A Rhetorical and Persuasive Analysis of Jim Jones’ Sermon in Georgetown

Rhetoric in persuasion weaves throughout the numerous political speeches, educational lectures, and church sermons in the history of various civilizations of the world. Through these types of influential and persuasive rhetoric, individuals or groups of people involved feel compelled to alter their beliefs, values, or attitudes. Along with substantial and significant actions influenced by rhetoric, the most minor human acts involve persuasion of some sort. For example, imagine a group of young friends spending time together in a city. Another group of young people head to a nearby party, and this simple act quickly influences the former cluster. The second group yells and jumps toward an entrance with excitement, and the former group of friends decides to follow the latter cluster based on the thrilling actions. That simple act of persuasion spurred movement towards an alternative destination. This exemplifies the power of pure persuasion on others through the most minimal decisions in humans’ lives. Because rhetorical persuasion influences the most minute aspects of an action, it is imperative that all acts of persuasive discourse, minor or major, should be studied thoroughly and intensely. One of the most riveting acts of rhetoric in persuasion in the history of the world is found in cults.

These organizations are fueled by persuasive tactics of the leaders and complete cooperation of the members within. For example, the prominent cult leader, Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple, purely exemplifies a cult leader who created a false utopian society made up of hundreds of people established through pure persuasive discourse in his religious sermons. Jones, a preacher from small-town Indiana, possessed gifts of compelling people to act in specific ways. He used these gifts to create a monumental congregation of a diverse spectrum of people. Jones began the road to ministry in 1952 when the culture during that specific time discouraged integration and the inclusion of many unwanted groups of people. Jones strived for a multi-colored congregation and sought to prove this through adopting eight children, who were mostly non-white. Known for his fiery sermons and convincing religious healings, Jones coerced hundreds of people to join him in California and then in Guyana, South America and perfected self-persuasion and coactive enterprise among all members of his audiences. He sought to create an inclusive, utopian community that quickly turned into mute slaves forced to remain under an insane and controlling leader. Through his persuasive actions and sermons, he convinced, or more likely forced, his new society to produce one of the largest mass suicides in history. Because of these phenomenal persuasive acts, it is imperative that his riveting sermons be thoroughly analyzed based on the rhetorical appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos. His sermon to the Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown, Connecticut encompassed only a small sample of the unique and unbelievable occurrences in one of Jones’ sermons. While the logical and emotional appeals hold significance in this analysis, the unrelenting credibility of Jim Jones will capture the spotlight for a majority of this analysis.

In the sermon, Jones briefly used logic to appeal to his congregation in Georgetown. Through these logical appeals, they not only provided facts for the congregation, but they aided in Jones’ credibility as a preacher and religious leader throughout his life. Towards the beginning of his presentation, he mentioned basic facts about the declining religious state of America. He included references to false power of religious leaders, the “clergy living far above the standards of their people,” and the issue of institutional religion ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). This not only provided outside evidence of issues needing to be solved by true religious leaders, but it also contributed to the overall credibility of Jones throughout his sermon. Since the outside religious world was failing, Jones showed that he held the answer and the solution to mend the religious state of America. Next, he moved on to more logical appeals in his sermon to discuss the participation of certain prominent political figures in his church ministry. He explained that President Lyndon Johnson partook in the congregation of Jones’ church. This statement proved that significant and popular figures of extreme power see the work of the Peoples Temple as significant enough to participate, furthering the credibility of Jones’ movement. Finally, he presented some basic advertising of what his people accomplished in their newfound colony of Jonestown in Guyana, South America. He mentioned varying options for occupations of all age groups in their new community and how everyone would succeed if they decided to join his society. Jones created an arc of logic beginning with a larger scope based on outside entities, and he finished with a smaller focus of his accomplishments and the attractiveness of his community. Although Jones’ appeals to logic are few, the little he did mention provided a stronger credibility for his character to minister to his massive groups of people in order to firmly position themselves under his authority for the future acts of the ministry of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple.

