User:Alharrell/sandbox

The Church of the Spirit of Truth is a religious sect of Christianity that was founded in the 19th century in New England, having branched off from the Kingdom of Matthias. The church got its name from the earlier church's leader, Robert Matthews. He believed himself to be the Spirit of Truth and he renamed himself, Matthias, from the bible. Women are barred from the church and all church events. John Dean, leader of The Church of the Spirit of Truth, created the church of all-male believers and remained the leader until the church's demise in 1850.

Origins
The Church of the Spirit of Truth was created as a result of a claim of a direct vision from God. John Dean, a former member of the Kingdom of Matthias, read about the death of Matthias in 1841. Soon after, he had a prophetic vision from God, informing him of the corruption of Matthias and the kingdom. God told Dean, that the corruption was due to the increased role of women within the church, and that Dean should create a church in which women were only allowed to be saved through baptism, but could not attend church. Dean, who lived in a small farm town outside of Malone, New York, spoke with three of his friends, who were also former members of the Kingdom of Matthias. He described to them the vision he received from the Lord and together they began to make plans for this "new church". The vision that Dean received was an additional prophesy that built on the original prophesy of Matthias. While the original prophesy spoke of the corruption of women, this new prophesy further instructed Dean to create a church in which women could not corrupt the men. Dean and his three friends, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, formed this vision into the ideals of an all-male church. Similarly, building on to the original prophesy, Dean took over the title of "Spirit of Truth" which was once given to Matthias. Further, Dean and the men used this title to give rise to their new church. They later named the church, The Church of the Spirit of Truth, after it was built in 1845. Former members of the Kingdom of Matthias joined the new church and became major proponents of the church system. Many other men in nearby towns also became proponents of the new church. However, some of the women within the community began to criticize the church for the exclusion of women. This ultimately led to the downfall of the church in 1850.

Theology
Based on the vision that John Dean received from God, the Dean and the other members of the church believed that Eve led the downfall of man. Biblical context included the idea that women were only meant to be child bearers. The justification of the exclusion of women was based on the idea that in order for mankind as a whole to achieve salvation women must remain within the home rather than attend church and contribute to the complete sinful corruption of the men and others. Women are told by their husbands what was discussed in church. Due to fear of corruption and criticism of the church, the community remained relatively isolated throughout the years of operation.

Leader
John Dean was born on May 29, 1800. He grew up in a small farming community outside of New York City. His parents were Christians. They taught Dean and his siblings about the bible, but they did not affiliate with any specific church. At the age of 30, he joined the Kingdom of Matthias and began to convert others to the faith. Though he was not against having women in the church, he slowly began to agree with Matthias that women were corrupting men and mankind. Shortly after the arrest of Matthias, Dean and three other fellow believers moved to a small town outside of Malone, New York. After discovering that Matthias had died in 1841, Dean claimed to have received a direct revelation, or prophesy if you will, from God himself. This vision, he said, instructed him to gather believers and create a new church in which women were excluded because they were corrupting mankind and ruining salvation for everyone. Women were to be baptized within the home and the husbands were intended to teach their wives the gospel. Dean told his friends about the vision and together they spent the next four years creating the foundations of the church building, system, and values. Throughout the five years that the church was in operation, Dean was the head pastor. He died in 1857 from unknown causes.

Belief System
The Church of the Spirit of Truth followed the belief of other sects of Christianity at the time. The church believed that Jesus was the savior. Similarly, they believed that the millennium was coming and that everyone must believe and be baptized or risk eternal damnation. The only difference between this church and other churches during this period, was the belief of corruption by women and the exclusion of women from the church.

Worship
Men attended church services on Sunday mornings, and similar services throughout the week. Instruments were not used in worship, but hymns were often sang as a form of worship to the Lord. Women worshipped from the home by reading the Bible and singing hymns with their children.

Practices
Men were baptized into The Church of the Spirit of Truth. After baptism, men were then capable of baptizing their family members within the home. This ensured the salvation of everyone in the community. The exclusion of women within the church was the only abstract practice of the church. Otherwise, the church's practices mimicked that of Methodist churches during the time. Worship and tithing was typical within the church and regular meetings were held to access the economy and discuss other details of the church.

Sacred Texts
While John Dean did create many diaries discussing his prophesy and his life, they were never published or used within the church. The only sacred text of the church was The Holy Bible.

Profit Structure
In the beginning, the church only had four members. Dean and his friends had to pay for the entire church foundation and construction. Months after the opening of the church, the four men were still paying for the church bills out of pocket. After the church gained popularity, however, regular tithing from the congregation was used to pay for the church bills. If money was needed after collecting tithes, the men put in the remaining money that was needed. This profit structure was used within the church up until its closing, in 1850.

Daily Life
As with any church, the daily life of the members tends to vary. Overall, the members of The Church of the Spirit of Truth sought to dedicate their lives to the church. This means that not only Sundays were spent in the church. Many other church services and bible studies were held throughout the week including Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Despite the exclusion of women from the church, women remained heavily involved in the religion. After being baptized into the church by their husbands, women would often spend their days at the homes of other women discussing the church. Women were not allowed to spread the gospels to anyone outside of the community in fear of the spread of corruption. Women remained the cooks and caregivers of the home and men worked at the church and other small jobs.

Family
Family was a major factor in the downfall of the church. Family bonds remained strong, despite separation of the sexes and the exclusion of women within the church. When the men would baptize their wives and family members in the home, the family bond strengthened. This is also another reason that men were more willing to listen to the concerns of their wives and other family members. Though the church prided itself on becoming a "family" of Christian brothers, it excluded some of the most important people from the family- women. This did not go unnoticed by the male members or by the outside world.

Gender Roles
Within the church the men were superior. Women were not even allowed within the church. In the home, men were also superior. The community related directly to the outside world and remained a patriarchal society. Men made the money; women stayed home to have children, take care of them, and take care of the husband. In many ways, this community was no different than other communities of the time in respect to gender roles.

Downfall of the Church
The Church of the Spirit of Truth was a strong community of men throughout the first three years after it had first been established. In its third year, the church came under a lot of internal scrutiny from wives of church members. These women, though few in number, were able to get other women within the community to join in disdain. Some of these women even went to other towns and cities to spread the atrocities that were being carried out in the little town outside of Malone. A few of the male members left the church because they started to hear their wives' complaints and agree with them. The church lost membership rapidly and no new members were willing to come to the church that "hated and banned women". In 1845, the church had to close its doors due to low membership and insufficient funds. John Dean continued to preach in homes and at revivals, but The Church of the Spirit of Truth never regained popularity.