Jim Jones example essay topic

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 wif 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 Manga "Hearing the Voices of Jonestown" In Class Reading.