POSTED AT 07:57 AM
Please discuss the pros and cons of the People's Temple Movement. Be sure to list at least two of each. Be specific!
two pros of the People's Temple Movement would be that people were given a new "religion" that they believed in, and for some, it was their only way to survive, having been given food and shelter provided by Jones himself. two cons of the movement was that all the followers were dealing with a pyscho as their leader and had to do anything and everything he said, for example, if he wanted sex, they were forced to have it with him, men were also included in this. another con would be that they were constantly moving around the country and the world at some points because Jones thought it was best for the group, for example, they relocated to Brazil because Jones thought the world was going to end and Brazil was a safe spot.
Jim Jones was a very charismatic and persuasive person; he promoted his group as an inter-racial mission for the sick, homeless and jobless. He also believed in social justice were everyone works therefore they are equal, and before retreating to Guyana his group created soup kitchens and provide the needy with clothing. This was a cult so there where several down sides. The biggest would be the 900 dead, 300 of which were children who were forced to drink the Kool-aid even though they protested. Also the people were under totalitarian rule of a mad man. http://www.religioustolerance.org/dc_jones.htm
The People's Temple Movement could've been a good idea. A pro of the movement was the first basic idea of racial and social equality. That was a good concept and if it was carried out the right way, could have made a huge positive difference. Another pro of the People's Temple Movement was giving people a new kind of church and preacher. This was a good thing until Jim Jones took it too far. The movement ended up having way more cons than pros. The idea of free sex and free love in the church just isn't right. The fact that Jim Jones could demand those things from whoever he wanted, because he was "God", is ridiculous. Another con of the People's Temple Movement is the end result. Jim Jones totally took over and had too much power over those people's lives. They became reliant and this resulted in a terrible outcome. The People's Temple Movement was overall a bad idea.
They are definately both some pros and cons of the People's Temple Movement. I think its good because Jim Jones wanted social reform. He wanted everyone to be equal. It was also good because he was very dedicated to his movement. However, this movement had a negative affect on society because he would do anything to get it. He would force either men or women to perform any sexual acts he wished. He also openly admitted to people that he was atheist, yet he was a minister. I think he gave people a lot of false hope. All of his followers died from cyanide-laced grape flavored Kool-Aid.
The People's Temple was originally seen as a good thing. Before people realized how crazy Jim Jones was, the People's Temple provided a safe place for African Americans. It was a place where Jim Jones could preach racial equality and justice. In addition, the people who were apart of the People's Temple sought out government jobs and helped those in need. A lot of community service was provided by the People's Temple. Another good thing about the group was that women were finally able to have a high-level job. There was no "glass ceiling" keeping women from progressing up the ladder.However, this group took a turn for the worse when its leader's true colors finally started to show through. Jim Jones achieved government positions in which he took advantage of the country and used his position to gain benefits for himself. He had such an influence over people that he gained more followers and was able to get more money from them. When the group finally moved to Guyana, they shot down a plane and killed a congressmen as well other other innocent civilians. The next day, Jim Jones led a mass suicide in which 900 people killed themselves. This was a truly malicious act and shows us why cults are so powerful.
People's Temple was a church founded by Jim Jones in 1956. There are many pros and cons of the People's Temple Movement. However there are much more cons than pros. Pros are that it supports socialism and ratial equality. The church also helped the poor and worked at the soup kitchen. Lastly, for the first time, women gained power with in the church and could be in charge of things. Cons are that Jim Jones believed he was God and wanted his followers to believe it as well. He would go as far as beating followers for bad behavior and forcing them to love and have sex with him. Jim Jones and People's Temple eventually moved to Guiana and isolated themselves from the rest of the world. Shortly after the move all 900 members comited suicide, the biggest con of all.
There are several pro's and con's of the cult People's temple.One pro would be that when it first started out, there was much segragation in many areas. This church looked past the segregation and accepted all races with open arms. Anbother pro would be the involvement in women. Also in this time period women had no involvemnt, but in The People's temple they were seen as equals. Although there are pros to the People's Temple, there are also cons. One con of this was the abuse. If one was doing something wrong in the eyes of the people, he or she would be abused both emotionaly with threats and physically with whips. One other con would be the thought of free love and sex. Jim Jones was seen as God, therefore he would make up his own rules. One of his rules was free sex. He preached that he would get sex from either gender, married or single, when he pleased. This showed his power and dominance over his followers.
I feel that the cons outweigh the pros when dealing with the People's Temple Movement. It is very difficult for me to find good in this organization. However, Jim Jones helped to desegregate areas. He welcomed all different people into his church. He also worked with the government under the Human Rights Comission in 1960. He also established soup kitchens within the People's Temple. The cons of this organization would be he abused people. He practiced free sex and love whenever, with both men and women. He took everyones money because it was a social community. Jim Jones also had everyone kill themselves in 1978 by injecting drugs into their veins. Around 900 people died. The children were killed first and it seemed like a very slow, painful death.
