Rule Number One: Do Not Drink Kool-Aid While in Guyana
If someone can believe their own "lie" the theory goes, they will consequently be better able to persuade others of its "truth”. In humans, awareness of the fact that one is acting deceptively often leads to tell-tale signs of deception. Therefore, if self-deception enables someone to believe their distortions, they will not present such signs of deception and will therefore appear to be telling the truth.
The People’s Temple, a cult founded in 1955 is one of the more gruesome cults to use this ability. The church was initially incorporated as the Wings of Deliverance in 1954. In 1960 the organization affiliated itself with the Protestant denomination, Disciples of Christ. This affiliation was a successful attempt to both raise the dwindling membership and restore the reputation of the group. The membership within the church increased rapidly from about 700 people to about 2,200, all in the name of Jim Warren Jones, also......

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Title: Collective Self Deception
Approximate Word Count: 913
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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