Jim Jones Quotes

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Philosophy 224
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In a small village, deep in the South American jungle of Guyana, two men overlook a massacre of over 900 people. Of these 900 people, about 300 were children. The men stand in silence, but only for a moment, they are philosophers…

HUME: “This is truly astonishing… There is no way that Jim Jones could have been a prophet…”
AQUINAS: “These people killed their children and then themselves because of their faith in Jim Jones. How could someone with no motives of credibility be followed with such devotion? How could this be possible?”
HUME: “I do not understand why they all killed themselves, but I do understand why they could follow him. I am, however, not entirely sure what you mean by Jones having no motives of credibility.”
AQUINAS: “Well you see, there exists three motives of credibility, the ability to perform miracles, the ability to fulfill and make …show more content…

They reached Guyana and Jim Jones had stated that if they did end up leaving the church, it would be a betrayal to him. This should have been a huge red flag if nothing else had worked before this, but it was not. Everyone was just extremely miserable in their lives and wanted a sense of meaning but ended up dead in the jungle instead.”
AQUINAS: “This is why faith and reason are inseparable. You must have reason to think about the five ways and you must have faith to know true motives of credibility.”
HUME: “No, this is why you must not believe anything that is not a definition. You must be skeptic of everything or you may end up just like the People’s Temple.”

About a year after the death of Jim Jones, all of the surviving members of People’s Temple stopped believing in their self-proclaimed prophet. This proves Aquinas’ argument about the organizational resilience of a true prophet because his congregation dwindled to nothing after his

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