Johnson and Welentz's Kingdom of Mathias is a twist on history that I have never seen before. It starts in the early 1800's with people working in cities, growing up on farms or immigrating from other countries which are not unlike any other history books I have read then progresses into a downward spiral of religion, cult fixations and new ways of life. Robert Mathew Mathias formed a religious cult that caused mass hysteria. He reformed the normal value systems, ideas about god and men and women's place in society. Robert Mathews started a religious cult called the Kingdom where...
and terror to dictate their actions. People back to the beginning of time have always been subject to believe in religious marvels. People want to know God, they want to know why they're here, and if someone is convincing enough a new religion can be started. This essay is not to judge the characters, but to analyze them. I won't say that Mathias was crazy, although many of his society members thought differently, but in the oddest sense of the word he was a pioneer, a leader of sorts, and paved the way for other religious leaders to come.