Jones was originally ordained as a "local" minister in the "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" denomination which at the time allowed for local congregations to ordain their own local pastor. However, ordinations conducted locally without overall denominational endorsement were not considered valid throughout the entire denomination. So Jones was basically a lone pastor with a warped sense of theology who eventually blended many supposedly Christian ideas with his own version of liberation theology. The result was one of the most infamous cults in modern history. | Jones was originally ordained as a "local" minister in the "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" denomination which at the time allowed for local congregations to ordain their own local pastor. However, ordinations conducted locally without overall denominational endorsement were not considered valid throughout the entire denomination. So Jones was basically a lone pastor with a warped sense of theology who eventually blended many supposedly Christian ideas with his own version of liberation theology. The result was one of the most infamous cults in modern history. |