With all the information i know about the People's Temple movement there are many cons but not very many pros. In my oppinion there is only one possitive that came out of the People's Temple. And that would be that women gained power and had some say in what was going on with the church. Before this point women didnt have a say in anything and i think that the only possitive thing Jim Jones did was give womem some control in power.Yet, i think that people were being "brainwashed" into thinking that there was such a thing as "heaven on Earth." i think that Jim Jones wanted nothing but bad things to happen no matter where he was. For example working in a hospital and telling someone to dry shave an old man who cant help himself should send a message to people that something is wrong with this man. Although many negative things came out of this mass suicde i think one of the worst things he did was force people to have sex with him. It didnt matter if it was a male or female, Jim Jones wanted people to do anything that made him feel that he was not only in control of them but seen as the "father". An obvious con of the People temple was the 900 people who died becuase of this man, and 300 of them being children. Overall i think that the People Temple was the only way that Jim Jones felt that he was the "father" and that he felt in control of his followers.
The cons of the peoples temple movement are numerous but the 2 biggest ones are that Jim Jones convinced his followers that they were being invaded so they all commited suicide starting with the children and ending with the adults. Another is that Jim Jones made himself able to demand sex from any of the men or women in his cult that he wanted. The only pro i can think of would be that his churches were all racially equal, he did not discriminate. I don't see any other pros because the whole people's templs movement had no good outcomes. Jim Jones was insane and killed people there aren't any pros about that.
Pros: The People's Temple movement was no doubt attractive to impoverished or socially "inferior" groups because the ideology of the movement was one of social justice and equality. Everyone worked, everyone contributed to the community, and everyone was equal. Even people outside the cult have to consider the appeal of that type of system to those who would benefit from it. For people who have much to gain from total equality, People's Temple is a golden opportunity. At the start, anyway. Another pro about the cult was that initially it was a respected and recognized part of the San Francisco community. The mayor himself gave Jim Jones, the cult's leader, a job within the housing authority. Unfortunately, the good standing of the cult was based on mispercepetions and lies about the cult's inner workings. Jim Jones himself was a large part of People's Temple recruitment. Nearly everyone wanted to be in this charismatic and persuasive leader's inner circle, which led to a large, devoted following. Cons: Clearly, being a cult meant that it was dangerous and often radical in nature. The mass suicide is most definitely the first act that comes to mind, but the masscare of the Concerned Realatives and particularly a congressman is another horror that came with the territory. Furthermore, Jones himself grew increasingly paranoid, power hungry, and fanatical, shifting in his beliefs from being a prohet of God to BEING God. He tasted power and wanted more and more, demanding sex from both men and women- free sex- in an attempt to control them. As previously mentioned, the massacre of the Concerned Relatives was a huge tragedy. But who were the Concerned Relatives and what were they doing at the commune in the first place? That answer is ties to another point against the cult. The Concerned Relatives wanted to reclaim the family members that had been seduced by the cult's appeal. That suggests that once in the cult, as with most cults, members pulled away from society and family to devote themselves entirely to the People's Temple ideals.
The People's Temple can be viewed in a varitey of ways. In my opinion the People's Temple was a destructive and doomsday cult. Jim Jones also known as the founder of People's Temple accomplished many things throughout his life that were good accomplishments and bad accomplishments. Some pros that are within this cult are worthwhile such as listening to him preach about racial equality, human freedom, and love. In addition to preaching, he also helped the needy by setting up nursing homes and soup kitchens around the parts of where his cult was stationed. Jones believed in a ritual called TRANSLATION which meant that of the followers would die together. Although, he accomplished pros, yet there was also cons such as death and dictatorship. Jim belived that mass suicides should be praticed throughout his cult, but i disagree with killing yourself for no purpose. By the end of his career as leader in this cult he has killed a total of 900 people which 300 of them were children. Through my research of the People's Temple, I think that is a degrading cult towards society,and it should have been elimnated.
although the People's Temple Movement is considered a cult and has its downfalls of course, it also has a few positive ideas. This "religion" seemed to be based more on social justice, which was something that was not common at this time in America. A white man was preaching to a community of diversity and fighting or their rights. He truly believed that they should have the same freedoms as a white man. Another positive point to this cult was the idea of togetherness. Jones took intimacy very seriously and he wanted everyone to feel like family. I think alot of people wanted to feel this, and that was their main reason in joining. Of course, it is a cult and most of what went on in the People's Temple was not ethical. People were becoming completely dependenton Jones and the church. They were emptying their entire savings accounts into the church, which meant that they were relying on the church to meet all of their needs. It would have bee impossible for them to leave. Also, Jones was getting so much positive publicity and was acquiring more and more followers that he began to get very full of himself. This escaladed to the point where he believed he was God, and his people believed it to. This proves the fact that it was a cult because he was the extremist leader. He was extremist because his beliefs and actions became violent when a Congressman came to see Jonestown in Northern Africa. 15 of his people wanted to leave with this man and jones would not have it. He sent his men to kill these people, and after this he and his followers committed a mass suicide, thus ending the People's Temple Movement.
