God of Grace

Anti-intellectual behavior was behavior generated automatically, without thought. Burning witches in the Middle Ages and German Nazism were both anti-intellectual acts.

It was an undercurrent flowing through social life, often exploited by others. Jim Jones, the leader and founder of the People's Temple, had initially been an outstanding young man of both character and learning. He worked at a local church, devoted himself to helping the poor, and opposed racial discrimination. In America, where racial discrimination was rampant at the time, he was instead subjected to rejection and exclusion.

In 1953, Jones appointed himself a pastor, built his own church, and preached his doctrine. At the same time, he did many charitable deeds, such as setting up free cafeterias, opening day-care centers, and establishing clinics for the elderly. His fame and influence steadily grew, and he gradually gained many loyal followers. At the beginning, Jones and his group could still be considered a fairly positive and progressive church organization.

But later, Jones began claiming to be the incarnation of God. At his peak, he had several thousand believers, and even the governor of California became his close friend for the sake of votes.

However, while the People's Temple was rapidly expanding, many scandals concerning Jones emerged. He deprived believers of their property, fabricated miracles of curing believers, abused private punishments against them, and assaulted female followers. This put Jones under tremendous pressure. Feeling that America was no longer suitable for his development, he led roughly a thousand followers out of America in 1977 and relocated to Guyana in South America.

Jones promised his followers that Jonestown would be a paradise, forever free from the evil of the outside world. Yet in reality, his followers lived there in isolation, poverty, confinement, and surveillance. Jones formed a private armed force and strictly