Inside Jonestown The tragedy that occurred in Jonestown in 1978 may seem impossible to happen today but when many of the things that happened prior to massacre are looked at, it begins to seem plausible. The Peoples Temple had beginnings that were fairly similar to that of the early Catholic Church. It had common factors that would even appeal to people now. However, it ultimately proved to take a turn for the worst and head in a much different direction than the Catholic Church. One extremely important factor that is important in establishing a church or major organization such as the People’s Temple and the Catholic Church is a strong leader. In the early Catholic Church these leaders were the apostles, especially Peter, and in the People’s Temple it was Jim Jones. They were both very persuasive and passionate about what they believed, which they showed through preaching. However, the positions of these leaders and how they thought of themselves is very different. The Apostles saw themselves as servants of God and Jesus, which can be seen in in Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians when he states “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God……We who know Christ should view ourselves as His servants and our aim should be to be faithful …show more content…
Both arrived at a time where they offered a unique solution, for a common problem of most people. The Catholic Church arrived when there was a great deal of physical suffering by many people, so they offered a spiritual healing to help. The People’s Temple came into being when many thought that the world wasn’t being run right, so it offered a spiritual community that would run itself. However, in the early time of the Catholic Church it was more difficult to have a new faith and beliefs. Many of the early believers of Christianity such as Saint Stephen were persecuted and killed for their