While the People's Temple is considered highly radical, which it was, there are a few attributes about it in the beginning that were positive and beneficial to its members. The first of the pros is the social equality that the congregation of the People's Temple experience. The cult was formed during an era when both women and blacks were denied the civil and social equality that almost everyone in America enjoys today. The People's Temple created a racially mixed community where blacks were treated as equals to whites and where women could hold jobs of importance and power unlike in the real world. Another positive attribute of the People's Temple was the strong tight knit community it formed. Members who lacked a family and social life could find the family that they needed in the congregation of the People's Temple. However many of these things faded as Jim Jones began to become more and more paranoid and controlling. Beginning part of the People's Temple also had many negative attributes for its congregation. The main negative of being part of the congregation was being completely reliant on the Temple. Many of the congregation gave all that they had to the Temple and if they left they would have absolutely nothing left so many were forced by need to stay with they Temple. Another negative is the fact that Jim Jones controlled your entire life. No matter what you did it would need to be approved by Jones. He could ask you for anything and refusal meant stern corporal punishment including beatings not to mention the fact that he expected you to commit suicide at his command. At first the People's Temple offered a sanctuary for social equality but near the end of the cult it had transformed into an authoritarian establishment controlled by the iron-fisted (supposed) god-king Jim Jones.
There are pros and cons to the People's Temple. The cons seem to outweigh the pros. The cons also seem to be the thing that is most focused on. Jim Jones helped his community, but eventually tore it apart. Some of the pros of the People's Temple are the fact that Jones fought for equal rights. He joined the People's Rights Commission to help minorities. His original church was primarily for blacks. In addition his group helped many financially. Many people could not afford to live or were lost and he gave them belonging. This gave them something to live and work towards. He was a firm believer in helping the little man. Even though at first this group was not very harmful, they eventually became violent and controlled. The major problem with the People's Temple was that they were completely submissive to Jones. They would give him all their finances, and allow him to take anything he desired. This control eventually lead to the gourps demise. Also the group became a violent prosecuting force. They would discipline people,in the group,in ways they saw fit, which were usaully harsh. They acted as police and judges. They would punish people even for things that they could not control, such as looks. Over all the People's Temple was more of a negative group. They were brainwashed and blindly followed their leader. The cons deffinitely outweigh the pros, it was even hard just to think of two things that the group did to help society.
In the beginning the People's Temple was good because it did help the needy of the community. Jim Jones was also a huge supporter of black equality and the civil rights movement. As the People's Temple progressed, they began to loose sight of these things. Jim Jones began to think he was god and he could demand "free sex". He isolated his people and ultimately convinced his followers to kill themselves.
Not sure if went through- trying again: Pros: (1)Through this practice, members form "lifelong" friendships with other members.- They all tend to die around the same time and they're always with the same people, so they can easily form bonds! (2) Members have a constant "faith." - They all believe in the same concepts preached by Jim Jones and can push each other towards goals within the boundaries of the cult. Cons: (1) Separation from family- Unless the family of the member joins the cult, members need to make a "new family" within it. (2) Sexual abuse & humiliation- behind the doors of the People's Temple, the free sex (for Jones), ritual beatings, and humiliation were definitely a downside to the Cult.
There were, in my opinion, many cons to the People's Temple Movement, however there were some pros. The pros were that it unified some people who were social misfits. Another pro is it helped people survive who could not do so on their own. The cons to this were the obvious they were basically brainwashed into killing themselves. Around 900 people ended up dead becuase of a man who thoguht of himself as "God." This man manipulted poeple into thinking that him demanding sex out of anyone, male or female, was ok. Another con about this group was people were physically abused. One girl was whacked by a board 75 times in a row. This group also forced the members into moving out of the country. Some only did this because it was the only way to survive, and others were too afriad of leaving.
