ipl-logo

Analysis Of Paul E. Johnson And Sean Wilentz's The Kingdom Of Matthias

1463 Words6 Pages

Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz’s book, The Kingdom of Matthias, is a story of a religious cult that is formed in response to the changing economic, religious, and social roles in society in the 1820s and 1830s. Johnson and Wilentz discovered the story of Matthias and his Kingdom at different times, but both found the story to be an interesting one to write together. Throughout their research, they found that the information they found presented itself perfectly as a historical narrative, especially the form of a stage play . After merging their differing writing styles, they were able to write a book that they think did a relatively small story in American history justice. Many other small sects of religious reform happened during this time …show more content…

With him at the head, his faithful believer Isabella behind him, and a small group of believers in his cult, the cult grows and dies in a short amount of time. The sources the authors use for this stage play historical narrative conflicted due to who was telling the story. Stone tried to keep sexual scandal out of the story, effectively adding a bias to his story and making it somewhat unreliable. Vale took into account a testimony from Matthias’ believer Isabella (whose testimony was always conveniently collaborated by at least one white witness). The last source, ghostwritten by Matthias’ wife, talked primarily of Matthias as a person before he became the leader of the Kingdom, but it was unreliable due to misdating. There are instances where Vale and Stone contradict each other, with Vale prevailing due to the lack of major bias within the source. The authors are good at identifying the bias and working around it within the writing. Their methodology for dealing with these contradicting sources was to compare the sources and deal with their biases, and to go from there. Their sources came from eyewitness accounts (Isabella, Matthias’ wife), which have a tendency to change as time goes on and memories fail. There were also sensationalized newspaper articles of the trial of Matthias , but they were not used due to accuracy of their

Show More
Related

Paul E. Johnson And Sean Wilentz: The Kingdom Of Matthias

206 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel The kingdom of Matthias by Paul E. Johnson & Sean Wilentz, captures the importance of the Evolution in early American history and the second Great Awakening. The reason this book is important is because it highlights the start of America going from rural to urban during the 19th century and the influence that religion had on America during this time period from the action of prophet Matthias and other like him. Furthermore the novel begins with the young man Elijah Pierson which comes from a strict Calvinist family. Following he moved to New York and he was known as one of the best for the religouis reforming that he conduct.

Read More

Matthias 'Matthews In The Book' The Kingdom Of Matthias

1520 Words | 7 Pages

Robert “Matthias” Matthews is an extremely interesting character in the book The Kingdom of Matthias. During the course of the book, Matthias makes a cult that worships him throughout the book and he has people that follow him and makes them believe that he is God. During the eighteen thirties, there were multiple people in the time period that did similar to what Matthias during did in the book. The differences between Matthias and the traditional churches is also seen and evaluated during this time period. Matthias, like other Prophets have before, asked his followers to come with him to an isolated place to worship, but unlike most Prophets, Matthias had his followers purchase his clothes that he wore and all of the supplies that he

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

604 Words | 3 Pages

Held in lore of American protestantism, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached by Jonathan Edwards, is often considered the epitome of a fire and brimstone sermon. Using the thematic elements of eloquence and precisely created rhetorical devices, Edwards uses these resources to connect his audience to the pretentious, Puritan ordinances of “high church.” First, Edwards was cognizant of his surrounds and what his audience was familiar with in terms of setting. As a preacher on the Eastern seaboard, Edwards knew his audience understood the refuge of the mountains and the serenity in which they encapsulated. At the conclusion of his sermon, Edwards urges his audience to, “haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be

Read More

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God By Jonathan Edwards

669 Words | 3 Pages

Jonathan Edwards, and early American pastor, is remembered today for his speech, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards’s sermon was one of the greatest awakenings or events that occurred in early America. “Next to the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving, Edwards’s preaching of this sermon is one of the most famous events in colonial history.” (Kessee and Sidwell; 63) Jonathan Edwards was a man ‘on fire for God’ and his sermon effected the lives of many individuals. While “Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God” may have seemed like and extreme way of painting the position of unsaved man.

Read More

How Does Walter Brueggemann Use Of Biblical Authority

796 Words | 4 Pages

In Walter Brueggemann’s essay “Biblical Authority,” he points out that the biblical text is “the live word of the living God.” Depending on the eyes reading, the Bible can be taken in many different ways. The stories of people’s lives lead to seeing the text in ways that others cannot. Brueggemann’s life story has led him to discover six features of interpretation of the Bible that may be helpful to all.

Read More

The Pilgrims Research Paper

336 Words | 2 Pages

The Pilgrims is a detailed, history of human accounts of how religious reasons affected them emotionally, politically, and physically. Fleeing from a dictating government system to an ideal ideology of separation of church and state has its cost with the Plymouth colony. Their journey did not start when they landed at the new world, but rather an internal, pulling factor for a Godly kingdom. It is made clear that religion is the true reason for their actions, behavior, and personal beliefs. It was referred to as "the journey to purity,” however, it was a faint imagine of the new heaven.

