So.....the Jim jones of today would have been honored if born a thousand yrs earlier and created a new branch of religion instead of being persecuted causing the death of his followers? How do you explain Scientology? I don't think it is so simple as those with voices were respected in the old world and not now. I think a lot of it depends on the social and environmental times. When the world is or seems unstable then those who have voices offer a certainty. For all the war drums beating currently the world is fairly stable for most of us.