Next, Jones offered various emotional appeals in each sermon he preached. In the specific sermon to the Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown, Connecticut, Jones appealed to the emotions of his congregation through emotional language and religious healings, which in turn further increased the credibility of Jim Jones. Jones utilized a significant amount of emotional diction throughout his sermon to Sacred Heart Church. In the first line of the recorded sermon, he commanded individuals in his audience to “give your neighbor an embrace, or a clasp of the hand, and say, God’s love be with you” ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). The placement and timing of this specific line demonstrated the emotion that Jones initially portrayed in the beginnings his sermons. This allowed the audience to spiritually connect with one another and ultimately focus on the words Jim Jones preached. He continued on in the beginning of his sermon with more neighbor interaction and called his congregation members to look at their neighbors and see that they all “are the temples of the Holy Spirit” ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). This chosen diction forged a bond between the individual members of the congregation, which Jones sought after, and it created a sense of belonging between this particular group or community of religious people. Jones also offered various quotes of wisdom throughout his sermon to further prove emotional effectiveness towards his audience members. He presented an animated and excited portion of his sermon when he discussed the hunger and poverty of the world and revealed that the simple solution to these social issues is parallel to the story presented in Acts 2 of the Bible.

On the day of Pentecost, when they were filled with that great ecumenical spirit, when the Holy Ghost descended upon them and they were filled to overflowing, they shared their possessions. No one had to legislate it, no one had to enact laws to cause people to share…but we will…employ our best effort to bring health to you, to encourage you to believe that God is not dead, but still alive ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018).

Jones evoked an excited and passionate presentation of this portion of his sermon, and it caused stirring among the audience because of the emotional language he incorporated into this section of the presentation. This level of animation, expression, and enthusiasm shown during this sermon increased the overall persuasion of the congregational members. Shortly after this passionate demonstration, Jones issued another example of wisdom language and quotations. He demanded that the members of his congregational community must remain unselfish in their pursuits. Jones explained that as followers of religion and Christ, they must deny themselves completely and place their neighbors above themselves because “love and unselfishness is the thing that accomplishes more than anything else ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). Once again, Jones induced a communal bond and clear foundation for his ministry. His congregation clung to the religious and emotional diction he used in his sermons because it reminded them of the inclusion they possessed within the group, as well as the trust they held with Jones as their pastor and religious leader to guide them to a pure life of following Christ.

The largest area of this particular sermon and a majority of his others that incorporated emotional appeals included the riveting religious healings. Through spiritual language and chosen individuals, Jones appealed to his congregation through the healing of wounds, ailments, and bodily issues. In the sermon to the Sacred Heart in Connecticut, he called out individuals and made it appear as if the names of these members were divinely shared and interpreted. In each healing, he would pause and mispronounce someone’s name until he corrected the pronunciation, and then questioned them to assure he has not planted these individuals in the audience to be healed of a false ailment. Throughout this particular sermon, Jones miraculously healed thirteen congregation members. Their injuries ranged from arthritis to bowel issues, and each time he claimed that they were immediately healed upon his word. Each time an individual was about to be healed, Jones asked his congregation to clasp hands and allow “another moment of waiting upon God, that there – if there’s another revelation, that it would come” ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). He included various emotional language to enhance the spiritual healings in order to dramatize and invoke a sense of passion and belief among the participating members. Jones commanded that his audience must have their “hands clasped, please, each of you, like this was your sister, or your brother, or your mother or your daughter” in order to truly heal someone ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018).

He even used more passionate and animated parts of the sermon similar to the initial emotional appeals to discuss these healings and further promote the sense of belief. Jones called out a seemingly random woman by an incorrect name and then her physical home address. He confirmed that he said her information correctly and then divulged into explaining that he knew her true weaknesses and needs of healing. Other members of the audience verbally affirmed these healings throughout the entire sermon, and this furthered Jones’ appeals to the congregation’s emotions. Jones conveyed that his touch and his movements throughout the aisles determined the healings, but the congregational members must understand that their “healing depends upon some kind of mystic belief” ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). This furthered Jones’ ability to appeal to the audience’s spiritual emotions, which in turn, sparked a great sense of reliance and trust the audience placed in Jones that ultimately increased his credibility as a religious pastor and would fuel his journey to become a credible cult leader.

