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The Slaughter of God
Theologies from Jonestown
Jeff Hood
The Slaughter of God
Copyright © 2016 Jeff Hood. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-3386-7
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Manufactured in the U.S.A. January 25, 2018
For The Slaughtered
Preface
In the midst of great evil, God is never lost. I have long wondered how Jonestown fits into the continual presence of God. In the 1970s, Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple founded a settlement in the jungles of Guyana. After a few years of communal living, Jones led his followers to commit a mass suicide/murder that left over 900 people dead. The last words the community ever heard were recorded. Jones’ words are beyond disturbing. Evil resonates with every syllable. Even in the midst of the terror, I refused to believe that God was absent. Knowing that God is found in times of death, I’ve decided to seek the divine in the last words Jonestown ever heard. In these words of death, may there be something for us. This is not about Jim Jones. This is a search for God.
I was 12.
Everyone was asleep. The darkness ushered in all sorts of fears. Every so often, I heard something. Maybe I didn’t? Was it the end or just the beginning? I wondered what was behind that old wooden wall. The documentary filled my eyes. I couldn’t turn away. The people sang and danced with no idea of what was coming. Did I see something in the window? Was someone whispering? The shots rang out. Body after body collapsed. Blood poured onto the runway. Could I watch the rest? I was starting to think that I’d already watched more than I could handle.
Despite my fears, I simply couldn’t turn away. I could feel the weight increasing on my chest. Then, Jim Jones started to speak. Extolling the virtues of suicide, Jones convinced the community to die. I could hear the cries. I could see the vat. I could feel body after body collapsing. I’ve experienced it over and over. The documentary ended with images of bodies strewn throughout Jonestown. Death reigned. Something tapped against the window. I jumped. It was only a bug. For weeks, I tried to think about something else. I couldn’t. I was stuck. In the almost 20 years since, I’ve never been able to leave. Jonestown is a part of me and I’m a part of Jonestown.
As death approached, God was there. I’m convinced of it. How could God not have been? People were dying. People were in pain. People were scared. These are the spaces where God lives. No matter how deadly, God was there. No matter how painful, God was there. No matter how scary, God was there. In fact, the God that was in Jonestown is more God than God. In this book, I have set out to know the Jonestown God. In my journey, the immortal prophets of Jonestown have guided me. Step by step, they walked me through the redemption process. When we arrived at the settlement, the bodies gave me salvation. I touched them and they touched me. I am forever changed. The Jonestown God is still speaking. Open your heart and you will hear them too.
In Jonestown, no public meeting went unrecorded. So, when the community gathered to die . . . the recorder was there. The last tape was it’s finest. In the midst of the chaos, the recorder didn’t flinch. No word was missed. The “Death Tape” was the result. This work is based on the FBI’s transcription, Q042. Join me, as I search for God in the words of the recorder.
Jeff Hood
May 9, 2017
The Beginning
Jim Jones: I have loved you . . .
Tried
“ . . . how very much I’ve tried my best to give you the good life.”
—Jim Jones
I’ve heard this type of language my whole life. Such assurances are about the speaker not the hearer. Those who utter such words do so in order to gain control. They expect a certain response. The good life is lived not given. I can’t imagine God ever using Jones’ words. Love is a choice not a demand. The people of Jonestown moved to Guyana in search of something more. When the dreams became a nightmare, Jones wanted to feel the control one last time. The people were just desperate for life. So are we.
Amen.
Lies
“In spite of all that I’ve tried, a handful of our people, with their lies, have made our lives impossible.”
—Jim Jones
The quickest way to control people is to create a common enemy. Once fear of impending consequences is established, people will do whatever they’re told. There is no clearer modern example of this than Jonestown. In the midst of a manufactured paranoia, Jim Jones led the community to death. The people followed because they didn’t believe they had a choice. They believed life was impossible. It wasn’t. God has never been about impossible. Neither should we be.
Amen.
Jim Jones: There’s no way to detach ourselves from what’s happened today. Not only–We’re in a compound situation, not only are there those who have left and committed the betrayal of the century, some have stolen children from others and then seek right now to kill them because they stole their children, and we are sitting here waiting on a powder keg. I don’t think it is what we want to do with our babies. I don’t think that’s what we had in mind to do with our babies. It was said by the greatest of prophets, from time immemorial . . .
Lay
“No man may take my life from me; I lay my life down.”
—Jim Jones
In a paraphrase of John 10:18, Jim Jones uses the words of Jesus to try to convince the community of the virtues of suicide. The problem with such a connection is that Jesus laid down his life for others. Jones was seeking to convince people to lay down their lives for/with him. While he doesn’t explicitly say this, Jones knew that his days were numbered due to a variety of health issues and he didn’t want to die alone. I believe that Jones’ fear is what caused the entire tragedy. He was out of control. When Jesus said these words, he was in control. If we are to give our lives, we must have our lives to give. Jesus gave what he had. Jones didn’t. He was trying to take life. The tragedy of Jonestown is that the people had already given their lives away. When the suicide came, there was nothing left. There