The pros and cons of People's Temple are very distinctive and prominent in the teachings by Jim Jones. In my opinion, the cons override the pros in his cult establishment but People's Temple did provide a haven for the more altruistic type of people. He created a place for racial equality which was virtually unheard of by a white male. He enabled other ethnicities to be a part of an openly equal group. He also created a place to live since People's Temple was made up of social communes for members to live in. Opposite of the "pros" People' Temple created, I feel the cons were the majority of what the media and non-members saw. Jim Jones denounced God and claimed he was God. He steered away from religion and incorporated social justice as his main teaching. It led to his movement migrating out to California where he made everyone "embrace" free sex with him whether they be men or women. He would then use public humiliation against them to build his power and control over his people along with beating them. Jones also kept his movement going through his members' social security money because most dedicated their life to People's Temple. He created more cons for himself by conducting the White Night, practicing suicide which would lead to the cult demise in 1978 in Jonestown (Guyana) South America.
One positive aspect of the People’s Temple Movement was that it was based on social justice. Therefore, people of different races were able to interact with each other, which wouldn’t normally happen. In addition, the People’s Temple did a few positive things, such as establishing soup kitchens and organizations that allowed women to take leadership roles. However, there are many more cons about the People’s Temple Movement. One negative aspect was that the people of the movement were so devoted to Jim Jones that they would do anything he would ask them to do. This includes things like practicing suicides, giving all of their money to the church, and moving around the country to follow the church. Another con of the movement was that Jim Jones punished people in the church by beating and humiliating them. Additionally, Jim Jones encouraged free love and free sex from his congregation.
One of the pros of Peoples Temple was that they greatly helped out the elderly and needy. they set up soup kitchens and clothed people who did not have the means of clothing themselves. also they set up many nursing homes for the elderly people of the congregation whi9ch greatly helped them and made things easier. one con though would be that the elderly signed over their pention and social security checks over to Jim JOnes and the leaders of People Temple. another con to this was that Jones could demand free love or free sex from anyone he wanted, man or woman. the poeple lost their power and control over themsleves by letting him do this.
The main con of people's temple was obviously that the whole thing was just leading up to a mass suicide. Another con of people's temple I guess would be how it affected the relatives and friends of the members of people's temple. An organization known as "concerned relatives" was created in order to get their friends/family out of guyana where their loved ones were located. There are really next to no pros of this group. The only one I can really think of is that people's temple provided people with unity and something to believe in. When it first started out, it was pretty much a brand new religion that gave people hope and faith and the belief in social justice and equality but as the religion grew it turned into a cult and got a little out of hand. Another pro would be that even though people's temple ended in a tragic way, Jim Jones took care of his followers very well up until the suicide part by creating nursing homes for the elderly and eliminating social injustice among the followers.
Personally I dont't think that there are two pros regarding People's Temple, but since I must blog I would have to say that they are community unity and woman power. The fact that Jim Jones brought together different races of people to join in one group is very important. He beleived in equality and at that aspect I guess he was right. Another pro would be woman power, which is where the women finally did something. They were in charge of all the financial assets and things of that nature. They were given big responsibilites for the first time in their lives.As for the cons, there are far more than just two. I think that the two biggest ones are the free or demanding love/sex, and the enitre concept of mass susicide to go to a better life. Jim Jones would just order anyone, man or woman, to have sex with him and if they said no they were sure to be punished. This is wrong because for one he was marrried, and some of the people he had sex with were also married. It is also degrading and embarassing to the certain individual and I'm sure caused some type of mental trauma somewhere down the road. Mass suicide is wrong, I think suicide in general is wrong because you can find help. For them to end their lives to go to a "better place" is rediculous. Yes, as a christian i beleive in Heaven or Hell after death, but it is after you have fulfilled your life, when God decides it's your time, not a selfish act. Those are the pros and cons of People's Temple that I picked out, but like I stated in the beggining, I don't think there are any pros to this group.
Although I do not believe there are any pros to the peoples temple movement i can understand how some people may find it to improve their life. One pro for women would be that they gained power in the church under Jim Jones. Some women even in their young twenties gained positions of power that put them in charge of alot of money and many people. Another pro of the peoples temple is that when it moved to the small town of Redwood Valley Calif. it brought many people. This improved industry and busniess in this small town. There are many cons of the peoples temple movement. One is that if you did not follow the strict rules of peples temple then you were beaten until you obeyed. Another is that it eventually killed 900 people. This happened in a mass suicide that jim jones covinced everyone in peoples temple that it was the right thing to do. I dont believe any religion should cost someone their life.
There are some pros and many cons to the People's Temple Movement. I think one pro is that Jim Jones treated everyone equal. He did not discriminate against black, white, etc. That was not common at the time so it was good that he let blacks and whites live in peace. Another con is that he gave people something to live for. Some of his members probably had nothing or maybe needed love and affection from someone, much like Jim Jones found in the church he attended when he was young. Though there are some pros to the People's Temple Movement there are an infinant amount of cons. Jim Jones got way out of control. First con was that he preached that there was no God, and that he was God. Another con was that these many people looked up to a nutcase drug addict. The biggest con was the mass suicide of 900 people.
