This I think
also helped Jones. People trusted him and never asked
for much in return only to follow him. Third, a
prophet’s core should be commandment or doctrine, not
magic. This is where Jones does not fit in. Jones in
Indiana may have had a core of commandment and doctrine,
but when he moved to California it turned to power and
deceit. I mentioned earlier that he set up faked
healings to make him look powerful when he was not. Even
though Jones did not Fit into this category performing
fake healings really gained him a lot of power and new
recruits for the Peoples Temple.
Do I believe that Max Webber’s theories and
categories explain Jones and his actions? Not really,
even though Jones met most of the criteria to be a
prophet, he was all of them and none of them. His
behavior was completely erratic most of the time and I
believe he was corrupted by his own power. Because of
this it is very difficult for the theories to work.
Jim Jones was a man that started something good but
was eventually corrupted by his power and control. In
this paper I talked about Jones and how he transformed
from an ethical prophet in Indiana to an exemplary
prophet in California to Neither in Guyana. I described
how some of Webber’s theories fit Jones and how others
did not fit Jones. I discussed the activities, successes
and failures because of Jim’s Charisma. I don’t know if
we will ever really know all the details of Jonestown,
but nevertheless they should be a strong reminder and
teaching tool on how there is a thin line between right
and wrong when it comes to using power and abusing it.
Max Webber “The Prophet” In Class Reading
M.M Maaga “Hearing the Voices of Jonestown” In Class Reading