“However, remembering the past is one thing, understanding it is quite another.”–Tim Reiterman[1]
On November 18, 1978, the congregation of the Peoples Temple, a radical, socialist/Leftist congregation of the mainline Protestant Disciples of Christ, died in a massive murder-suicide event on the orders of their leader, Jim Jones. Their suicide method, drinking poisoned water containing fruit drink mix on the orders of a narcissistic, sociopathic megalomaniac, gave rise to the expression, “drink the Kool-Aid.”
Much ink has been spilled about how the theology of Jim Jones was so strange and false that it was only natural that the Peoples Temple would end in disaster. There has also been a great deal of analysis of Jones’ own nature. Read more …
Death in June & The People’s Temple Choir
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The Peoples Temple, the utopian death cult best known for the Jonestown Massacre, recorded a gospel album under the name of the People’s Temple Choir in 1973. Far from an amateurish production, the album He’s Able features slick studio trickery and a surprisingly talented backing band for the choir to swing cuts of pop songs, Read more …