The pros of the People's Temple Movement: 1.) Women gained power. This was especially important, because back then, women had little control over anything. This gave the women a chance to be somewhat more free. 2.) The church was racially mixed. Again, this was almost unheard of back when this happened. It helped break some of the racism barriers and most likely helped desegregation.The cons of the People's Temple Movement: 1.) Free love/free sex was embraced. I find this to be very similar to rape in a few ways. Simply, it's just wrong and should not have practiced in that church. It also game Jim Jones a great sense of power and gratification, which was driving the claim that "he was God." 2.) The mass suicides. This completely eliminated the pros of this movement. It completely eliminated any of the sane purposes of the People's Temple. Even the children and babies had to die. That just should not happen, in any "religion" or "movement."
The People’s Temple Movement was a mass migration and union of people. Within the group there was unity and a common belief. A pro to this movement is that to some followers this was their last hope because they had no income, home, or family. By being involved in the People’s Temple gave them a sense of comfort and love they longed for, it offered a sense of hope. Since a lot of details and information was gathered from the People’s Temple Movement it helps people in today’s society to recognize signs of mass killings such as the one in Jonestown. I would consider this a pro because it makes citizens more aware of certain behaviors to look out for. I don’t know if there are actually any other pro’s to the People’s Temple Movement. Along with the two pros is an immense amount of cons. One con that sticks out in the mind the most is the free sex. Although this may not be the most drastic, it is certainly important. Even though I think this idea is extremely bizarre and immoral, I understand the reasoning behind why Jim Jones has free sex, to be in control and to gain power. I don’t understand why his followers would put up themselves up for that. What goes through their mind that makes them think its okay? The severest problem I believe was the creation of Jonestown. Even though the whole idea of People’s Temple brought people together as a whole, it severely segregated people from communities. Since Jonestown was segregated from the community this allowed Jim to play whatever mind games he wanted to with his followers. This is what led to the mass suicide which brings up another con. I don’t understand how any human being can listen to a man who is telling them to kill their kids. Jim Jones persuaded over 900 people to commit suicide and everyone looks at him to be the crazy, psycho leader, but not only do we have to look at him as crazy but also the 900 people who took their lives because someone told them too.
One pro of the People's Temple movement was that it accepted both blacks and whites and did not segregate anyone. Blacks could finally feel acceptance and equality within this church and have a religion at the same time. Another pro would be how the People's Temple movement helped the least and lowliest members of society. Jones developed a social service center within his church to help the needy. Also he helped those who starved by giving them free food from the church. He developed the idea of social gospel that was meant to help those who were unfortunate but members later found out what he really believed in: socialism. A con of this movement was that there were beatings involved. Jones would just stand back and say that he would want to see members beat each other. He always wanted public humiliation within his church by having these kind of punishments. I think it gave him a sense of control and that is what he wanted. Another con was that no one was permitted to leave. If there were any traitors, he would have them punished and killed. People coould not leave if they did not like the beatings or the free sex. Members had to liquidate their assets and hand over money to the church and had to continue to do this because they could not leave. This would include members' social security checks and pension checks. Everything they worked for, handed over to the church. It took control over their lives and eventually led to their deaths.
The People's Temple Movement started off with some very good intentions. One pro for their movement was they promoted racial equality in a time when the african americans were very discrimintated agains. Another pro was he gave women roles and jobs that were un-called for a women to do, like keep track of money and assets, which in this time was very unheard of for a women. It promoted women to strive for better things. With every great thing there are many downfalls and a con was he was taking advantage of the men and women by forcing them to have sexual intercourse with him whenever he wanted them to. Also he would humiliate and beat the children and have their parents beat them to, while the whole crowd watched them, this was another con also
The big picture of ppls temple movement would obviously fall into the negative category of things or a con (the whole thing). a couple of pros would be that he was i guess in a way caring when it came to racial equality and he like animals. and in a weird way he also gave people something to believe in, maybe not the right thing ("god" so to say) but rather he made ppl believe in him and somehow they did just that (he was god). on the other hand he managed to pretty much, single handedly, kill 900 ppl and took sexual advantage of both men and women within the "church". i don't quite understand how no one really knew what was going on with him and his church. i mean things were kept quiet but its still very unbelievable.
People's Temple offered its members comfort in having a family and a community of people to live with and alloweed people to fulfill their social needs. It also promoted racial equailty, a very deserving cause, and it tried to better society. There were many cons however. Its leader Jim Jones punished the members when they did something wrong, often with violent beatings. He also demanded sex from men and women in his group, which could be mentally detrimental to the people. Jones's drug use made the abuse worse, and the conditions for people affiliated with the movenment became worse.
