Tag Archives: Peoples Temple

Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

Reflections on Jonestown- November 18, 1978

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Thirty eight years ago over 900 people died due to the dysfunctional notions of a crazed cult leader- Jim Jones. Earlier this year, I spoke to a person who did not know the origins of the phrase-“drink the Kool-aid.” For that reason, I will take time to share two resources about the tragedy. There has been so much written about this dark series of events in American history. As time passes, events seem to mesh into the lost fabric of society and fade from our memories. This event is worth learning about no matter your age. We need to see it as a warning, especially with the events unfolding in New York where a two teens were beaten because they desired to leave a religious group. One of those teens, Lucas Leonard died supposedly at the hands (and feet) of other church members. Here

The first resource about the Jonestown tragedy is an editorial in the Washington Post written by a man who grew up with one of the inside leaders of Peoples Temple- Maria Katsaris. He explains his view of the phrase, “He drank the Kool-aid” and why it is offensive. This resource includes a brief outline of the events leading up to the killings.

The second resource is the PBS documentary- Jonestown – The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. I have quoted this resource is times past. If you purchase the DVD from PBS, you will have access to additional survivor stories which are not included on this video. (The subjects discussed may not be suitable for small children.)

Crazed cult leaders have been in our societies for generations. The problem is not only in America, but is present in other countries across the world. We will share more on this tragedy in future posts. For today, we stop to remember a horrific event which took the lives of so many.

Continue reading Reflections on Jonestown- November 18, 1978 →

Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

Grace Stoen: “what would be very shocking…became very common place…” (videos)

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Over the last few years, I have talked to different survivors from Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The first reports I heard which contained information about physical abuse and beatings were a surprise to me. During my time there, I was never physically abused myself. Now, I was screamed at by Jane Whaley and other leadership, I was publically called out for infractions of unwritten rules. I was shunned by family and friends; I had times of segregation from others in the group. I saw others held down during prayer circles and a few corralled by a group of members and kept from running away after they made it outside. I overheard hard spankings by parents of children. But, adults abusing other adults by physically slapping, punching, kicking and beating- I never saw personally at WOFF. When I first heard the stories, I wanted to ignore and not believe it. Then I realized that that tendency is what kept me inside that group so long in the first place! We must tell the truth and face the ugly facts about life inside WOFF!

Now, the list of survivors telling stories of abuse is growing and the abuses seem to be worsening. We have previously exposed some of the details on this blog. Also recently, I viewed a documentary on Youtube® about survivors of Peoples Temple. It was done in 1979 by NBC, Inc. I cannot be sure if the entire documentary has been posted. I found three parts and will include them in this post. There was one survivor that explained two very important characteristics of Peoples Temple which have occurred at WOFF. In this post we will share those insights which I believe help explain why things evolved as they have at WOFF.

Continue reading Grace Stoen: “what would be very shocking…became very common place…” (videos) →

Books, Resources, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

Peoples Temple and Moore

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Mass Suicide of Peoples Temple Cult at Jonestown Turns 35- The Christian Post

The Christian Post reporter, Michael Gryboski posted this article on November 19, 2013 at 3:17PM. The link to the entire article is found here. There is more insight into Peoples Temple that is worth sharing in this article. He features the reflections and insights of Rebecca Moore. Ms. Moore is a Professor of Religion at San Diego State University and site manager for the Jonestown Institute. She is also a survivor who lost relatives at Jonestown. Ms. Moore has written extensively about Peoples Temple and Jim Jones. I found an article here where she was being honored for her work.

Mr. Gryboski begins with a brief overview of the events and then begins quoting Ms. Moore. I will take a few of her comments and make comparisons to my experience at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF).  It is not my intent to reprint the entire article. Please, take time and enjoy it in its entirety.

From the article: Moore also told CP that it was “difficult to say what the legacy of Jonestown is,” as many messages could be taken from the tragic events.

“Certainly some people view it as symbolic of the danger of cults and new religions. I think it is evidence of the ability of good people to be led astray by their own aspirations to be good,” said Moore.

“It is painful to say this, but the victims were also the perpetrators in Jonestown. Jim Jones did not administer the physical abuse, the punishments, the tortures: it was the residents themselves who believed the rhetoric that they repeated, and thus perpetrated abuses on each other.”

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Books, Resources, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized, WOFF Updates

“People must learn to obey their spiritual leaders.” Jim Jones

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November 18, 2013- 35 years ago today People Temple came to horrific end. The images of over 900 dead bodies bloated and rotting in the jungle were gruesome and unbelievable to say the least. Yes, lessons should have been learned in order to keep the same methods of control used by Jim Jones out of our society today. Like so many others in this country, I did not go beyond the images and learn the dangerous control dynamics used by Jones to bring that many people to a place of destruction. I had no inkling that one day my life would be turned upside down by many of the same mind control techniques used by Jim Jones. That understanding would not begin until after I left Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in July of 2008. In this post, we will continue to explore the similarities I see between Jim Jones and Jane Whaley – leader of Word of Faith Fellowship.

