resurrection of Jesus. This interpretation
intimately linked the believer to socialism. Jesus
completely embodied and was identical to his
message of revolutionary socialism. In one
sermon, Jones referred to the Kingdom of God
and the Kingdom of socialism as one and the
same, thereby calling both these kingdom
messages “this that turned the world upside-
down” (Q 1059, part 2).
Although these observations do not exhaust
Jones’s speaking on the topic of his more literal
understanding of Jesus, they represent some of
his most frequent and consistent comments.
Through these presentations of Jesus’s life and
ministry, one can sketch some of the contours of
Jones’s understanding of Jesus as a messiah in
an apocalyptic setting. Jesus was predominantly
concerned with the poor and untouchable people
in society, and through his actions he visibly
sided with those who were caught in injustice
and oppression. Without fear of retribution, he
criticized brazenly those who perpetuated such
injustice—the rulers of society. For these
reasons, Jesus was unpopular with some
portions of his contemporary audience and made
other portions uncomfortable. And as previously
noted, Jones understood Jesus’s process of
Kingdom-building, through his radical
countercultural message and actions, as
promoting the concept of socialism thus Jones
discussed in socialistic terms elements of Jesus’s
story (such as his death and resurrection).
Jones’s evaluation of Jesus as a messiah in these
more literal observations was not entirely
positive. On one occasion, Jones criticized Jesus
for his potentially selective saving deeds. While
Jones had the power and the will to save his
followers from prison or hell, Jesus
supposedly went down to hell,
according to the epistles, and preached
to who? The spirit[s] of the disobedient
ones in the days of Noah…. He took
them outta hell! Well, if he took some
bunch of disobedient folk outta hell
[but] wouldn’t take you out then he’s a
dirty rascal. (Q 1059, part 1)
Moreover, Jones did not always see the biblical
Jesus as strong. In fact, he took the success of
Peoples Temple—which worshipped divine
socialism, not the Skygod of the Bible—to
indicate Jesus’s weakness. Jones sometimes set
himself up as the Antichrist because he preached
against Christians (Q 1057, part 5). In one
sermon, he argued, “when the Antichrist can be
better than the followers of Christ, you’ve got a
weak Jesus” (Q 1016). On the one hand, the
“followers of Christ” were the traditional
Christians whose religion—according to
Jones—had no effect on alleviating negative
social conditions. Jones and Peoples Temple, on
the other hand, received the label of Antichrist
because he and its members accomplished
greater things even though they did not belong
to the traditional Christian church. Thus, “when
the anti-Jesus people are more loving and
sharing and kind and good than the Jesus people,
you better look at your Jesus! He is indeed
weak” (Q 1016). Since the Jesus of the Bible
and his followers worshipped the Skygod, their
religious convictions were flawed and therefore
weak.
Often, however, Jones reversed this criticism
and approved of Jesus’s strength and forceful
message. Regarding this forcefulness, Jones
once said, “if you don’t like hard sayings, then
you didn’t even like Jesus…. He said a lot of
hard things. He cussed out the money changers,
whipped their ass, [threw] them out, threw… the
tables upside down” (Q 1059, part 4). Jesus’s
message was strong and even harsh, and Jones
commended it. Attributing opposite
characteristics to Jesus’s character—here,
simultaneous weakness and strength—will
emerge again later when we consider Jones’s
Christology. Moreover, Jones seemed to gauge
the effectiveness or correctness of Jesus’s
message by persecution. Because Jesus’s
annunciation of the Kingdom of God was a
threat to the wealthy and powerful, and a
critique of society, it followed that persecution
was evidence of Jesus preaching the “right”
message in an apocalyptic context. In a sermon
already quoted, Jones’s ridicule of the biblical
text had one affirmation in it: “the scriptures
tells [sic] you… if you try to live godly in Christ
Jesus, you’re gonna get persecution” (Q 1035).
