The tell-tale signs of a cult are these:
- Loss of personal agency
- Loss of contact with the outside world
- Hostility to contrary opinions
- Loyalty without question, particularly to the leader
- Indulgence in vices, especially sex or drugs
- Strong inducements to not leave the cult, including threats of harm and social isolation
- Unorthodox doctrine (if a religious cult)
There are others, I'm sure. But these are what I observed while reading Jeff Guin's book, The Road to Jonestown, about the Peoples Temple, infamous for its mass suicide by drinking Kool-Aid laced with cyanide. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to anyone, for it's not a pleasant read. But it does its job well, which is to inform the reader about its subject.
My interest in the Jonestown massacre lies in the events leading up to it. I want to know how people can be led down such a dark path as to even contemplate killing themselves and their children. I don't believe all or even most of Jim Jones's followers were insane. I believe they were seduced by a fine-sounding argument, and the descent into madness was the slow working out of that argument to its logical conclusion. Without a firm grasp of elemental truths, we all are susceptible to repeating false arguments. You see evidence of that today, when otherwise well-adjusted people spew inanities as rote.
Peoples Temple started as an ostensibly Christian church. Jim Jones paid lip service to the God of the Bible, but the social mission was always priority one. In a way, Jim Jones lived the Gospel. He cared for the old and the sick, fed and clothed the poor, and rehabilitated criminals and drug addicts. He preached equality and fairness.
Does this sound good to you? If it does, it's because the attractiveness of heresy is its proximity to truth. Jones gathered a fiercely loyal following because he had the appearance of "walking the walk." He put himself last by serving members' needs.
There were red flags that should have (and did) turn away orthodox Christians who were nonetheless impressed by Jones's works. He staged healings with chicken offal pretending as removed tumors. He instituted corporal punishment of adult members for backsliding. He kept a harem of female Temple members, by whom he fathered two children. He claimed to be reincarnations of famous world figures. He openly mocked God.
In the later years, the details of a week in the life of a Temple member beggar belief. They highlight the concessions to good conscience Temple members made. Not everyone who was a Temple member believed in God; they were drawn to the Temple because of its socialist mission. The contradiction of atheist socialists and nominal Christians worshiping together worked by sheer force of Jones's will. It was common during Jones's extended absences for attendance and offerings to drop off a cliff.
Because of Jones, "drinking the Kool-Aid" entered common parlance as a euphemism for following a deranged cult leader. You could broaden the term to mean the uncritical acceptance of a deadly epistemological error. When faced with contradictory evidence, the cult gives its members coping mechanisms to rationalize the error.
One effective coping mechanism is the necessity of belonging. No one likes to be left outside while everyone he knows is inside. Another is a sense of inevitability. If the error is enforced by powerful people, resistance can seem futile.
Don't be fooled by princes and principalities. They are no rival to the one true God:
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
As always, let me know what you think in the comments. If you like sci-fi, check out my books Seeds of Calamity and Tendrils to the Moon. You can find extended previews for each here and here.
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