Salvation and suicide : Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown / David Chidester.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chidester, David.

Series:

Religion in North America

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Peoples Temple.

Jones, Jim, 1931-1978.

Jones, Jim.

Physical Description:

xxviii, 190 pages ; 24 cm.

Edition:

Revised edition.

Place of Publication:

Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press, [2003]

Summary:

Praise for the first edition: "[This] ambitious andcourageous book [is a] benchmark of theology by which questions about the meaningfulhistory of the Peoples Temple may be measured." -- Journal of the AmericanAcademy of Religion -- Re-issued in recognition of the 25thanniversary of the mass suicides at Jonestown, this revised edition of DavidChidester's pathbreaking book features a new prologue that considers the meaning ofthe tragedy for a post-Waco, post-9/11 world. For Chidester, Jonestown recalls theAmerican religious commitment to redemptive sacrifice, which for Jim Jones meantsaving his followers from the evils of capitalist society. "Jonestown isancient history," writes Chidester, but it does provide us with an opportunity"to reflect upon the strangeness of familiar... promises of redemption throughsacrifice."

Contents:

Introduction: Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown

Perspectives on an event

The classification of persons

Orientation in space

Orientation in time

Salvation and suicide.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

025321632X

OCLC:

51983502