Pastor Plans to Re-establish Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ

[Cleopatra7]

A pastor associated with the Disciples of Christ, the denomination Jim Jones was associated with, plans to resurrect People’s Temple in the 39th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre:

http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=70319

Basically, he wants to continue the good things the Temple did (eg anti-racist activism, helping the poor and marginalized) but without all of the internal pathologies that led to the horror of November 18, 1978. The new People’s Temple will also be rooted in traditional Christianity, and not the quasi-communist personality cult the original had devolved to by the time of the move to Guyana. I don’t know how successful he’ll be, but we definitely need some people working for justice in this country. With everything that has happened politically in this country over the past year, I’m really understanding why so many black people and progressive whites thought going to Jonestown would be a solution to their problems.

[Cheetah]

Interesting, but it seems like a really flawed plan to piggyback on the original Peoples Temple.  He could have taken a lot of the original ideals but changed the name and gone out of his way to show where he got them from.  

I'm sure a year from now there will be all sorts of 40th anniversary documentaries, etc.

[barnacles]

1 hour ago, Cheetah said:

Interesting, but it seems like a really flawed plan to piggyback on the original Peoples Temple.  He could have taken a lot of the original ideals but changed the name and gone out of his way to show where he got them from.  

I'm sure a year from now there will be all sorts of 40th anniversary documentaries, etc.

The cynic in me is wondering if this isn't exactly why he picked the name in the first place.  It will be getting lots of attention soon, plus good SEO.  

[GeoBQn]

I read The Road to Jonestown this year.  It was interesting to read about the good work they were doing in Indianapolis, before they moved out to California and Jones' megalomania began to go off the rails.  It made me wonder what good the group could have done if they hadn't gone in that tragic direction, but ultimately they were a house built on a rotten foundation.  Had I lived at the time (and not been Jewish), I could imagine myself as the kind of person who would have been lured in by them.

But yes, it's a fantastically terrible idea to create a group with the same name, to coincide with the anniversary.  Just create an entirely new group that has no association.