Cults
Have you ever wondered exactly what a cult is? Probably not, but a cult is a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader. Here is some information on the Jonestown and Heaven’s Gate Cults.
But why would we possibly care about a cult? “Why would this topic matter to us? Only crazy people would join cults,” some of you may think. Well, understanding a cult does matter, and you will know why. You will find that the followers of these so-called “gods” are not very crazy after all.
According to Rick Ross, one major destructive cult of the past would be Jonestown, run by a leader named Jim Jones. Jones claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Buddha, And Vladimir Lenin. He later lead 913 of his followers to their death in 1978. According to Jan Groenvield, Jones was born in Indiana on May 13,1931. He was just like the average child until around 3rd and 4th grade, when he started to read books at the 6th and 7th grade level. He was also able to attract the other students in his class and control them by entertaining them, while maintaining a hold on them at the same time.
During the month of June in 1952, Jones accepted a position as a student pastor at the Somerset Methodist Church in Indianapolis, where he later became a reverend. Jones wanted more than anything to buy and build an establishment. He tried just about everything to obtain money, even selling monkeys for $29 each. Finally, in 1955, Jones and his first followers formed “The Wings of Deliverance,” which was later changed to “The People’s Temple.” There were many social services provided by “The People’s Temple,” one of which included a free restaurant and social service center in the Temple’s basement. The population of Jones’s followers then grew enormously fast.
IN 1965, Jones and around 70 of his followers relocated to Ukiah in Mendocino County. Jones and around 300 of his followers located to Guyana, where Jones promised a town of peace. They then named their town Jonestown. According to Deborah Layton, there were around 1,100 followers in Jonestown at the time when a group of congressmen heard that some people in Jonestown were wanting to leave but were being kept there against their will. The group then later flew to Jonestown to investigate. On their first day there everyone seemed happy to be in Jonestown and nothing seemed to be wrong. But the second day around 7 people came to Congressman Leo Ryan and told him they were being kept against their will. The congressmen then arranged for two planes to come to fly them back to the United States. Congressman Ryan was going to stay to investigate further problems in Jonestown, but was soon attacked by the People’s Temple member Don Sly with a knife.
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