The People's Temple Movement was an event that involved more cons than pros. The few pros could have been the fact that there was a form of unity among the people involved. Many people came together to join in their beliefs and follow Jim Jones. It also brought people together who had a hard time surviving and functioning on their own. There was racial equaliy from Jones and also more involement of woman. The obvious con was how the movement made 900 people commit pointless suicide under a man who was considered a false god. It was also unbelievable how he was able to force people both men and women into having sex with him whenever he pleased. People were randomly beaten and tortured or shot and killed when they would try to escape or leave the group.
In theory, the People's Temple is a blessing from God. One of their strongest beliefs were social equality, which at that time was a revolution in process. Also, they believed that in order for society to progress, they needed justice. This taught people important moral values. In reality, though, People's Temple was manipulative and controlling. The leader of People's Temple, Jim Jones, actually denied the existence of a supreme being and viewed himself as being God. He thought that everyone should do as he say, because he alone knew what was right for everyone. He even believed in free sex and took advantage of both women and men. It doesn't stop there. He even convinced over 900 people to commit a mass suicide. Perhaps it was his drug abuse which led him to take this course, or maybe he just became power hungry. All in all, the People's Temple is a blessing when it comes to moral and social values, but in the long run it led to corruption and the death of many innocent people.
The Peoplees Temple Movement had its pros and cons to society. One pro was the fact that it helped give racial equality. It gave minorities the chance to socialize and be with other kinds of people without any bad outcomes. African Americans were discriminated at this time, but the Peoples Temple Movement helped some of them get away from the segrigration. Another pro was that people who were unfortunate by being poor, lonely, or hopeless could be a part of something. They were a part of a social group that gave them a chance to forget about all of the bad things. The PTM gave them a new start. There are also alot of cons with the PTM. The followers had to give a lot of money to the church and they moved around the country to follow the church. Jim Jones punished people in the church by beating and humiliating them if they did not follow his rules. The worst con is the suicide part. He gained peoples trust which ended up in 900 dead at Jamestown. Any "group" that ends up dying in a mass suicide is just unbeleivably bad.
It was more challenging to dig deep enough to find strong enough positive effects of the People's Temple. The only two pros I could think of are as follows: The most important, being in the fact that women were finally given some power. Throughout history, women have been dominated by men. In government, in military, in the work force... (not even mentioning the typical stereotypes of women working at home with their children and men away at their jobs outside the home). In this "religion", women finally had an influence in their society. Another positive thing that came out of this movement was the fact that blacks and whites got along a little better than they had in the past. Before, all of that segregation garbage ruined social groups, but with this People's Temple, blacks, whites, and probably even some Hispanic races got together under one roof. However... There are always downsides: In my opinion, the cons far outweigh the pros. Aweful things happened inside those walls where Jones ministered. Out of the many, here are only a few of the negatives of this movement. The biggest downside to this movement is probably agreed to be the actual suicide itself. Think this: today, if this was happening, and people knew about it, could you imagine the list of charges set against them? Anyway, babies, who could not possibly have the power or developements to think for themselves were killed, basically. They were not given a choice. Adults prove to today's society that Jones was EXTREMELY persuasive. If a man could make you think to commit suicide, don't you think that is a little disturbing? Secondly, the other huge no-no for this movement has to deal with the fact of JUST HOW persuasive he was. He could force people to have sexual relations with him? Wherever? Whenever? In today's society, I'm not sure if ANYONE has enough power (or ego) to try and pull that off. It is quite disturbing to see how such a man of power and influence (being a minister) can evolve to become such a twisted tyrant. Then again, I guess we all had to be there to see what and how things were really going on.
