Episode 14 Evangelical Profit

I believe in Jim Jones. Many of you have seen the photograph. An elderly woman dressed in her Sunday best with a resolute, if not revolutionary sparkle in her eye. But what did Jim Jones believe? Jim Jones, the pied piper of lies, will forever be remembered as the self-proclaimed prophet who led his flock to the slaughter. Traditional Churches immediately distanced themselves from the Peoples Temple Christian church after the tragedy in Jonestown claiming that Jim Jones only used religion to introduce people to socialism. To assume that whatever the temple believed cannot be found in the Bible might seem reasonable, even comforting. Surely the foundation of a communist suicide cult could only grow outside of traditional religions and on foreign soil. But this assumption is wrong. Join us as we examine Jim Jones beliefs and his adventures with the Holy Ghost. This is a deep dive into the early religious influences and theological evolution of Jim Jones, tracing the roots of his god complex and examining how American evangelical traditions, Pentecostalism, and the prosperity gospel helped shape the Peoples Temple. Drawing from interviews, archival sermons, and historical context, the episode offers a nuanced portrait of Jones as both a product and manipulator of American religious fervor.

Om Podcasten

On November 18, 1978, in Jonestown, Guyana, over 900 people died in one of the largest mass murder-suicides in modern history. Locked deep within an FBI vault, the audio tapes documenting the rise and fall of Peoples Temple were sealed away until they were finally made public more than 20 years later. From Jim Jones’ shadowy beginnings as a faith healer to the final, tragic night when his devoted followers drank cyanide laced Flavor Aid, Transmissions from Jonestown pieces together the story of a movement that spiraled into catastrophe. Transmissions from Jonestown is a true crime podcast and investigative audio documentary that exposes the untold story of Peoples Temple and the Jonestown tragedy using rare archival recordings, interviews with survivors, and original research. More than the story of a cult, this is an important chapter of American history that challenges everything we thought we knew about power, belief, and the cost of blind devotion.