context of Jones’s interactions with Christian
theology in the late 1960s and 1970s, these two
themes find their origins in Jones’s earlier
teachings concerning social outreach and
harmony, and his later expositions on the
superiority of socialism and the dangers of
capitalism.
James (Jim) Warren Jones founded Peoples
Temple in the mid-1950s in Indianapolis,
Indiana (Reiterman &Jacobs, 2008 [1982], p.
47). The Temple emphasized racial equality and
social outreach as practical outcomes of the
Christian New Testament and, along with
Revivalist-style healings, these practices
attracted both black and white Christians, along
with those on the peripherals of society
(Reiterman &Jacobs, 2008 [1982], pp. 54–55).
In 1965, the congregation moved across the
country to Redwood Valley, California and in
the early 1970s moved its headquarters to San
Francisco and held regular services in Los
Angeles, as well (Moore, 2009, pp. 23, 26, 28).
With each move, the Temple grew in size,
expanding its rhetoric to include a socialist
mindset. Cathartic practices and anti-American
sentiments led the Temple to shrink back from
the public eye. In 1977, pressure by former
members and the media to investigate the
increasingly unorthodox habits of the Temple
forced Jones and a contingent of his followers to
relocate to Guyana, where the Temple had
begun an agricultural commune named
Jonestown several years earlier.9 Despite the
relocation, the Temple remained fearful that
certain Americans were working to destroy the
movement.
In November 1978 Congressman Leo Ryan,
along with members of the media and some
individuals who were worried about family
members living in Guyana, visited Jonestown to
assess living conditions and assist any
9 The article “Inside Peoples Temple” by Marshall Kilduff and
Phil Tracy appeared in the August 1, 1977, issue of New West
magazine. The article ended with a list of reasons explaining “why
Jim Jones should be investigated” and highlighting the sending of
youths to Guyana, tithing requirements in the Temple, and the use
of physical punishment as causes of concern (Kilduff and Tracy,
1977, p. 38). For an explanation of Guyana’s suitable linguistic
and political climate for the Temple’s communal project, see
Nugent (1979, pp. 71–82).
individuals who wished to leave (Moore, 2009,
pp. 88–94).10 As this delegation and a handful of
defectors were leaving, Temple gunmen
attacked them. Five individuals were killed,
including the congressman.11 Back at the
commune, Jones informed the community that
American authorities would retaliate by invading
the compound and harshly penalizing its
inhabitants (Q 042). Rather than submit to such
an attack, the residents instead participated in
what Jones termed revolutionary suicide: dying
in order to “protes[t] the conditions of an
inhumane world” (Q 042). Although Temple
congregants in Guyana requested by shortwave
radio that their counterparts in the United States
do the same, no Peoples Temple members in the
United States committed suicide that day.12
Peoples Temple, however, quickly ceased to
exist, liquidating its assets to pay the huge legal
fees incurred by the murder-suicides (Nugent,
1979, pp. 232, 256).
Jones’s leadership and teachings throughout the
Temple’s history linked intrinsically to his
understanding of Jesus. In this article, I divide
Jones’s interpretation of Jesus into two
sections—a more literal reading of Jesus’s life,
message, and death in relation to socialism, and
a more abstract reading of Jesus as a signifier of
the power of socialism. Each section comprises
three interrelated sets of observations: a
description of Jones’s most frequent
observations on Jesus, an analysis of Jones’s
evaluation of Jesus as a messiah figure, and
some comments on the effect of this unique
interpretation of Jesus on Jones’s own self-
identity in his preaching and the nature of
Peoples Temple. Although this article focuses on
Jones’s unique understanding of Jesus as an
10 For a longer personal account of Congressman Ryan’s trip to
Jonestown, see Reiterman and Jacobs (2008 [1982], pp. 457–466,
476–521).
11 For a firsthand account of the shootings at the Port Kaituma
airstrip and its immediate aftermath, see Reiterman and Jacobs
(2008 [1982], pp. 526–538).
12 The relay of news of the murder-suicide event to the Temple’s
Georgetown, Guyana house and on to the United States is
mentioned in Reiterman and Jacobs (2008 [1982], p. 542).
Although one adult in Georgetown killed herself—along with three
children—no coinciding murder-suicides at the Temple’s San
Francisco headquarters are mentioned.