Read More

Analyzing Paul's Eight Books In The New Testament

245 Words | 1 Pages

There are eight books in the New Testament written by Paul called General Epistles. These books are Hebrews; James; First and Second Peter; First,Second, and Third John; and Jude. These books are known as General Epistles because they are written to a general audience. There was no audience in mind when Paul wrote these eight books. It comes across that Hebrews, Second Peter, First John, and Jude were written for an audience that's identity is very wide ranged.

Read More

Jonathan Edwards Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

453 Words | 2 Pages

Alison Dawley English 3 A Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God During the Colonial period, religion was a part of everyday life. Religion itself is what drove many to abandon all that they knew and go to the New World. The Colonies were undergoing great change from the 1730’s to the 1760’s, in what was known as the Great Awakening. This was a period of renewed religious fervor.

Read More

The Apostle Paul Research Paper

191 Words | 1 Pages

It was Jesus who designed His apostolic church, to preach His Gospel to the world. It could also be argued that Jesus, who is God, knew He would not be around to head the work himself, so He designed His church so that it could be carried out in His absence; to preach the Gospel, "first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. " One only gets the impression that Paul was important because Jesus chose Paul (after the Resurrection) to head the Apostolic or missionary effort to the Jews. Paul was not only already a Jew and a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling priesthood in Israel, but also a Roman citizen. This opened many doors among those in the Roman government.

Read More

The Prophet Of Great Smoky Mountains Analysis

1368 Words | 6 Pages

The Prophet of Great Smoky Mountains The classic literary masterpiece created by Mary Noailles Murfree spoke a lot about the uniqueness of Southern American culture. This part of the American continent contributed greatly to the historical and geographical richness of this great country. The culture of Southern America is highly conservative in nature and this conservatism is well depicted in most of its prolific writers. “The Prophet of Great Smoky Mountains” is an example of this thematic expression of love that binds a family, a community and its social relevance.

Read More

Being A Christian Historian Essay

1231 Words | 5 Pages

What does it mean to be a Christian historian? How does one search through and interpret the past, but at the same time, hold true to our Christian values and beliefs? And how do we discern what these “Christian values” are? To me, being a Christian historian is being objective while attempting to integrate a multitude of perspectives, including a Christian perspective, into the history we research. There were five different scholars that were read in support of this essay.

Read More

Horatian Rhetorical Techniques Used In Adam And Eve

562 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the diaries of both Adam and Eve, Mark Twain uses the rhetorical techniques of well-known biblical stories, Horatian satire, and different points of view over time to convey his purpose of contradicting common gender stereotypes to his 19th century religious audience. Twain uses all for the sake of creating a credible, logical, and emotionally evoking argument for his traditional audience. Before his audience reads any of his short story, Twain’s readers recognize the all too common biblical story of Adam and Eve. By using a well-known religious story as a platform for his deeper purpose, Twain is able to establish credibility with his religious audience of the 19th century. Audience members who can understand and have a personal connection to the story of Adam and Eve are more likely to listen to Twain’s deeper critique of the gender stereotypes found within the biblical story.

Read More

Second Temple Period

2081 Words | 9 Pages

Introduction The purpose of this research paper is to provide the history of the Second Temple period, including major conflicts, specific dates, and names of rulers. This paper will also identify the various works commonly identified as Second Temple literature and demonstrate how the various features described constitute important background for the interpretation of the New Testament. It will also discuss the events of the Second Temple period through the NT and how the Second Temple Period bears on the NT. This paper will focus on the periods between the testaments (Greeks, Maccabees, and Romans) --- and by understanding these periods …..

Read More

The Pharisees, Sadducees, And Herodians

1822 Words | 8 Pages

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians were the principal political/religious groups who held authority and power over the Jews during the time of Jesus. Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and of the Herodians. In using the word “leaven”, Jesus is essentially warning His disciples to beware of the corrupted teachings and doctrines of these leadership groups. Despite the teachings and doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees being quite different, and the Herodians being more of a political party, these leadership groups were all united in opposing the claims of Jesus. This essay intends to expound upon what exactly the teachings and doctrines of these groups were.

Read More

Synoptic Gospels Research Paper

579 Words | 3 Pages

I’m familiar with the term Synoptic Gospel. The Synoptic Gospels includes similar stories found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They stand in difference to John, his content is somewhat distinctive. Each Gospel is written to different audiences, but the subject matter are the same and treated in similar ways. Synoptic in the Greek, which means presenting or taking the same point of view .

Read More

More about Analysis Of Paul E. Johnson And Sean Wilentz's The Kingdom Of Matthias

Open Document