November 18, 1978 it all ended. Jim Jones and his followers committed mass suicide in Guyana, South America. The history of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple is still studied a great deal today. Why did all those people follow Jones? Were they forced, were they brain washed, or was Jones just that charismatic. In this paper we will probe deep into Jonestown and answer some of these questions. We will be using Max Webber’s article “The Prophet” find out if Jones was a prophet, if so what kind of prophet was he. We will also compare and contrast Webber’s theories of charismatic leadership at an attempt to understand Jim’s activities, successes, and failures.Jones started off in Indiana a branch of the Methodist Church. Jones separated from the church because the Methodist church did not want to allow integration of blacks and whites. When Jones finally separated from the church and started his own church called the peoples temple. Here everyone was welcome. Jones believed that it was his ethical duty to integrate the church they way that God wanted it. He demanded obedience as his ethical duty. Because of these things Jones was an ethical prophet when he resided in Indiana.When Jones discovered that his church had more growth potential in California where the black population was much larger. They packed up the church and headed to California. Here is where Jones took more of an aggressive approach to recruitment of people. He also developed a stronger power fixation and would do anything for a larger congregation. Jones had fixed healings to make him look god-like and to have ultimate power. Jones also convinced his wife that it was acceptable for him to have multiple sexual partners while others were not. In California Jones appeared to be out primarily for his own self interest not the church. Because of this Jones shifts from an ethical prophet to an exemplary prophet.After the subversive tact...
