Could anyone have been saved at Jonestown

[Yoshua]

It's still the ultimate symbol of mindless religious followers, drinking the poisoned Kool-Aid as directed by their charismatic leader, Jim Jones. And, btw, there were 304 that were 17 years of age and under. Were those that administered it to those minors any less evil than Jones himself? And they didn't even have God tell them to do it, just his "prophet".

My question is, if you found yourself to be watching a similar tragedy, what, specifically, could you say to try and convince at least some of them not to do it? What could be said to get through to any of them? And aren't there equally mentally lethal parallels between that and any "revealed" religion? Is fomenting cognitive surrender/suicide any less evil than its physical equivalent?

Hi Painful,

Absolutely those members were blinded about the true God that Mr. Jones is preaching. For me, I would share the truth of the Word of God, expose and refute the deceptive teachings of their leader. There are a lot of of cult churches and beliefs existing right now. If we will look at their foundation how they started the church, we would notice a founder, a leader who claimed he saw Christ, angel, disciples, a god speaking to him, a chose prophet, a revelation, Holy Spirit etc....They have their own doctrine or teachings that cannot be broken, and could not be questioned. Only the leader/founder has the right to choose and decide what is right for His church. Members should follow and obey their leaders, if not they will disfellowship, blackmailed, and threatened.

Thanks

 

[Yoshua]

Exactly. I guess what we really need to ask is how do we know if our own mind is closed? How do we determine Truth as reasonably as possible? How do we resist surrender to blind faith?

Hi Painful,

By seeking the truth that is coming from God--the Bible. Then if you know already the truth about the Word of God, you will know what is God's and what is not.

Thanks

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Hi Painful,

By seeking the truth that is coming from God--the Bible. Then if you know already the truth about the Word of God, you will know what is God's and what is not.

Thanks

But the Bible, at least the supernatural elements portrayed in it, are hearsay. When a prophet says, "Thus sayeth the Lord", or some writer says "Job was a perfect man", or a mystical legend is repeated, all we know is that it's hearsay, or at least was only intended as allegory (the Garden of Eden),

 

[HekaMa'atRa]

No, I think there's very little that could of been done. These people were brainwashed. And as for a modern "lethal mental parallel" the obvious example that comes to mind is radical Islamic groups. Can these people be reasoned with? I don't believe so. Not unless they take the initiative to educate themselves.