36 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
theology in the late 1960s and 1970s, these two
themes find their origins in Jones’s earlier
teachings concerning social outreach and
harmony, and his later expositions on the
superiority of socialism and the dangers of
capitalism.
James (Jim) Warren Jones founded Peoples
Temple in the mid-1950s in Indianapolis,
Indiana (Reiterman &Jacobs, 2008 [1982], p.
47). The Temple emphasized racial equality and
social outreach as practical outcomes of the
Christian New Testament and, along with
Revivalist-style healings, these practices
attracted both black and white Christians, along
with those on the peripherals of society
(Reiterman &Jacobs, 2008 [1982], pp. 54–55).
In 1965, the congregation moved across the
country to Redwood Valley, California and in
the early 1970s moved its headquarters to San
Francisco and held regular services in Los
Angeles, as well (Moore, 2009, pp. 23, 26, 28).
With each move, the Temple grew in size,
expanding its rhetoric to include a socialist
mindset. Cathartic practices and anti-American
sentiments led the Temple to shrink back from
the public eye. In 1977, pressure by former
members and the media to investigate the
increasingly unorthodox habits of the Temple
forced Jones and a contingent of his followers to
relocate to Guyana, where the Temple had
begun an agricultural commune named
Jonestown several years earlier.9 Despite the
relocation, the Temple remained fearful that
certain Americans were working to destroy the
movement.
In November 1978 Congressman Leo Ryan,
along with members of the media and some
individuals who were worried about family
members living in Guyana, visited Jonestown to
assess living conditions and assist any
9 The article “Inside Peoples Temple” by Marshall Kilduff and
Phil Tracy appeared in the August 1, 1977, issue of New West
magazine. The article ended with a list of reasons explaining “why
Jim Jones should be investigated” and highlighting the sending of
youths to Guyana, tithing requirements in the Temple, and the use
of physical punishment as causes of concern (Kilduff and Tracy,
1977, p. 38). For an explanation of Guyana’s suitable linguistic
and political climate for the Temple’s communal project, see
Nugent (1979, pp. 71–82).
individuals who wished to leave (Moore, 2009,
pp. 88–94).10 As this delegation and a handful of
defectors were leaving, Temple gunmen
attacked them. Five individuals were killed,
including the congressman.11 Back at the
commune, Jones informed the community that
American authorities would retaliate by invading
the compound and harshly penalizing its
inhabitants (Q 042). Rather than submit to such
an attack, the residents instead participated in
what Jones termed revolutionary suicide: dying
in order to “protes[t] the conditions of an
inhumane world” (Q 042). Although Temple
congregants in Guyana requested by shortwave
radio that their counterparts in the United States
do the same, no Peoples Temple members in the
United States committed suicide that day.12
Peoples Temple, however, quickly ceased to
exist, liquidating its assets to pay the huge legal
fees incurred by the murder-suicides (Nugent,
1979, pp. 232, 256).
Jones’s leadership and teachings throughout the
Temple’s history linked intrinsically to his
understanding of Jesus. In this article, I divide
Jones’s interpretation of Jesus into two
sections—a more literal reading of Jesus’s life,
message, and death in relation to socialism, and
a more abstract reading of Jesus as a signifier of
the power of socialism. Each section comprises
three interrelated sets of observations: a
description of Jones’s most frequent
observations on Jesus, an analysis of Jones’s
evaluation of Jesus as a messiah figure, and
some comments on the effect of this unique
interpretation of Jesus on Jones’s own self-
identity in his preaching and the nature of
Peoples Temple. Although this article focuses on
Jones’s unique understanding of Jesus as an
10 For a longer personal account of Congressman Ryan’s trip to
Jonestown, see Reiterman and Jacobs (2008 [1982], pp. 457–466,
476–521).
11 For a firsthand account of the shootings at the Port Kaituma
airstrip and its immediate aftermath, see Reiterman and Jacobs
(2008 [1982], pp. 526–538).
12 The relay of news of the murder-suicide event to the Temple’s
Georgetown, Guyana house and on to the United States is
mentioned in Reiterman and Jacobs (2008 [1982], p. 542).
Although one adult in Georgetown killed herself—along with three
children—no coinciding murder-suicides at the Temple’s San
Francisco headquarters are mentioned.
36 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