One issue that Jim Jones and the People's Temple were absolutely adament about was social justice. Even as a teenager, Jim Jones preached about racial equality and therefore attracted a lot of different ethnic members. After having his biological son, he adopted an African American boy and children from Korea, establishing his "rainbow family". While I think this was mostly a publicity thing, it was an important step towards racial equality, as they were the first white couple in Indiana to adopt a child of another race. There was no glass ceiling within the People's Temple. Women could and did advance to leadership positions, which attracted more women to the organization. While Jim Jones didn't always treat them respectfully, he did advance women's roles within People's Temple. Jim Jones established communes, where everyone living there contributed for the good of the group. While I don't think this radical concept would work on a larger scale, it seemed to see success within their communities, and the members probably viewed it as a positive way of life. Like any cult, the People's Temple movement offered lonely vulnerable people a way to meet their social needs. It provided them with a community, where everyone was looking out for the rest of the group. It also gave them something seemingly worthwhile to believe in and devote their lives to, which is what some people are looking for. Jim Jones was not known for treating his followers well. There were countless instances of abuse within the organization, members beating other members simply because they were told to and were afraid that they would be beaten if they did not comply. Jones also reserved the right to demand sex from any man or woman member of his congregation at any time. While partially for gratification, I think this was mostly about intimidating people and gaining control. This could also be used to tie people to him and make them more devoted to him and his ideals. In the above mentioned communes, people worked towards the success of the community as a whole. People often ended up signing off their social security, pension, and savings to the organization, and ended up with absolutely no money. This helped the communes and the organization as a whole succeed, but it also made peope financially dependent on the group. This was another way that Jones secured control over the group and their loyalty to him. An obvious con of the People's Temple Movement is the mass suicide that occured. There is something wrong when over 900 people spontaneously kill themselves, just because some voice over a loud speaker told them too, especially when many of those people killed their children first. This only occured after some practice mass suicides, just to see how the people would react and if they would actually go through with it. While this actually seems like a sensible action with sound logic behind it, it is sick to make people think they are going to die in an hour just to see how they will react. The whole experience of the supposed paradise of Jonestown was obviously not as enjoyable as some said it was. People were slipping notes to reporters telling them how they wanted to escape, so they wanted to leave but were afraid to, and rightly so. A shootout broke out at the airport when they tried to leave, proving Jones's need for control over his group and his refusal to let anyone leave. The actual mass suicide occured later that same day.
From learning about Peoples Temple Movement I found a few pros and cons. The cons definatly out weigh the pros. The pros to Peoples Temple would be that women got to be involved and have power. This was important because back in the day women had very little say in things. Another pro that I found was that, people from all ethnicities were accepted. No one was judged, and this brought them all together. The cons are the mass suicides that went on. Everyone was to die when they were following this "religion", and this I believe is just wrong. Another con was free love and free sex. I believe this is more of rape. They had to listen to what he said, men and women. Having everyone listen to what Jim Jones said and also do what he wanted them to do made him feel as if he was god.
The only pros of the people's temple that I could think of are that Jim Jones was a man of equality. He viewed all men and women the same and preached it to his followers. Also, he gave women roles of authority and power within his society. There were a lot of cons to people's temple, though. Jim Jones had good intentions at first, but then he grew to be kind of insane with his ideas. He was on drugs and paranoid. He moved his church and all it's followers to a small town in South American. There, he convinced his 900 followers to commit suicide. Within his church he proclaimed himself "God" and was able to take advantage of any member of his church he wanted sexually.
People's Temple may be remembered most for their many negative contributions to society, but they did have a few good points. For example, Jim Jones' preaching focused on social equality in a time that saw rampant racial prejudice, helping to make people of different colors feel a sense of unity with the whites in his congregation. Few whites at that time would even think of doing that, but Jim Jones and his followers did.In addition to helping on a racial level, the People's Temple Movement also contributed to women's rights, providing women with chances that they would rarely receive outside of the cult at the time.However, the dark deeds of this organization far outweigh the few positive aspects of the cult. One major negative quality of the People's Temple Movement was Jones' insatiable desire for power over his congregation. He always sought greater and greater control over his "flock", eventually forcing anyone he wanted, male or female, to have sex with him. Always building upon his ability to influence people and get them to do what he wanted right up until the end, it was this lust for power that drove Jones into madness, leading to hundreds of unnecessary deaths.Another major negative aspect of People's Temple was his horrible treatment of his congregation in order to consolidate his position of power. Terror was used to keep people in line, and guards were placed around the perimeter of the People's Temple commune in Redwood Valley. He would often test the loyalty of his followers with "White Nights", in which he tricked them into believing that they were committing mass suicide. Death threats, among other angry messages harassed any people who managed to defect from People's Temple. Eventually, People's Temple sent armed men to kill several defectors who sought to leave the cult base in Guyana, along with the U.S. Congressman who organized the investigation that resulted in their departure. On that camp's grounds, the cult members were forced to work long hours under harsh conditions scraping out an existence in the nutrient-poor soil of the jungle. Finally, after the investigators left their compound, Jones ordered a real "White Night". He calmly sent three hundred children to their deaths, followed by the adults. Altogether, he had nine hundred people killed. Although closely tied to Jones' lust for power, his actions toward his own followers only sped up the decline of his organization as it sunk into the depths of madness.
The peoples Temple movement started off with Jim Jones believing in god and wanting for the most part to do good. The people's temple movement is positive or was positive at one point if you look at it from a young Jones perspective. He was obviously to some degree mentally unstable (paranoia all the time). he killed 900 people in the end of things and through it all made people believe things they should have never even considered( fake suicides, "free sex" ex.) At another glance, Jones was caring and really liked animals and agreed with racial equality. in a way he ended up giving people something to believe in which turned from god to him. the entire situation was disturbing.