As a resource text, we will use some excerpts from the work by Tim Reiterman- “Raven”. Reiterman co-authored with John Jacobs (copyright ©1982 Tim Reiterman, Introduction copyright 2008 by Tim Reiterman, ISBN 978-1-58542-678-2); the authors tell “The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People”. “Tim Reiterman is a prizewinning journalist who extensively covered Jonestown for the San Francisco Examiner. He was wounded in the jungle airstrip attack that killed a U.S. Congressman, plus three reporters, and a Peoples Temple defector.” (from the back cover)   We stopped at page 94 in our last post from this book. Let us pick up the drama….

Jim Jones moved many of his followers from Indiana to California in the summer of 1965. “The world conflagration would come July 15, 1967, he said, and only those in nuclear safe zones would be spared in that terrible blast and fallout.” (page 94-95) The Case family had known Jim Jones for years and had been in leadership in his church for a time. They also helped him become a part of the Disciples of Christ denomination. (page 67)  The Case family did not move into the safe zone as Jones directed. This family moved further south. There was tension between Mr. Case and Jones which Jones tried to overcome.

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

35 Years Later, Jim Jones Cult Leaves Lessons for Believers – Charisma News

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Wow! This part of the Charisma® group got one right! A Google Alert® brought the notice of this article to my inbox Friday evening. The article was written by A. James Rudin/RNS and was posted on the “Opinion” page at 8:00AM EST 11/15/2013. The link for the entire article is here. I am unfamiliar with the author but at the end there is information about one his other works –  “A. James Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the co-author with Marcia Rudin of “Prison or Paradise: The New Religious Cults.” That book sounds interesting.

Recently, I mentioned to a blog reader that I planned to do a post about Jonestown and sent links to two previous posts from a few years ago. They said to be sure and include the links for others to read. We have made comparisons between Jim Jones and Jane Whaley before and we will again as we review further the material in “Raven” by Tim Reiterman with John Jacobs (copyright ©1982 Tim Reiterman, Introduction copyright 2008 by Tim Reiterman, ISBN 978-1-58542-678-2); the authors tell “The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People”. For now I will include the two links and then continue the review of this article.

More From “The Raven”      and              More From The “Raven” (2)

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Books, Resources, Peoples Temple vs WOFF, Uncategorized

“The Art of Remembering” – Charisma Magazine® (3)

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Are you aware of “scandals”? Then what shall we do…?

Our last post explored an article in Charisma Magazine® about Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) and their Holocaust Museum display. It was dated October 1, 2013 and can be found here. The article was written by Marcus Yoars. Here is the contact information for Mr. Yoars: marcus.yoars@charismamedia.com main tel:407.333.0600

A few blog readers have replied to me with copies of emails sent to Mr. Yoars. Also, several comments were placed in response to the article. This post will review a response written by Mr. Yoars to a blog reader. A blog reader wrote this to Mr. Yoars:

After reading your well intended article, I realized you do not know the truth behind the walls of WOFF. As a victim/survivor, I am here to tell you that what you are seeing is a well orchestrated façade. I am not bitter, just thankful I survived.  However, I do want people to know the truth about what seems to be a loving, caring, God centered fellowship. My story is one of many. These people are not what they portray themselves as. They lie, cheat, steal and destroy the families, marriages etc. of those who do not accept Jane Whaley as their almighty. I know, I WAS one. Thank you for taking the time to consider my email.

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Books, Resources, Criteria for Cults, Uncategorized

Could You Be a Cult Member?

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    The question is not for the present, but for looking into future. Could you be involved at some point in the future, in a controlling religious cult? Could you be considered as a “regular member”? I am not asking if you could be a cult leader. That question is for another post. Could you tell when the people around you that you love and trust are beginning to take your freedoms away? At what point would you know that what started out as benign and maybe even beneficial had morphed into a controlling environment? Are you so sure?

     My experience is one that has taken me to, into and through years of a group that began as what I considered as beneficial and by no means harmful. Did I miss the changes and the signs of control? Apparently, I did. Was I susceptible before I even came into the church in Greenville, SC known first as Grace and Truth Fellowship and then Word of Life Church? That is not a question I am able to answer here, but possibly in another post. For this post, we will review several statements from those involved with cult groups on some level. After all, cult survivors should be able to give at least some insight into how they were taken into a cult group, right?

      Continue reading Could You Be a Cult Member? →