The Kingdom of Matthias summary PDF

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The Kingdom of Matthias summary The Kingdom of Matthias, written by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz in 1994, details the real life account of Robert Matthews, a religious charlatan with a large group of followers. At different points, Matthews claimed to be both God and a reincarnation of the prophet Matthias. Robert Matthews was born and raised in a Scottish community where his parents died young. The trauma continued when he grew up, and his own sons died tragically. After all this, Matthews begins to hear the voice of God and to see visions. He adopts the name Matthias. At the same time, Elijah Pierson, who would become one of his most ardent followers, is working with his wife to establish God’s kingdom on earth. A strict Calvinist,Pierson was swept up in the perfectionist movement, after which he and his wife, Sarah, found a Retrenchment Society to spread the word of God. Sarah dies; Elijah is so distraught, he attempts to raise her from the dead. He begins to hear the voice of God and adopts a new name, Prophet Elijah of Tishbe. In May of 1832, Matthias visits Elijah. Elijah is convinced Matthias is a prophet. Matthias use the wealth Elijah made as a merchant to create “The Kingdom.” He preaches to a small band of ardent followers, eventually claiming mainstream Christianity is the devil’s work. He convinces a wealthy couple, Benjamin and Ann Folger, that he is a prophet and uses their wealth to create a community at their home. He calls it Mount Zion; he rules the community harshly. His followers are subject to punishments and lectures, while he walks around in extravagant clothes and an unkempt beard. His followers are not content with the traditional idea of monogamous marriage. They begin wife swapping, and soon news of their scandalous behavior reaches the outside world. They are all seeking to be united in the spirit of truth, but when Matthias and Ann fall for each other, Benjamin strays to Matthias’s 20-year-old daughter, a widow. This proves too much for the couple, and they eventually revolt. There is such a public outcry the community is dissolved. But the scandal is not over. Elijah Pierson eats blackberries and dies soon after. Rumors begin circulating that Matthias poisoned him, and Matthias is arrested. An

autopsy shows the presence of poison in his system, but the case against Matthias is so weak he is acquitted. He is convicted, however, of assaulting his daughter, and spends four months in prison. The events that took place in the community were in part responsible for the rise in the penny press newspapers. These types of papers were obsessed with scandal, a tradition that continues to this day. Although this story has been forgotten, the widereaching effects of the community’s actions established a style of journalism that, though widely criticized, is a powerful force. Matthias preached a version of Christianity that returned to the strict, hierarchical structure of more conservative religious movements of the past. At the time, the evangelical movement allowed more women to be in leadership roles, and men like Matthias felt threatened by this change in the status quo. Although his community had what seemed to be free-thinking views on marriage and relationships, in reality, it was centered on a strict hierarchy with men at the top, and their wives and daughters at their mercy. Matthias believed that women were devils and temptresses and could lead a man off the path of righteousness. His community was a strict patriarchy that established men in the role of absolute head of the household and women as subservient. To some extent, the book is also about the ways people can be deceived in the pursuit of righteousness. The religious landscape of America was changing. Cities were growing and becoming freer, and as a result, different sects of Christianity sprang up in response to a growing discontent with changing times. People were looking for prophets, and for quite a few, Matthias fit the bill. This allowed him to rule with an iron fist for a long time, spending other people’s money and beating his wife while taking other “wives” as he saw fit. Matthias eventually claimed to be God, and later died in a mental hospital. The book is an interesting look back at a forgotten story that was a massive scandal when it happened. Although Matthias died in relative obscurity, his actions were indicative of a formative period in US religious history that fragmented Christianity and became the foundation of many different religious sects....