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¶ … Kingdom of Matthias. There are three references used for this paper.
From the Quakers to the Great Awakening to Nat Turner, we have examined numerous variations of where a belief in the 'inner light' or the 'priesthood of all believers' could lead. It is important to examine the cult of Matthias to understand why he was popular, the factors which could have led to his revelations, the social and religious climates and the needs of his followers. It is also important to explore whether the cult was due to the transhistorical appeal or if it offers deeper lessons about early American religious experiences.
Matthias
Robert Matthews was "a carpenter from upstate New York who, after a lifetime of finding God everywhere and economic success nowhere, rode his half-starved horse into Manhattan in 1832, proclaiming his own divinity. He presented himself as not a Christian at all, but as Matthias, the culmination of a line of virile Jewish prophets leading up through Adam, Moses and Jesus to his penultimate incarnation as the thirteenth apostle. In the 1,800 years sine the apostolic times, Matthias declared, God's 'male governing spirit' had been wandering the earth, staying his hand until the vast Christian heresy was ripe for its end (Brown)." Matthias told the people of the time that he had now taken human form and was there to collect his chosen followers.
A Zealous Preacher
Matthias was well-known in 1829 not only for preaching in the streets, but also "loud discussions and pavement exhortations, but he did not make set sermons. However, at the beginning of 1830, he was only considered zealous (afroamhistory.about.com/library)." During this same year, he was reading his bible and preparing to shave, suddenly "exclaimed, 'I have found it! I have found a text which proves that no man who shaves his beard can be a true Christian', and shortly afterwards, without shaving, he went to...
'The effect of the Holy Ghost upon a gentile' he said, 'is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually the seed of Abraham' (Brown)."
Creating A New Cult
The new cult was accepted since over the course of history, the "very welter of our religious identities has made up much of the challenge that new religious movements set out to address. Whether they come as broad revivals or as fresh cults, new groups distinguish themselves not only for the sake of their peculiar visions, but also in order to cure confusion with the clearest of all possible answers. The unintended result is that new holy communities only swell the spiritual jumble by throwing in one more model of exclusion (Brown)."
Since Americans were more likely to search for something, instead of seeing what was already there in front of them, Matthias's charismatic personality quickly convinced wealthy New Yorkers to not only follow his cult, but provide financial backing as well.
Matthias "took over a small church previously devoted to just the sort of Christian practices he detested, and then began appearing downtown in a special carriage, fantastically dressed, preaching to…
Works Cited
Brown, Lee Rust. "The Kingdom of Matthias." The New Republic. (1994): 17 October.
Johnson, Michael P. "The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century
America" The Nation. (1994): 14 November.
(The Matthias Delusion. (Accessed 27 November, 2004).
Kingdom of Matthias In the early nineteenth-century America went through a phase of religious revival with many people turning to the religious beliefs in Christendom following the religious instability that took place in the seventeenth-century in England for the reformation of Christians and the community. The most notable event amongst all the momentous events was called the Second Great Awakening, which lasted one year and began in 1830. This year
American Cultural History And Cult of Matthias There had been many changes occurs in terms of the progress of the economy, population and intellectual abilities during the 18th century and these could be considered as the possible reasons for the evolution of a fresh thinking in all the various spheres of life, and this pertains to religion as well. This was in complete a need for change and a great desire
Much of the nature of the widespread use of alcohol at this time is cited by the author, who also notes the high rate of alcoholism among slaves, the way women drank in private so their family would not know, the relationship of alcohol use to social position, and so on. Drinking was only one factor marking social divisions, and it as one of the few that could be controlled.
The reader is told that a leader is chosen who is "fully of the Spirit and wisdom" and "full of faith" (Acts 6:3,5). The first book of Acts shows the disciples looking at external qualities for a good leader and are thus unable to come to a decision; they end up asking God to make the decision for them. It is only after the disciples are filled with the
Guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/20/allergies-month=conception-week-11 Fletcher, V. (2006). How your birthday can cause allergies. UK News: Northern and Shell Media Publications. Retrieved on June 5, 2011 from http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/206427/How-your-birthday-can-cause-allergies Jedrychowski W. et al. (2003). Prenatal lead exposure heightens childhood allergies. Environmental Health News: Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved on June 5, 2011 from http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience.prenatal.lead-exposure-heightens-dhildhood-allergies Schonberger et al. (2005). Prenatal exposure to mite and pet allergens and total serum IgE at birth in high-risk children. Pediatric Allergy & Immunology: PubMed. Retrieved on June 5,
Most of the Jews who had settled in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were in the hinterlands, and were as poor as their neighbours. In those provinces where Jews could own land, there was a requirement that the Jews live on and work their land -- in order to prevent land speculation. As a result, many Jews in Niederoestereich and around Linz, where von Schnerer and his family resided, were themselves farmers.