Summary Of The Book 'Kingdom Of Matthias'

A Research Paper on the “The Contribution of Baptists in the Struggle for Religious Freedom”

to live and living,they did not like how the christian churches did not fully allow the right of the

The Kingdom of Matthias, written by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz, examines the story of the self proclaimed prophet Matthias, formerly known as Robert Matthews. They tell the story of how Matthias built his kingdom based on his religious beliefs related to the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a religious movement that took place during the early nineteenth century. During this time period women played the role as the caregivers who stayed at home with the children while their husbands were out working. However, it wasn’t until the Second Great Awakening that women began to play a more dominant role in society, especially in the church. Matthias was one of the main people who was directly impacted by the effects of the Second Great Awakening and the power it gave to women. Throughout Matthias’ life he had numerous troubles with women and this continued to show throughout the reign of his kingdom. Johnson and Wilentz saw that the empowerment of women in the Second Great Awakening was a factor in the demise of Matthias’ demise Kingdom. Matthias refuses the ideas of the Second Great Awakening by making sure that women in his kingdom are subordinate and condemns those who are not. [inserts thesis statement]

The Kingdom of Matthias by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz is a story of the rise and fall of a religious cult established by Robert Matthews (Matthias). Within his kingdom, Matthias and his followers, abided by Matthias, believes of the subjugation of women by men. Even though at the time the cult was in existence the United States was experiencing two great movements that urged the forward progression of women, the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. Two women in particular are mentioned in Johnson and Wilentz’ book that were really suppressed by Matthias and his subjects. One was Isabella van Wagenen, the slave that worked in Mount Zion and even Matthias’ own daughter Isabella Matthews Laisdell. The Kingdom of Matthias

The Kingdom of Matthias by Paul E. Johnson & Sean Wilentz is based on the story of Robert Matthews in the early 1800’s. Which sets place during the second great awakening when evangelicalism was very common in the northeastern part of the U.S. Many Americans through this period were experiencing with various religions, which Matthews tried to benefit from by starting his own religion. Due to constant personal hardships, the market revolution, influences of his new religion, and Americans reaction with different views is what ultimately led not just to the creation of Robert Matthews “kingdom” but also to its collapse.

Matthias based his pseudo religion on principles and standards he was raised with, much of his “teachings” reflect family values that he learned growing up, he saw the changes in people’s lives in the city, and fought to keep it traditional and conservative. He wanted everything to be done the way he was taught and the world to know the truth as he saw it, and live the way he was directed, essentially he wanted tradition to overshadow innovation. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that Matthias’ plans were deemed to fail, but they did have their mere moment of victory, the kingdom followed these new rules set by Matthias, consenting open marriages, utilizing the vulnerability of people, naked bathing, but his greater cause and message was he wanted his followers to see was that his kingdom was essentially based on the concepts of prosperity, optimism, tolerance, and freedom. This, one may believe, is the true reason his religion prospered, not because it was something new and different, but because it was a path back home, a reconnection of their roots and where they came from and the

Sojourner Truth is remembered as an ex-slave who changed her name from Isabella and gave her famous Ain’t I a Woman speech regarding abolition and women’s rights. But before her speech, Truth actively participated in a religious cult and faced a murder charge. Authors Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz provide a descriptive account of the religious cult in their book The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-century America. Their book follows the life of Robert Matthews and the events of his life leading up to the creation of his new religion in New York in the 1830s. Robert Matthews started to refer to himself as the prophet Matthias and recruited wealthy families to join his religion where they lived in isolation. American society in the 1830s encountered rapid change with the emergence of the market revolution and the Second Great Awakening. Impacts from the market revolution, the second great awakening, and personal factors led Matthias to create and influenced his own religion which other Americans eventually denounced.

1. "So now they and their church found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their

The book is very narrative driven and enjoyable to read with many varying contexts described by the authors. Johnson and Wilentz do a great job of showing how the world around Matthias shaped his Kingdom, as well as how the Kingdom was part of the larger evolving world that it existed within. Though there were many other religions around this time in development, the quaintness of the story of Matthias illuminates a very vivid illustration, in addition to describing the failures of the religious revival as other religions succeeded. Thus, allowing for a more complete idea of the religion and society during this era. This way of describing events helped in allowing for a more enjoyable read and left a very positive experience. Now while the Kingdom of Matthias was a very enjoyable and well written book the lack of a clear claim or argument as to why I should believe what they say and why this is important left a very sour taste upon finishing the book. The authors do an excellent job of describing and illustrating what events are occurring, and how, such as the tales of Robert Matthews, and how he became Matthias, but never

During the Reformation, there were a few strong people who saw problems with the way things had always been done. The churches had corrupt leaders who were not teaching in accordance with the Bible. They were making up whatever they wanted, and they had power to get away with this because they were also part of the government. There arose a movement to refute and stop this. Strong opposers took strong stands to point out the errors of what was going on, and to try to reform the religious system in power. This did not go over very well with the religious leaders, but after years of battling and debating, the protestant view of Christianity won the freedom to worship as they wished. In a similar way, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,

Ryah Clark Professor Wesley HIST 2010 69 21 November 2014 TITLE In the book, The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in the 19th Century America, Paul Johnson and Sean Wilentz wrote a religious narrative about the story of Robert Matthews and Elijah Pierson, the Calvinist New York men. The book starts off telling the story of Elijah Pierson, a man who came from a wealthy family in New Jersey, but when he gets in his twenties he has moved from New Jersey and became a successful businessman in New York. Just like other young men that came to New York he quickly became involved in the many diverse cultures that were there.

Christianity was viewed as a group of people against the government , this is the reason Jesus was crucified , the crucifixion was one the punishments saved for people going against the government

Kings and Queens had so much power but all of their power came from the church. Many people believed that the Kings and Queens tried to rule with enlightened ideas, but the towns and church people didn't like that. They also thought it was God's will that they be beheaded because they thought they were being not good. Therefor causing the King and Queen to be overthrown and beheaded like Marie Annqunett and her husband. Many art was influenced by religion. Although I am not sure if the artist were Christians, their art work did reflect christianity. Art as well as books showed religion, which also lead to more people learning to read. People wanted to read the bible for themselves and so it drove people to learn to read as well. Many of

After Constantine’s conversion to Christianity and the Edict of Milan that was established by him and his co-emperor Licinius giving religious freedom to all, this religion began slowly drawing more and more converts. Christianity was appealing to many because of its message and declaration of personal salvation, its ability to foster within its followers a sense of community and identity, and the benefits of being a part of the emperor’s new faith. In addition, it was freely opened to all men and women regardless of their class which meant freemen and slaves could join. Yet, this caused resentment among people of polytheistic religions. A main point of contention among polytheists was that in their minds, t was illogical to follow a Savior

The sections of history mentioned within this essay discuss very important events of religious history. Within each section a person or group of people are rebelling against the religious norm of their time. Erasmus, In Praise of Folly, Martin Luther, “The Ninety-five Theses,” The Twelve Articles of the Peasants of Swabia, and The English Act of Supremacy, 1534 are all writings that exemplify this aspect.