It was on T.V. Oh! it was horrible. I had seen before a documentry about it. Also I had read the book. But last night it really disturbed me. I hadnt seen this one before. How can we be so blind when we follow man..??. Sorry I just had to complain..!!!.It was especially sad when a man said he saw his dying wife holding a tube of poison in his little boys mouth...He was crying.... I truly upst me. .
Did you see Jones town last night ?
by mouthy 37 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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BluesBrother
I am sorry that you were upset Grace. The programme has not been seen over here, as far as I know..
How can we be so blind when we follow man..??.
I do not know..I don't think that anybody can really answer that. Sigh....
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AWAKE&WATCHING
There is none so blind as he who will not see.
I can't remember when Jonestown happened but I think it was about the same time that I got involved in the JW cult. It used to be whenever I thought of it I was so grateful to know the "truth". Now it sickens me more than ever. So very sad.
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AWAKE&WATCHING
It happened in 1978 and I began my Bible study in 1979.
Jonestown was the short-lived settlement which was made in northwestern Guyana by the Peoples Temple, a cult from California, and which became lastingly and internationally notorious in 1978, when nearly its whole population died in a mass murder-suicide orchestrated by their leader, Jim Jones. The name of the settlement thus became, also, a term for that incident. The site is now an abandoned ruin.
Named after Jones, Jonestown was founded on his initiative in the mid-1970s, as an agricultural commune. It stood amidst jungle, about seven miles (11 km) southwesterly from Port Kaituma. Jonestown's population was about one thousand, once it was fully established and the bulk of Jones' followers had moved to it, but most of them lived there for under a year.
In November of 1978, United States CongressmanLeo Ryan, accompanied by reporters and a delegation of concerned relatives of Peoples Temple members, visited Jonestown to investigate allegations of abuses there. The visit ended in the murders of Ryan and four others by members of the Peoples Temple, shot at the Port Kaituma airstrip as they were about to fly out. That evening, November 18, Jones led his followers in their mass murder-suicide. Somewhat over nine hundred men, women and children perished, Jones among them.
Jonestown was shortly abandoned by the collapsing remnant of the Peoples Temple. Afterward, it was at first tended by the Guyanese government, which allowed its re-occupation by Hmong refugees from Laos, for a few years in the early 1980s, but it has since been altogether deserted. [1] It was looted but otherwise avoided by the local Guyanese, mostly destroyed by a fire in the mid-1980s, and its remains were left to decay and be reclaimed by the jungle.
Jonestown was the short-lived settlement which was made in northwestern Guyana by the Peoples Temple, a cult from California, and which became lastingly and internationally notorious in 1978, when nearly its whole population died in a mass murder-suicide orchestrated by their leader, Jim Jones. The name of the settlement thus became, also, a term for that incident. The site is now an abandoned ruin.
Named after Jones, Jonestown was founded on his initiative in the mid-1970s, as an agricultural commune. It stood amidst jungle, about seven miles (11 km) southwesterly from Port Kaituma. Jonestown's population was about one thousand, once it was fully established and the bulk of Jones' followers had moved to it, but most of them lived there for under a year.
In November of 1978, United States CongressmanLeo Ryan, accompanied by reporters and a delegation of concerned relatives of Peoples Temple members, visited Jonestown to investigate allegations of abuses there. The visit ended in the murders of Ryan and four others by members of the Peoples Temple, shot at the Port Kaituma airstrip as they were about to fly out. That evening, November 18, Jones led his followers in their mass murder-suicide. Somewhat over nine hundred men, women and children perished, Jones among them.
Jonestown was shortly abandoned by the collapsing remnant of the Peoples Temple. Afterward, it was at first tended by the Guyanese government, which allowed its re-occupation by Hmong refugees from Laos, for a few years in the early 1980s, but it has since been altogether deserted. [1] It was looted but otherwise avoided by the local Guyanese, mostly destroyed by a fire in the mid-1980s, and its remains were left to decay and be reclaimed by the jungle.
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Pahpa
There have been several documentaries on Jonestown in the last few years. Jim Jones started out as a very charismatic person who made an attempt to help the poor and disenfranchised. Even some of the politicians in San Francisco were taken in by his smooth and appealing personality. But paranoia got the best of him. He began to view the world through the lens of "us and them." It ended very tragically for those who followed him to Jonestown.
Last week there was a very interesting program on the Mormons. One could not help but be struck by some similarities between their organization and the Watchtower. Russell, like Smith, was a founder who had a very pleasing personality. He laid out the foundations of the church. He drew in a number of people who were charmed by his idealism and magnetism. In contrast, Rutherford, like Young, was the pragmatic leader who dealt with the aftermath of the leader's death and maneuvered his position as the successor. He ruled with a "iron hand" and did not tolerate any opposition.
We have many modern day examples of religious leaders who are corrupted by the power of their religious positions. They attain this by the willingness of their followers to accept these leaders without question. Call it blind loyalty or credulity... it often ends in tragedy or heartbreak.
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VoidEater
That we can feel sympathy and sadness by this tragedy is a mark of our growth outside of the organization (or perhaps I am only speaking for myself - at the time I had so little compassion for those bad people that chose not to follow Jehovah, see what they get...). I'm horrified at my own limited heart of that time.
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mouthy
I'm horrified at my own limited heart of that time. Yes me too.
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ninja
I've not seen the jonestown film yet grace...don't tell me what happens at the end.....he he....ninja
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mouthy
It wasnt a film It was a documentary actual shots from them all dying
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Maddie
I saw it on TV quite recently and found it very distressing too Grace. Jones was a real narcissist as most cult leaders are, and to make sure that everyone there died with him is the epitome of evil. It made me conscious of the potential danger of being in any cult, where complete obedience is required.