The theme of persecution for one’s beliefs
permeated Jones’s American preaching and
followed the Temple to Guyana. There Jones
40 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
intimately linked the believer to socialism. Jesus
completely embodied and was identical to his
message of revolutionary socialism. In one
sermon, Jones referred to the Kingdom of God
and the Kingdom of socialism as one and the
same, thereby calling both these kingdom
messages “this that turned the world upside-
down” (Q 1059, part 2).
Although these observations do not exhaust
Jones’s speaking on the topic of his more literal
understanding of Jesus, they represent some of
his most frequent and consistent comments.
Through these presentations of Jesus’s life and
ministry, one can sketch some of the contours of
Jones’s understanding of Jesus as a messiah in
an apocalyptic setting. Jesus was predominantly
concerned with the poor and untouchable people
in society, and through his actions he visibly
sided with those who were caught in injustice
and oppression. Without fear of retribution, he
criticized brazenly those who perpetuated such
injustice—the rulers of society. For these
reasons, Jesus was unpopular with some
portions of his contemporary audience and made
other portions uncomfortable. And as previously
noted, Jones understood Jesus’s process of
Kingdom-building, through his radical
countercultural message and actions, as
promoting the concept of socialism thus Jones
discussed in socialistic terms elements of Jesus’s
story (such as his death and resurrection).
Jones’s evaluation of Jesus as a messiah in these
more literal observations was not entirely
positive. On one occasion, Jones criticized Jesus
for his potentially selective saving deeds. While
Jones had the power and the will to save his
followers from prison or hell, Jesus
supposedly went down to hell,
according to the epistles, and preached
to who? The spirit[s] of the disobedient
ones in the days of Noah…. He took
them outta hell! Well, if he took some
bunch of disobedient folk outta hell
[but] wouldn’t take you out then he’s a
dirty rascal. (Q 1059, part 1)
Moreover, Jones did not always see the biblical
Jesus as strong. In fact, he took the success of
Peoples Temple—which worshipped divine
socialism, not the Skygod of the Bible—to
indicate Jesus’s weakness. Jones sometimes set
himself up as the Antichrist because he preached
against Christians (Q 1057, part 5). In one
sermon, he argued, “when the Antichrist can be
better than the followers of Christ, you’ve got a
weak Jesus” (Q 1016). On the one hand, the
“followers of Christ” were the traditional
Christians whose religion—according to
Jones—had no effect on alleviating negative
social conditions. Jones and Peoples Temple, on
the other hand, received the label of Antichrist
because he and its members accomplished
greater things even though they did not belong
to the traditional Christian church. Thus, “when
the anti-Jesus people are more loving and
sharing and kind and good than the Jesus people,
you better look at your Jesus! He is indeed
weak” (Q 1016). Since the Jesus of the Bible
and his followers worshipped the Skygod, their
religious convictions were flawed and therefore
weak.
Often, however, Jones reversed this criticism
and approved of Jesus’s strength and forceful
message. Regarding this forcefulness, Jones
once said, “if you don’t like hard sayings, then
you didn’t even like Jesus…. He said a lot of
hard things. He cussed out the money changers,
whipped their ass, [threw] them out, threw… the
tables upside down” (Q 1059, part 4). Jesus’s
message was strong and even harsh, and Jones
commended it. Attributing opposite
characteristics to Jesus’s character—here,
simultaneous weakness and strength—will
emerge again later when we consider Jones’s
Christology. Moreover, Jones seemed to gauge
the effectiveness or correctness of Jesus’s
message by persecution. Because Jesus’s
annunciation of the Kingdom of God was a
threat to the wealthy and powerful, and a
critique of society, it followed that persecution
was evidence of Jesus preaching the “right”
message in an apocalyptic context. In a sermon
already quoted, Jones’s ridicule of the biblical
text had one affirmation in it: “the scriptures
tells [sic] you… if you try to live godly in Christ
Jesus, you’re gonna get persecution” (Q 1035).
The theme of persecution for one’s beliefs
permeated Jones’s American preaching and
followed the Temple to Guyana. There Jones
40 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 6, 2015
