Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right! Isaiah 5:20-23 ESV
In November 1978, over 900 people committed mass suicide in the South American country of Guyana. They were Americans. They were part of a cult headed by Jim Jones. They had fled to South America to escape growing opposition to the cult in the United States….
However, American officials started investigating reports of abuse in Guyana as well. An American congressman came to visit and was murdered along with four others. This led Jones to proclaim that the end was near – it was only a matter of time before American forces would storm his compound. He instructed all his followers to drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. Obediently, almost all of them did, including 304 children and young people.
This is where the expression “drinking the Kool-Aid” comes from. It refers to people ingesting poison under the influence of a powerful leader. Of course, today nobody is referring to literal poison – it’s used to refer to poisonous ideas.