Protestant Reformers & Pastors Codexery

Jim Jones

American cult leader who led over 900 to their deaths.

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Jim Jones

via Wikipedia: Jim Jones · see source

James Thurman Jones and Lynetta Putnam were the parents of Jim Jones, who was born on May 13, 1931, in Crete, Indiana.[1]

Life and work

Jones's father was a disabled World War I veteran whose illness caused financial hardship and marital problems.[1][2] He became obsessed with religion, holding mock funerals for roadkill and claiming he could fly.[3][4] Jones earned a degree in secondary education from Butler University in 1961.[5] He began his ministry as a Methodist student pastor in Indianapolis in June 1952.[6]

Jones served as director of the Indianapolis human rights commission in 1960.[7] Female residents of Lynn provided Jones with food and clothing, and he frequently roamed the streets during his childhood.[8] With the goal of becoming a doctor, Jones enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington in 1948, but he quickly altered his plans.[9] Jones was ordained by the Disciples of Christ in 1964, having previously joined that denomination.[10][11]

What the cited sources add

Collins also reports that Jones created a business entity called Wings of Deliverance, Incorporated, on April 4, 1955.[12] The "Message Connection" article states that William Branham initiated Jones into mainstream post-World War II healing campaigns at the Cadle Tabernacle in 1956.[13] Knoll also states that Jones operated Jonestown as a personal police state with public beatings and death threats.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rolls 2014, p. 100; Hall 1987, p. 3; Reiterman Jacobs 1982, p. 9–10; Kilduff 1978, p. 10; Kilduff 1978, p. 10; Guinn 2017, p. 10; Guinn 2017, p. 10; Guinn 2017, p. 10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guinn 2017, p. 10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple", PBS American Experience, 2007; Guinn 2017, p. 10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guinn 2017, p. 10; Guinn 2017, p. 10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Knoll, James, "Mass Suicide & the Jonestown Tragedy: Literature Summary", Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple, 2017; Wessinger 2000, p. 32 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Ordination Service of Jim Jones into Disciples of Christ", San Diego State University, February 17, 2013. facts only, no text reused. jonestown.sdsu.edu
  7. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Reiterman Jacobs 1982, p. 9–10; Reiterman Jacobs 1982, p. 9–10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guinn 2017, p. 10; Guinn 2017, p. 10; Guinn 2017, p. 10; Reiterman Jacobs 1982, p. 9–10; Guinn 2017, p. 10 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guinn 2017, p. 10; Reiterman Jacobs 1982, p. 9–10; "Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple", PBS American Experience, 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chidester 2004, p. 2; Chidester 2004, p. 2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Jim Jones" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chidester 2004, p. 2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Collins, John, "The 'Full Gospel' Origins of Peoples Temple", Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple, September 19, 2019. facts only, no text reused. jonestown.sdsu.edu
  13. "The Message Connection of Jim Jones and William Branham", Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple, October 31, 2015. facts only, no text reused. jonestown.sdsu.edu
  14. Knoll, James, "Mass Suicide & the Jonestown Tragedy: Literature Summary", Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple, 2017. facts only, no text reused. jonestown.sdsu.edu

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jim Jones (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year was Jim Jones born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1931.

From the source: “Jim Jones was born on May 13, 1931, in the rural community of Crete, Indiana, to James Thurman Jones (October 21, 1887 – May 29, 1951) and Lynetta Putnam (April 16, 1902 – December 10, 1977).”

2. In which place was Jim Jones born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Crete, Indiana, U.S..

3. In what year did Jim Jones die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1978.

From the source: “James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher, and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrated ”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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