Christian Cults and Violence: Modern America
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No account of Christian violence in America would be complete without including some of the acts perpetrated by small groups usually known as "cults." I deplore stereotyping of cults - something which is perhaps most common among Christian apologists. But although "cults" are no more likely to be violent or neurotic than traditional religions, the fact remains that some very famous and very public incidents of violence have occurred with so-called cults.
Although some Christians try to argue that these groups are not "real" Christians, such arguments quickly fall flat. There is little reason to believe that such groups are any less "Christian" than traditional churches - unless, of course, you assume the "truth" of some particular brand of Christianity, which would not be reasonable or responsible.
In 1992, Yahweh ben Yahweh and six leaders of his Temple of Love church in Florida were convicted of murdering 14 church defectors and other critics. In this puritanical, Old Testament-style church of maybe 10,000 people, Yahweh taught that people would have to kill a white person in order to become part of his "inner circle." Lieutenants became his "death angles" who were ordered to kill church defectors and slum residents who dared to oppose the church's efforts to buy community property.
One of the most famous is surely the death of more than 900 members of the People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. Popular with political figures like Jerry Brown and even Jane Fonda, People's Temple leader Jim Jones proclaimed himself a prophet of God in the Christian tradition and performed miracles like healing cancers to prove it. Former members reported strange happenings like odd sexual activity, child abuse and the fact adults had to turn over all assets and income to the church (effectively cutting them off from leaving the group - a common tactic of the worse cults one might find).
In 1978 Rep. Leo Ryan of California went to the compound in Guyana with aides and relatives of some church members who they claimed wanted to leave, but weren't allowed to. Although the trip began well enough, on the second day a TV cameraman received a note begging for help to escape and a man with a knife attacked Ryan. When the visitors decided to return to America, sixteen church members decided to accompany them home.
Upon boarding the plane, one of the defectors revealed himself as a stooge planted by Jones by pulling out a gun and shooting into the group. He was quickly joined by three more armed men, and they managed to wound Ryan, two NBC reporters, a San Francisco Examiner reporter and one female defector. Of these, four were then executed with point-blank shots to the head while the female defector died from her injuries. The others were left unhurt or fled into the jungle.
Meanwhile, back at the compound, Jones announced the execution of Ryan and his party. He then informed everyone that it was time for them to "meet in another place" - the rumored suicide drills were about to be put to good use. Cyanide was mixed with fruit drink by the church's doctor and two nurses as the colonists lined up for their portion.
Mothers fed the mixture to their own infants - nearly 300 children died that day out of the 914 bodies found. Some managed to slip into the woods unseen by the armed guards patrolling the perimeter, else we wouldn't know this much. On the same day, a female leader of the church's Georgetown, Guyana headquarters had her and her three children's throats cut. More than a year later, Al and Jeannie Mills (who had lead the attempts to expose Jones' group) were killed execution-style along with their 15-year-old daughter.
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