The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century America (1994)

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The Kingdom of Mathias
"The Kingdom of Matthias" is a story of sex and salvation in the 19th century America whose core theme is on the impact of the Second Great Awakening on the lives of men and women and the society in general. The book gives a detailed account of the unique American episode in the 19th century during the wake of religious revivalism. The book revolves around the life of Robert Matthews, who lived in New York in 1830. Robert Matthews became a self claimed The Prophet of the God of the Jews - Matthias. At that time which the book recounts between 1820 and 1840, the American society had found itself in the web of religious fervor, and it sought a need to escape. It was also during this period of time that series of cults, religious leaders and interest with such leaders was at the optimal. Remarkably as it seems this early 19th century story of a man with a disastrous home life, illuminates dramatic changes in the nature of American religion, economy and gender roles.
Matthews was a small time carpenter, who manages to transform himself into a Prophet. He initiates the creation of a new cult by exploits the needs of the people to envision prosperity, optimism, freedom and new beliefs. And just like any other false prophet, he spells out his religious visions and indeed fooled his followers. The story is as shocking as it is significant, indeed a bitter satire upon the age of the country. In as much as one would term this story as eccentric, it is also a dead serious commentary on the contest over religion, sexuality, family life, and social class that brings with it the rise of the market society, with an inherent resonance to today`s American society.
The story tells of a bizarre religious cult, however, it is a very integral event to the society for several reasons and it affected the culture, bringing out the connections among the sudden economic change, race and sex relations, politics, popular culture, and a raft of American religious practices. This tale of Matthias the Prophet presents an interesting window into the activities of the religious revivals that were known as the Second great Awakening. The first character to be introduced by the book besides Mathews is Elijah Pierson, who was the most fervent follower of Matthews. Elijah was born and raised under a strict Calvinist church, but after moving to New York, he got swept into the perfectionist movement. Elijah then married a missionary woman and whose name was Sarah, and they started a missionary aimed at spreading Gods word.
The story of Elijah mentions the poverty and flamboyance of the people then who were living at the end of both extremes. "The richest men in New York drank the wine and courted women who wore jewelry and silks; the most of them even kept mistresses. When asked about God, they seemed to think he was a warm-hearted gentleman like themselves. The poor were different too. There were untold thousands of them, they occupied their neighbors and lived beyond the reach of Christian influence and parental benevolence. Elijah had seen nothing like them; brutal men with whiskey bottles, gaudily dresses girls who stalled the sidewalks and smiled at the gentlemen who passed them…" (Page 19). This portrays the real lives of the 19th century. People who were in poverty continued to be poorer while the wealthy got wealthier. Interestingly in the Church where everyone is supposed to be equal before the eyes of the lord, the rich could reserve seats by use of their money, they "rented" the seats near the pulpit, and so the poor, for the lack of it would be left with no option but to stand in the back for the sermon.
Elijah`s hard wo...