A pro to Jim Jones' People Temple is he believed in socialism and ratial equality. He wanted everyone to be accepted. When he got big into being a preacher he started to believe that he was god himself. Fortunately for him, his 'followers' believed him. i'm not sure there is a second pro to JIm Jones. Two cons are that he became to love the power he knew he had over these people. he had them believe everything he told them was true. Another con of the Poeple's Temple is the elderly people gave the 'church' all of their money, being promised a better life. So basically it was all a lie that for some reason these people believed that he would give thema better life in the long run. the drawback - basically no way out.
If I had to pick two pros for the People's Temple Movement I would say that at first it gave people who were treated very badly because of their race the acceptance they had always wanted. It started out as a good thing, because it opened doors for racial equality. Another pro I would say definitively was the fact that there was "no glass ceiling" for the female church members to break through. It was back at a time when it was very difficult for females to break through and get respect. They felt that there were no social injustices and that it was something that was terrific. Two cons I would identify would be the way Jim Jones was with sex. He felt that he could make anyone have sex with him, male or female. Sex is a very personal thing, and he probably felt that if he had sex with them, he would then be granted control over the individual. He would make those who had had sex with him stand up for all his followers to see. The other major con that I can identify was public humiliation. He would humiliate and beat those who he felt had wronged him, even young children. What I feel is the worst, he had family members get up and give each other harmful beatings. I feel that what Jim Jones had going on was extremely messed up. I think that people most likely stayed with him out of fear for themselves and the people they loved. I think it is incredible that 900 people died because of what I would call a lunatic.
Peoples Temple Movement I belive could have been a good idea but the role of too much power falls into play. Jim Jones had so much power I think he didnt know how to control it. Such as examples as free sex, his followers calling him father or dad and money that was givein to him he was trying to play the role of God like any other cult leader. When Jim Jones gave false statements to his people like fake sucides just to see peoples reaction. How the People of the Temple kept this on the downlow for so long is impressive. But I think that Jim Jones had a mass sucide planed for awhile but was just waiting for the right time.
Two pros from the People's Temple movement could be that at first the church was very charitable, they helped the needy all of the time providing shelter and food. Another pro could have been that the people's belief in what was being taught brought them together as a community for better or for worse. There were many pros to the People's Temple movement, but two really big ones would be the fact that Jones was ordering people to kill others, and also making his followers commit mass suicide. Jim Jones was a megalomaniac who believed he was God so therefor he thought he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to. Jones was a power thirsty crazy person.
Pros towards the eople movement is that jim jones preeched gospal beliefs to ther people. Also he set of nursing homes and soup kitchens for the poor. Cons would be he killed 900 poeple 300 of them being children. Also he casued mass media distraction.
There was both good and bad to the People's Temple. The group was bonded together and was very open to diversity. The issues of race of the time had no effect on the People's Temple. The Temple also provided great amounts of aid for destitute and struggling families. However, the group was run by Jim Jones as if it were a dictatorship. Guards surrounded Jones all the time, for fear of assassination or government infiltration. Jones also had the group practice White Nights, or rehearsing suicide attempts to gauge the people's reactions.
The People's Temple offered both pros and cons to society. In a positive light, it supported racial equality and welcomed people of all races to join. It also tried to aid the poor with restaurants that served the homeless and an orphanage adoption program. However, people became so involved in Jim Jones's movement that they lost sight of their individuality and free will. If told to perform sexual acts for Jones, his congregation would do so. If told to kill themselves, his congregation would do it. Jones had total control over a huge group of people and used to fear to keep them in line. At his command, these people were willing to do anything that was supposed to be for the benefit of the whole.
The Peoples Temple Movement provided housing shelter, food and a somewhat stable family life for people who could not support themselves at that time. For some it was the only way they could survive at all. Many people depended and looked up to jones in the beginning. he had devoted followers.He gave them somthing to believe in. The movement had many downsides as well. Their leader was completely insane. He had a drug problem and was adicted to speed. He was in complete control over so many people and demanded sex from women and men alike.
The mass suicide of Jonestown was one of the most unbelievable things i've ever heard. It's hard for me to understand why that many people would be able to look up to and take their own lives under the order of one man. The pros of the People's Temple that made it appealing was the fact that it was a huge place where race did not matter. It helped spread equality. It gave the homeless somewhere to call home. The People's Temple, however, did get out of control. People were giving their social security and whole lives to this organization. It was almost sickening to see how manipulative and controlling Jim Jones was. He put thoughts into people's heads that were psychotic and that he knew would give him more power.
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