Through Jones’ use of logical and emotional appeals throughout this particular sermon, it fueled his credibility, not only as a religious leader, but as a speaker as well. This sermon exemplified the type of authority that Jones had over his congregation and future cult affiliates. Throughout this particular sermon and many others, his credibility was established through the personal relationship he formed with his members during sermons and the incorporation of biblical scripture to enhance his discourse. It is through the scope of the strategic dimensions of credibility that Jones’ authority can be thoroughly analyzed. In the beginning of this sermon the Sacred Heart Church in Connecticut, Jones offered some personality and humor to his presentation and then used it to enhance his teachings. After he mentioned the false godliness of many religious leaders of the world today, Jones humorously mentioned that he does not feel comfortable in the fancy suit he wore during the sermon. He made a point that his simple and frugal living standard “is not necessarily the standard that everyone must live by,” but Jones mastered his idea ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). He ended his point with a joke about only possessing two pairs of shoes that perfectly matched the number of feet he had, and the audience chuckled ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). This created a pure sense of personal humor Jones established between himself and the congregation. Jones’ goal for his audience and future community members was to forge a sense of unity, inclusion, and completeness. By using personal humor, he forged a relationship and significant bond with each of his audience members by including them in the smallest aspects of his life and how he lived. By establishing this intimate relationship, Jones increased his credibility as a speaker. Also, he frequently attempted to portray his humility to the audience while mentioning the new community’s success in Guyana. He mentioned that the educational opportunities were endless, and there were multiple doctors and other legitimate professions represented at the new community, and he even mentioned a doctor that helped save injured people of the community. This truly portrayed the efforts Jones put forth for the betterment of this community ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). Jones showed the congregation that he was humble in his pursuits, but he accomplished much, and they should feel called to follow him and his teachings. He gave them more insight into his daily life and mentioned how he had been sleeping less in order to accomplish some of the tasks of establishing the new community, which allowed the congregation to relate to Jones on a human level.

The next example Jones established personal relationships with his members was during the spiritual healings. Not only did he appeal to the audience’s emotions and spirituality, but he displayed that he knows the chosen audience members, as well as facts about their ailments, family members, and addresses. This further established the personal relationships between Jones and the healed people. “You’ve come for the need of Margaret…You know you have blood pressure problems…” ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). Phrases similar to these were woven throughout each of Jones’ healings, and it portrayed the intimacy he attempted to maintain with his congregational members. He established that as their pastor, he was available to them and could understand their lives and ultimately, their problems.

Next, Jones incorporated a great deal of biblical scripture into his sermon to the Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown, Connecticut. This not only fueled his religious sermon and original calling or purpose for presenting the sermon, but it also increased his credibility because he used the Bible to enhance his arguments and points. Jones referenced thirty different Bible verses in some phrases of his sermon without always directly citing them. Although he did not always offer the citation of the chosen verse, the spiritual language he used increased his credibility and furthered the believability of his sermon towards his audience. Jones told his congregation “for if God is not manifest in our midst, how are we to believe? Jesus said, these signs shall follow the believer” ("Annotated Transcript Q705" 2018). This is directly from Mark 16:17 of the Bible, but Jones never cited a verse. While he incorporated the biblical references and diction, he rarely used the entire verse or passage. Instead he used the verses or chopped verses to enhance his own thoughts. Jones repeatedly used these verses out of context of the original form they were written in, and because the congregation was so persuaded by the credibility he previously established, they believed him and did not check his preaching. The audience may have believed his words to be his own without realizing that Jones used various Bible verses to thoroughly enrich his own sermon. This showed the credibility that Jones established in his time as a preacher, and it furthered the message of his sermon, and it continued to fuel his ultimate goal of creating a united group of followers devoted to his teachings.

