Jim Jones Mass Suicide 25 Years Ago!

by jayhawk1 10 Replies latest jw friends

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  jayhawk1

  Say what you will about the Jehovah's Witnesses, and I certainly have strong opinions about them. But at least the Governing Body will never have the followers kill themselves. Today marks the 25th year of that sad tragedy.

  Jonestown Guyana, November 18, 1978. Grape Flavor-Aid mixed with potassium cyanide, liquid
  valium and other drugs were given to just over 910 members of The People's Temple. The
  charismatic leader took this decision and his name was James Warren Jones, also known as Jim
  Jones to the world and "Dad" to his followers. This is what the people, not only in North America but all over the world, are afraid of and with good reasons!

  http://www.caic.org.au/biblebase/apocolyptic/jones.htm
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  Robdar

  I remember that day. It wasn't long afterwards that the cong PO said, from the podium, that we must have faith in whatever the WTBTS told us. If they told us to jump off the local bridge (that crossed the deep Tennessee River in Alabama) that we must do it with faith and not give it a second thought.

  Now, you may think that the WTBTS would never have its members commit suicide. I wasn't so sure about that back in the late 70's. The PO's talk initiated my fade.
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  Scully

  jayhawk1 writes:

  at least the Governing Body will never have the followers kill themselves.

  uhhhh... forgotten about the blood tranfusion doctrine and former organ transplant doctrine and 25¢ ID cards in Malawi already??

  They may not compel their followers to drink cyanide laced purple Kool-Aid, but they sure expect their followers to put their lives on the line and make martyrs of themselves For The Sake Of The Truth?. What about the quote about we can't kill apostates today to keep the congregation clean, because the law of the land forbids it (paraphrased) . Does that mean that if it suddenly became legal to kill apostates or anyone who broke their rules, that they would?

  And who knows what the future will bring?? New Light? could come at any time.

  Love, Scully
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  jayhawk1

  I don't believe I have ever heard anything like that from anyone around here, but I think that certainly would have caused me to leave on the spot. I suppose it is still possible for the Governing Body to incourage the average Dub to kill himself/herself, but with 6 million members it would be a massive undertaking.

  It is sad that Jim Jones even forced members who did not want to join him in death to drink the poison.
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  jayhawk1

  Scully, good point. I retract most of my first statement, yes the GB wants JWs to act like martyrs, but at least they have not had anybody kill themselves in protest. Oh wait, the JWs in Germany during WWII would count as nearly that.
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  Scully

  Thanks Jay!

  Oh and I looked up the quote I was referring to. It's from the November 1952 Watchtower. They have never published New Light? that retracts these statements:

  *** Nov 15, 1952 Watchtower pp.703-704 Questions from Readers ***

  Questions from Readers

  ? In the case of where a father or mother or son or daughter is disfellowshiped, how should such person be treated by members of the family in their family relationship??P.C., Ontario, Canada.

  We are not living today among theocratic nations where such members of our fleshly family relationship could be exterminated for apostasy from God and his theocratic organization, as was possible and was ordered in the nation of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai and in the land of Palestine. "Thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, . . . And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee."?Deut. 13:6-11, AS.

  Being limited by the laws of the worldly nation in which we live and also by the laws of God through Jesus Christ, we can take action against apostates only to a certain extent, that is, consistent with both sets of laws. The law of the land and God's law through Christ forbid us to kill apostates, even though they be members of our own flesh-and-blood family relationship. However, God's law requires us to recognize their being disfellowshiped from his congregation, and this despite the fact that the law of the land in which we live requires us under some natural obligation to live with and have dealings with such apostates under the same roof.

  Love, Scully
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  jayhawk1

  Wow, the more I learn the sicker the JWs are. Thanks Scully!
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  hawkaw

  I wish more people in JWism would look at the Temple and then look at the Blood doctrine.

  I agree with Scully on this.

  I also am very disgusted reading that classic Nov 15, 1952 WT rag. This says a lot.

  hawk
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  wannaexit

  But at least the Governing Body will never have the followers kill themselves

  Only time will tell.

  wannaexit
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  sf