residents had no ability to deal with children leaving. It felt like the future was leaving. I believe this is one of the reasons the community reacted so violently. Children are never owned. The people of Jonestown forgot that. Children are the future. There is no future when children are enslaved to the constructed ideals of the present. Children must be free to engage the future. If children are not free . . . you can expect violence.
Amen.
Jim Jones: And, that’s not so unfamiliar to us, either, even if we were Judeo-Christian, even if we weren’t Communists.
Threats
“The worldly kingdom suffers violence and the violence is triggered by force.”
—Jim Jones
Using the words of Jesus, Jones sought to convince his people that outside violence surrounded them. Jones used real or imagined threats to control Jonestown. In the final hours, Jones repeatedly told them they were victims. He left out the massacre that some had just perpetuated. Regardless, Jones was the ultimate perpetuator of violence. Constantly, Jones divided and destroyed. That is not to say that outside forces didn’t direct violence toward the community. It is important to remember that violence is always evil. Violence is always a futile pursuit. In Jonestown we see the forgone futile conclusion, violence births violence until there is no one left to perpetuate violence. The mass suicide/killing at Jonestown was a result of an addiction to violence . . . violence against the other and violence against the self. Violence was created until violence was finished. While there are many lessons from Jonestown that are very complex, one is not. If we are to experience any wholeness in this life, we must kill violence before violence kills us.
Amen.
Suicide
“If we can’t live in peace then we must die in peace.”
—Jim Jones
I’ve studied activistic suicides for a number of years. In every case, the idea that one can give their life to bring about justice draws the participant to the act. The concept is not without precedence. Since he had knowledge of what was coming, I would argue that Jesus committed an activistic suicide. Throughout time, people have given their lives seeking to bring about change. Most of the time, the intended result doesn’t match the actual outcome. Under increasing pressure, Jones thought that a mass activistic suicide would be an example of what it means to experience peace after dying for justice. The problem is that most people were horrified by the act and never considered that there could be anything just or peaceful about it. Though I doubt it, perhaps Jones’ intention was for the community to simply die in peace. If so, I hope they found it. Since God’s love knows no boundary, I bet they did.
Amen.
Crowd: Applause
Jim Jones: We’ve been so betrayed, we have been so terribly betrayed, but we’ve tried, and . . .
Worked
“ . . . as Jack Beam often said (and I don’t know where he’s at right this moment, poor Jack), he says if it’s only worked one day, it was worthwhile . . .”
—Jim Jones
In Jonestown, Jack Beam served the community as an engineer. By all accounts, Beam was a generous and loving person. In the hour of death, Jim Jones shared a quote from Beam to push the people forward. Just because Jones used Beam’s quote for evil doesn’t make it evil. When he previously shared the quote, Beam was seeking to encourage people. What did he think when he heard the quote for the last time? For many that lived there, Jonestown was a success for at least a day. So was it worthwhile? For many, it was. The end doesn’t determine whether it was. The days do. There were many residents who were boldly following God and seeking community. Isn’t that what we’re all supposed to do? While I’d encourage everyone to chase the days that work . . . I’d also encourage you to carry caution along the way.
Amen.
Crowd: Cheers
Jones: Of what’s going to happen here in a matter of a few minutes, is that one of the few on that plane is gonna shoot the pilot. I know that. I didn’t plan it, but I know it’s gonna happen. They’re gonna shoot that pilot, and down comes that plane into the jungle and we had better not have any of our children left when it’s over, ’cause they’ll parachute in here on us. I’m telling you just as plain as I know how to tell you, . . .
Lied
“ . . . I’ve never lied to you . . . I never have lied to you.”
—Jim Jones
When someone tells you they’ve never lied to you, they’re usually lying. We now know that Jim Jones consistently lied. Lies were utilized to maintain control. Those who build communities based on truth don’t have to lie. I’ve often wondered what Jonestown would have been like if it wasn’t based on lies. Imagine a loving people working as one. Perhaps, on some days this is the way it was. According to those who survived, on most days it wasn’t. Regardless, truth must hold any community together. Lies destroy such things. God is truth. God is future. A departure from the truth is a departure from future. The absence of truth caused the deaths at Jonestown. Despite the lies, God was there when the bodies started to collapse. Truth never leaves.
Amen.
Jim Jones: I know that’s what’s gonna happen, that’s what he intends to do and he will do it. He’ll do it. What’s there being so bewildered with many, many pressures on my brain, seeing all these people behave so treasonous, it is just too much for me to put together, but, I now know what he was telling me and it’ll happen. If the plane gets in the air even. So my opinion is that we . . .
Revolutionary
“ . . . be kind to children and be kind to seniors and take the potion . . . and step over quietly because we are not committing suicide. It’s a revolutionary act.”
-Jim Jones
When Jim Jones set the mechanism of mass suicide into motion, most didn’t need to be convinced. They’d already given their lives. Some did. Jones manipulated all with talk of revolutionary suicide. What does the phrase mean? Did Jesus commit revolutionary suicide? Didn’t he know what was coming? Jesus never offered resistance. Eventually, the result is exactly what Jesus chose . . . death. Anyone who makes a willing decision to die with full knowledge of what they’re doing . . . commits suicide. Out of deep love, Jesus committed revolutionary suicide. The difference between Jonestown and Jesus is the agency of the participants. Hundreds of children could not have consented to suicide. There were so many others incapable of consent. Death without consent is murder. Many were forced. Revolutionary suicide is chosen not coerced. Jesus calls us to revolution . . . not extermination.
Amen.
Back
“We can’t go back.”
—Jim Jones
Can we go back? It’s a timeless existential question that has consistently troubled the human mind. You can’t convince a people to destroy their bodies without convincing them that there’s no path back to life. Suicide is a decision devoid of a future. One would think that any spiritual leader would seek to offer hopeful words in such a dark moment. Not Jones. His primary interest was death. Honestly, it couldn’t come fast enough for him. Before the day was over, bodies littered their compound. It didn’t have to go down like this. With a hopeful word, the people could have been saved. Alas, it was not to be. Know . . . you can always go back. Redemption will find you there. The past is no match for Jesus.
Amen.
They
“They won’t leave us alone.”
—Jim Jones
THEY.