Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1995, page 64
Book Reviews
The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century
America. Paul E. Johnson &Sean Wilentz, Oxford University Press, New York, NY,
1994, 222 pages.
Without Sin: The Life and Death of the Oneida Community. Spencer Klaw,
Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1993, 337 pages.
While cults of various sorts have been part of Western culture since at least Hellenistic times
(when early Christianity was one cult among many), they tend to be especially prevalent
during times of social turmoil. One such time in American history was the first few decades
of the 19th century during which an incredible number of secular, as well as religious,
movements came into being and, for the most part, quickly faded away. Two recent books
on cults from this period raise issues of interest to present-day cult observers.
In The Kingdom of Matthias, historians Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz tell the strange
story of a very small movement which was briefly notorious in and around New York City
during the early 1830s. Led by an eccentric self-proclaimed “Prophet of the God of the
Jews,” the cult would likely have vanished without a trace if its leader had not been accused
of murdering one of his wealthy disciples. Much like David Koresh in our time, the bizarre
prophet quickly became a media sensation. Johnson and Wilentz draw upon the trial record,
newspaper accounts, and the several contemporary published accounts of the group to paint
a fascinating picture of the Prophet Matthias‟s Kingdom, and the social and religious unrest
amid which it briefly flourished.
Had Matthias not chanced upon a ready-made group of religious fanatics, originally banded
together to save prostitutes from a life of sin, in the midst of a crisis of faith precipitated by
its apparently deranged leader‟s failed attempt to resurrect his wife, he probably would have
been just another mad prophet ranting on the street corner. But he brilliantly interpreted
the little group‟s travails in terms of his claim to be “The Living Spirit of Truth,” and as such
presided over the community for about two years. But by the time of Matthias‟s arrest in
1834, his Kingdom was crumbling from the combined strain of financial woes as the wealth
of his supporters was exhausted, and sexual tensions resulting from the Prophet‟s imposed
rearrangement of marital bonds within the community. The murder charges were apparently
based more upon community bias against the Kingdom than any real evidence, and
Matthias was cleared of all responsibility for the death of his follower. He was, however,
convicted of whipping his adult daughter on the occasion of her visit to the Kingdom and
was sentenced to three months in jail. After serving his sentence, Matthias and his now-
defunct Kingdom disappeared from the pages of history with the exception of the one
member of the community who had remained loyal throughout the Prophet‟s tribulations: a
black woman who often had mystical revelations, she was told in a vision a dozen years
after the demise of the Kingdom to change her name to Sojourner Truth, and as such
became a leading abolitionist.
Johnson and Wilentz locate the origins of the Kingdom of Matthias in the economic, social,
and religious changes sweeping through the United States at the time. The sudden rise of a
market economy displaced many men, like Matthias himself, from farms and villages to
cities where they had to scramble to make a living as best they could. The resultant
uncertain status of many men in both society and the family (Matthias‟s wife, after years of
physical abuse and his repeated failure to support his family, had left him before the
founding of the Kingdom) seriously disrupted the patriarchal system which up to that time
had been the basis of American society. In addition, fervent religious revivals stressing the
Book Reviews
The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th-Century
America. Paul E. Johnson &Sean Wilentz, Oxford University Press, New York, NY,
1994, 222 pages.
Without Sin: The Life and Death of the Oneida Community. Spencer Klaw,
Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1993, 337 pages.
While cults of various sorts have been part of Western culture since at least Hellenistic times
(when early Christianity was one cult among many), they tend to be especially prevalent
during times of social turmoil. One such time in American history was the first few decades
of the 19th century during which an incredible number of secular, as well as religious,
movements came into being and, for the most part, quickly faded away. Two recent books
on cults from this period raise issues of interest to present-day cult observers.
In The Kingdom of Matthias, historians Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz tell the strange
story of a very small movement which was briefly notorious in and around New York City
during the early 1830s. Led by an eccentric self-proclaimed “Prophet of the God of the
Jews,” the cult would likely have vanished without a trace if its leader had not been accused
of murdering one of his wealthy disciples. Much like David Koresh in our time, the bizarre
prophet quickly became a media sensation. Johnson and Wilentz draw upon the trial record,
newspaper accounts, and the several contemporary published accounts of the group to paint
a fascinating picture of the Prophet Matthias‟s Kingdom, and the social and religious unrest
amid which it briefly flourished.
Had Matthias not chanced upon a ready-made group of religious fanatics, originally banded
together to save prostitutes from a life of sin, in the midst of a crisis of faith precipitated by
its apparently deranged leader‟s failed attempt to resurrect his wife, he probably would have
been just another mad prophet ranting on the street corner. But he brilliantly interpreted
the little group‟s travails in terms of his claim to be “The Living Spirit of Truth,” and as such
presided over the community for about two years. But by the time of Matthias‟s arrest in
1834, his Kingdom was crumbling from the combined strain of financial woes as the wealth
of his supporters was exhausted, and sexual tensions resulting from the Prophet‟s imposed
rearrangement of marital bonds within the community. The murder charges were apparently
based more upon community bias against the Kingdom than any real evidence, and
Matthias was cleared of all responsibility for the death of his follower. He was, however,
convicted of whipping his adult daughter on the occasion of her visit to the Kingdom and
was sentenced to three months in jail. After serving his sentence, Matthias and his now-
defunct Kingdom disappeared from the pages of history with the exception of the one
member of the community who had remained loyal throughout the Prophet‟s tribulations: a
black woman who often had mystical revelations, she was told in a vision a dozen years
after the demise of the Kingdom to change her name to Sojourner Truth, and as such
became a leading abolitionist.
Johnson and Wilentz locate the origins of the Kingdom of Matthias in the economic, social,
and religious changes sweeping through the United States at the time. The sudden rise of a
market economy displaced many men, like Matthias himself, from farms and villages to
cities where they had to scramble to make a living as best they could. The resultant
uncertain status of many men in both society and the family (Matthias‟s wife, after years of
physical abuse and his repeated failure to support his family, had left him before the
founding of the Kingdom) seriously disrupted the patriarchal system which up to that time
had been the basis of American society. In addition, fervent religious revivals stressing the
