Book Analysis Essay on the Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation

The book titled A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century America written by Paul Johnson and Sean Wilentz provides a deeper recapture of the story of Matthias. The book which takes the nature of a well-researched novel opens a peculiar look into the past turbulent era of religious revivalism in America called the Second Great Awakening. This era was characterized by large scale and unceasing evangelical revival in America and is attributed to the rise of such sects as the Mormons. The book chronicles how a carpenter named Robert Matthews declared himself as Joshua, the biblical prophet of the Jews. Using the wave of piety and religious dogma, Matthias exploited the people and ruled like one with an express authority over his followers. Even though the book reflects on some hypnotic personalities such as Elijah Pearson who attempted to raise his dead wife, it is the story of Matthias that is not only startling but also informative of the extent to which religion can be maliciously used to exploit the believers. The book gives Matthias a typical image of the prophets of the old with beards, but his character of using religious dogma and self-proclaimed prophetic stature to fleece the believers casts doubts on his religiosity. For instance, he would make his followers come together in an absolutist household, collect money from them to buy expensive things such as an eccentric wardrobe. He also took a full role of reordering their social affairs including their marital relations. Out of the exploitation of religion and faith, tensions arose, and the kingdom was destroyed.

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The book is set in 19th century America when the country was in a wave of immense religious revivalism. This wave was supported by the people who had been bypassed by the industrial revolution. As the authors narrate, it is at this time that a merchant called Elijah Pierson who was based in New York City, a religious reformer and self-proclaimed prophet met Matthias, born Robert Matthews. This would turn up to be a revolutionary moment in which religion would be abused and used as a tool for brainwashing and misleading believers while at the same time stealing from them. Through this, Matthias managed to elevate himself to a status of supreme leader. It startles how Matthews who had been initially considered an outcast in the church would opportunistically take advantage of the gullible believers to steal from them. His actions are reflective of a true hypocrite whose aim was not to foster what religion truly represent but rather a skillful tyrant out to meet his selfish interests through the malicious use of faith. Instead of preaching true reformation, repentance, and holiness as the bible so requires, Matthews tried to earn the trust of the followers though preaching prosperity. For instance, he preached of an apocalypse that promised those who survived it, some economic prosperity and economic freedom. Meanwhile, Matthias lived an extravagant life and engaged in social vices such as stealing the wife of a believer. These actions contradicted what would be expected of a genuine religious reformer. Even though Matthias was later arrested for murder but found culpable for a lesser charge and subsequently disappeared, his story as chronicled by the authors is a wakeup call to believers who unquestioningly accept those who profess religious calling.

The book exposes the fact that even the religious leaders may be driven by self-interests which predispose them to err. It explores the lives of people like Matthias and Pierson in a way that characteristically triggers believers to be aware and conscious about who they accept to follow as a religious leader instead of exercising blindness. It recounts how religious leaders woe troubled souls to become their avid enthusiasts so that they can outrightly exploit them. While the authors capture the humble and steadfast beginning of Matthews, he later turns out to go against the fundamental expectations of a religious leader. He originated in a rural setting which was governed by strict Calvinist patriarchy and slowly inclined to the subculture of the new evangelicals. Nonetheless, Matthews' angry and dissolute personality and abuse of his spouse prompted his rejection by the elders of the Presbyterian Church. While Matthias proclaimed himself as the Prophet of God upon his arrival in New York and screamed for the unity of the Church as God requires, he did not live by the same principles that he professed. His actions demonstrated someone who used religion to disguise his vices. While he was rebuking the other religious leaders as being evangelical entrepreneurs, it turned out that he too was not any better.

The book succinctly looks at possible conflicts between religion and society due to considered misrepresentation of religious information or perceived overreaching. In the book, Matthias attracted a substantial following, but he found himself at loggerheads with the society due to his actions of dissolving marriages and refashioning others. Due to this engagement with issues beyond the conventional expectations of the nation, he could not be tolerated. The prophet also ruthlessly exploited the wealth owned by his followers which culminated to the destruction of the Kingdom. In essence, the book illustrates the enormity of consequences that may arise when a religious representative advocates for or promote activities that are inconsistent with what the immediate society is ready to tolerate. Through this tale about prophet Matthias, a reader gets a critical insight into the peculiarities of the antebellum American religion and politics. It also invokes constructive discussions on the vital yet neglected side of the American culture.

Whereas the poor and less fortunate are always considered to be much more gullible to false religious teachings than the rich, the book provides evidence to the contrary. In the text, it is exposed that some of the believers who followed Matthias and his erotic teachings were rich people. For instance, Benjamin was a wealthy evangelical entrepreneur. It demystifies the fact that the affluent and well informed in the society are not free from religious delusions. Their discomfort with the mainstream religious teachings and desire to experience something beyond the ordinary predispose them to exploitation by peculiar yet misleading teachings. From the information of the authors, the teachings that Matthias gave were rooted in new cultic lessons, dress, diet, and disregard for the ethics that evangelism taught. Instead of promoting justice, ethics and equality for all like any well-meaning religion would, Matthias' teachings had an element of misogynist patriarchy which targeted the evangelical elevation of female domesticity.

Reference

Johnson, P. E., & Wilentz, S. (2012). The Kingdom of Matthias: A story of sex and salvation in 19th-century America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0199892495.