(no subject)
Can I just draw your attention to this video please
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYf9Q9xygbs
The leader of this group, Jim Jones, was born in Indiana in 1931, and in his youth he engaged in street preaching, proclaiming the theme of human brotherhood to mixed race audiences.
His main focus was communism. He began a search for a community of "like minded people" and was involved in many differing churches before settling in the Pentecostalist and Seventh Day Baptist churches. Indeed, it was at a Pentecostalist convention that his ministry as a revivalistic preacher and healer began
In 1954, Jones founded his own religious community originally called “Community Unity”, borne out of his communist views and the fact that he disagreed with the teachings of the mainstream churches, (not dissimilar to John Wesley’s views about the Anglican denomination, which prompted him to set up Methodism).
However, adverse publicity, which was caused when ex-members began to sensationalise some of the People’s Temple’s activities caused Jones’ aim of establishing social justice in the local community to fail. Therefore he decided to set up a different community, away from all of the negative and adverse publicity. Therefore Jonestown was built in a jungle in Guyana, in 1974.
It was in Guyana that things started to deteriorate. According to some survivors, there were long hours of work [and] food was inadequate with only rice for breakfast, rice water soup for lunch, and rice and beans for dinner, whilst it was alleged that Jones had his own provisions from his own refrigerator. This was not the only thing that was wrong with the leaders. The direction that the coercive persuasion or brainwashing took was unusual in that Jones worked to instil devotion in unusual ways - ways that fostered the acceptability of ‘revolutionary suicide’ among his followers, resulting eventually in 919 members committing suicide on November 18th 1978
It would seem that the media had a great impact on the events at Jonestown, just as it is doing today in the situation in Iraq. Why is this still happening? Why does the news have to be so sensationalistic that it causes real damage to peoples lives?
Why do we continue to wage war on each other just becuase we fear the unknown?
Why can't we work to get to know each other instead of blowing each other to shreds because we don't understand each other?
Its remembrance day tomorrow. At 11am on the 11th of November, people will stop what they're doing out of respect to the people who gave their lives in war beleiving that they were helping to make it a better place.
So why is it still full of war? What happened to the peace they fought for? Even that's a contradiction in terms, just like the "War on Terror" of Mr Bush's. The world needs peace. Not just any peace by God's peace.
And, because this has been such a hard, sad post.... a treat for you. One of life's mistranslations...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicknz/98624927/in/pool-chinglish/
Enjoy.
Goodnight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYf9Q9xygbs
The leader of this group, Jim Jones, was born in Indiana in 1931, and in his youth he engaged in street preaching, proclaiming the theme of human brotherhood to mixed race audiences.
His main focus was communism. He began a search for a community of "like minded people" and was involved in many differing churches before settling in the Pentecostalist and Seventh Day Baptist churches. Indeed, it was at a Pentecostalist convention that his ministry as a revivalistic preacher and healer began
In 1954, Jones founded his own religious community originally called “Community Unity”, borne out of his communist views and the fact that he disagreed with the teachings of the mainstream churches, (not dissimilar to John Wesley’s views about the Anglican denomination, which prompted him to set up Methodism).
However, adverse publicity, which was caused when ex-members began to sensationalise some of the People’s Temple’s activities caused Jones’ aim of establishing social justice in the local community to fail. Therefore he decided to set up a different community, away from all of the negative and adverse publicity. Therefore Jonestown was built in a jungle in Guyana, in 1974.
It was in Guyana that things started to deteriorate. According to some survivors, there were long hours of work [and] food was inadequate with only rice for breakfast, rice water soup for lunch, and rice and beans for dinner, whilst it was alleged that Jones had his own provisions from his own refrigerator. This was not the only thing that was wrong with the leaders. The direction that the coercive persuasion or brainwashing took was unusual in that Jones worked to instil devotion in unusual ways - ways that fostered the acceptability of ‘revolutionary suicide’ among his followers, resulting eventually in 919 members committing suicide on November 18th 1978
It would seem that the media had a great impact on the events at Jonestown, just as it is doing today in the situation in Iraq. Why is this still happening? Why does the news have to be so sensationalistic that it causes real damage to peoples lives?
Why do we continue to wage war on each other just becuase we fear the unknown?
Why can't we work to get to know each other instead of blowing each other to shreds because we don't understand each other?
Its remembrance day tomorrow. At 11am on the 11th of November, people will stop what they're doing out of respect to the people who gave their lives in war beleiving that they were helping to make it a better place.
So why is it still full of war? What happened to the peace they fought for? Even that's a contradiction in terms, just like the "War on Terror" of Mr Bush's. The world needs peace. Not just any peace by God's peace.
And, because this has been such a hard, sad post.... a treat for you. One of life's mistranslations...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicknz/98624927/in/pool-chinglish/
Enjoy.
Goodnight