1. Discuss how the Peoples' Temple movement can be understood as an apocalyptic movement. What type of millenarian vision(s) did Jim Jones and his followers subscribe to?
The People’s Temple movement can be understood as an apocalyptic movement because of their millenarian visions. The first vision that is understood through the People’s Temple is postmillennial movement. Postmillennialism is best understood as the belief through human progress the world will slowly get better (Wojcik, 1997, p. 34). The world will slowly become perfect and Jesus will return after. However, People’s Temple do not believe in God or any higher power. As Jim Jones states, he can be your brother, neighbor, and God if it so pleases you. The People’s Temple was a
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Premillennialism is progress is seen as negative. The end will come and there isn’t anything anyone can do. When societal pressure gets heated things turn from hopeful to dark. This pressure can be explained in the Dramatic Denouement model. This model explains the different stages of tension. One first starts out at latient tension which is recognizing the tension. The latient tension is not violent. The next stage is nascant conflict. This stage is confrontational. It’s something to be watched because it’s concluded as being troublesome. The third stage is intensified conflict. Intensified conflict is a major conflict. It has to deal with a third party and a countermovement. It's recognized as dangerous and intense opposition. The final stage is dramatic denouement. It's the end. The People’s Temple went through and committed the final stage. The poison was their final act. Jim Jones determined their judgement. Everyone except a few survivors, died. Jim Jones died not from poison, but from a suicidal act with a gun. The group died for their cause and there wasn’t anything that was going to stop them because it was going to happen. It was the only way to escape the negative view of American