Jim Jones as a Prophet
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 h...
... middle of paper ...
...s 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.
Works Cited:
Max Webber "The Prophet" In Class Reading
M.M Maaga "Hearing the Voices of Jonestown" In Class Reading
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