Description
Book SynopsisFeatures a prologue that considers the meaning of the tragedy for a post-Waco, post-9/11 world. This book recalls the American religious commitment to redemptive sacrifice, which for Jim Jones meant saving his followers from the evils of capitalist society.
Trade ReviewPraise for the first edition: "[This] ambitious and courageous book...offers an important benchmark of theology by which questions about the meaningful history of the Peoples Temple may be measured." Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Fascinating... Perhaps this book will bring a sense of humanity, and of respect, for the dreams and ambitions of the people who died [at Jonestown]." San Francisco Chronicle "An impressive tour de force." Religious Studies Review
Table of ContentsFOREWORD BY CATHERINE L. ALBANESE AND STEPHEN J. STEIN
PREFACE
Introduction: Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown
I. PERSPECTIVES ON AN EVENT
1. Death and Rituals of Exclusion and Inclusion
2. Cognitive Distancing
3. Religiohistorical Interpretation
II. THE CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONS
1. Superhuman
2. Subhuman
3. Human
III. ORIENTATION IN SPACE
1. Cosmic Space
2. Geographic Space
3. Body Space
IV. ORIENTATION IN TIME
1. Cosmic Time
2. Historical Time
3. Body Time
V. SALVATION AND SUICIDE
1. Religious Suicide
2. White Nights
3. The End
Epilogue
NOTES
INDEX
