Salvation and Suicide

Praise for the first edition:"e;[This] ambitious and courageous book [is a] benchmark of theology by which questions about the meaningful history of the Peoples Temple may be measured."e; -Journal of the American Academy of ReligionRe-issued in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the mass suicides at Jonestown, this revised edition of David Chidester's pathbreaking book features a new prologue that considers the meaning of the tragedy for a post-Waco, post-9/11 world. For Chidester, Jonestown recalls the American religious commitment to redemptive sacrifice, which for Jim Jones meant saving his followers from the evils of capitalist society. "e;Jonestown is ancient history,"e; writes Chidester, but it does provide us with an opportunity "e;to reflect upon the strangeness of familiar . . . promises of redemption through sacrifice."e;