Finally, the strategic dimensions of Jones’ credibility must be analyzed to thoroughly understand the persuasive power he had on hundreds of people. There are four dimensions of established credibility, and Jones fulfilled all of them in many of his sermons, especially in this sermon to the Sacred Heart Church in Connecticut. It is through these four dimensions that Jones thoroughly persuaded the members of congregation to follow him and devote their souls to him. Legitimization is the first strategic dimension, and it can be defined as power that is granted due to position. Jones embodied this dimension thoroughly because he was a religious leader. Most preachers hold this position of power in their congregations because the members will most likely accept him as their spiritual leader and guide to holy living, so trust and credibility is immediately established. The next dimension is mystification, which is the use of special symbols and technical jargon that communicates special authority and expertise to which others should defer. Again, Jones fulfilled this through his occupational authority. Because he was a pastor, the leverage he held over others was adamant, and he enhanced it by issuing various Bible verses throughout his sermons. Obviously, this communicated that he was called by God to deliver these sermons, lead people in faith, and physically and spiritually heal them; therefore, the members of the congregation should entrust their lives in Jones.

The next dimension is the source placebo suggestion, which can be defined as the power of suggestion from others. Simply by witnessing the healings of injured and ailed people of the congregation, other members will feel pressured to immediately believe Jones and his teachings. Because Jones issued scripture in his sermons, and society and the Bible has constructed humans to follow their religious teachers, members of the congregation felt compelled to obey and listen to his commandments. They were told that what the pastor said was truth. They saw others in their congregation healed by a man who was no different than them, other than the fact he was called by God. Because of these reasons, the congregational members felt required to follow him.

The final dimension is authoritarianism, or the tendency to defer to authoritative figures. Since Jim Jones had been divinely called and established as a man of the church, he had authority to issue any kind of request or commandment upon the people of his congregation. His position as a pastor was a perfect opportunity for his members to write off responsibility for their individual lives and walks of faith, and for them to completely trust him for every aspect of their lives. They may have not felt the need to check the news about the outside world because Jones had the true answers from God. His members did not need to worry about working for their salvation because that was what their pastor had been called to do, and so they deferred all issues to Jones. Ultimately, these dimensions that Jones fulfilled were not that different from the credibility that other pastors or religious leaders hold within their congregational community today. However, Jim Jones held a perfect position for his future intentions, goals, and aspirations. He held the position of power, and when he needed something from these members, he would leverage that power over the individuals or the group as a whole. He understood that, and Jones used this position to create a falsely unified community that under the surface was actually a prison holding people captive.

Jim Jones was a passionate and riveting pastor who quickly morphed into an insane and controlling cult leader. It was through the compelling appeals to his audience’s logic and emotions that he established secure credibility that allowed him to fulfill his mission of obtaining hundreds of followers to begin a utopian community in South America. Jones not only issued these rhetorical appeals in his sermons, but he portrayed these acts of persuasion through the aspects of his life. He adopted the diverse group of children in his family to establish the foundation for his ideal community of followers, and he showed the members of the congregation the frugal ways he lived his life in order to personally relate to them. Jones ultimately used his position of power to not only create a congregation but to establish a social movement of integration and inclusion of the most diverse types of people. He knew that by establishing these obscure foundations, he would eventually build an empire of his ideal community of people. It was through his initial rhetorical skills in his sermons and the small persuasive acts in his life that he was able to convince hundreds of people to give up everything, follow him to South America, and commit the largest mass suicide in cult history. Jim Jones’ acts before his death left a severely negative impact on the world, and his persuasive cult tactics should be thoroughly studied to prevent tragedies like this from occurring in the future.

Works Cited

“Annotated Transcript Q705.” Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple, San

Diego State University, 5 Feb. 2018, jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=77990.