The Kingdom of God Is Within You edition by Leo Tolstoy Religion Spirituality eBooks
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The Kingdom of God Is Within You is the non-fiction magnum opus of Leo Tolstoy. The book was first published in Germany in after being banned in his home country of Russia. It is the culmination of thirty years of Tolstoy's Christian anarchist thinking, and lays out a new organization for society based on a literal Christian interpretation.
The title of the book is taken from Luke 1721. In the book Tolstoy speaks of the principle of non-violent resistance when confronted by violence, as taught by Jesus Christ. When Christ says to turn the other cheek, Tolstoy asserts that Christ means to abolish violence, even the defensive kind, and to give up revenge. Tolstoy rejects the interpretation of Roman and medieval scholars who attempted to limit its scope.
"How can you kill people, when it is written in God's commandment 'Thou shalt not murder'?"
Tolstoy took the viewpoint that all governments who waged war are an affront to Christian principles. As the Russian Orthodox Church was—at the time—an organization merged with the Russian state and fully supporting state's policy, Tolstoy sought to separate its teachings from what he believed to be the true gospel of Christ, specifically the Sermon on the Mount.
Tolstoy advocated non-violence as a solution to nationalist woes and as a means for seeing the hypocrisy of the church. In reading Jesus' words in the Gospels, Tolstoy notes that the modern church is a heretical creation
"Nowhere nor in anything, except in the assertion of the Church, can we find that God or Christ founded anything like what churchmen understand by the Church."
The Kingdom of God Is Within You edition by Leo Tolstoy Religion Spirituality eBooks
Tolstoy had completely crippled me mentally, emotionally and spiritually and I mean that in a positive way. I am a reformed christian, a once staunch atheist as well as an anarchist, though my political ideology never changed. I recently found my faith in God and I chose this to be my first book considering it combines my faith with my anti-statist beliefs. I already knew that the State was a monster, but never did I question my own values so deeply until I read Tolstoy's perspective on anti-statism and came to the conclusion that my mere existence, my willingness to pay taxes of all kinds makes me as guilty as the politicians whom use their subject's labor for evil. Going further, I thoroughly enjoyed how Tolstoy expounds upon Jesus' teachings in a manner that no religious leader ever has in contemporary theology, Tolstoy truly gave me insight into Jesus' teachings and the inevitable conclusion of true faith in God; that is relinquishing faith in the State and the crushing weight of its violent subjugation. Between the drone strikes killing hundreds of innocent children overseas, to the kidnapping of non-violent persons at home. The State truly is the antithesis of God's love. Every self-proclaimed christian should read this book second to the Bible to gain a modern interpretation of how one should conduct themselves spiritually consistently in the modern world.Product details
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The Kingdom of God Is Within You edition by Leo Tolstoy Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews
This is a book that is challenging and radical, in that Tolstoy asks us to take quite literally the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. While certainly we have made some progress in the past 120 years, there is much in his writing that still holds absolutely true today. I found myself highlighting multiple passages, and thinking how true it is to today's world. For example
"Men might well observe the laws if they believed the Tzars who made them were God's anointed, or even if they thought they were the work of assemblies of lawgivers who had the power and the desire to make them as good as possible. But we all know how our laws are made. We have all been behind the scenes, we know that they are the product of covetousness, trickery, and party struggles; that there is not and cannot be any real justice in them."
"The specialty of government is not to obey, but to enforce obedience. And a government is only a government so long as it can make itself obeyed, and therefore it always strives for that and will never willingly abandon its power."
and
"A man cannot be placed against his will in a situation opposed to his conscience. If you find yourself in such a position it is not because it is necessary to anyone whatever, but simply because you wish it."
I think he clearly gets at the problem of the Christian in relationship to the state, and while the government may do things in the interest of "goodness" there is always a threat behind that (and many things that the state does that are just plain wrong and evil). As an American it has certainly given me some new perspective on our military involvements around the world. I believe this is very challenging for anyone who is a serious Christian, or seriously believes in peace, and wants to go beyond the orthodoxy of what we are taught by the established church and government. This book could have benefited from some editing, but overall it is a fairly easy read, and well worth the effort.
Many years ago( & I mean many), I came across this book while in a Russian literature class. In so many ways, the reasoning of Tolstoy changed my perspective about spirituality & was incredibly freeing for me. I was brought up in a mainline Christian religion, but never was given this perspective . This was a beginning for many awakenings in my lifetime. I ordered this copy as a reference book for my library as my original copy was a library book. I left the religion of my childhood & eventually found "what I was looking for." I am glad that I read this book when I did.
There are hidden jewels in this world and this book is one of them. I may be an atheist but this book almost made me Christian. If you believe in god, read this book, but let the teachings and words go into your heart. It will give you renewed faith.
Tolstoy is already well known for his work, War and Peace, and Anna Karenina, which would be enough to put anyone into the history books as among the best writers to ever come out of history, but this work should be put next to the more well known classics.
Gandhi supposedly said that this book was one of the most influential pieces of writing that changed his thinking. How is that for influence?
This is Tolstoy's major work on Christian nonviolence. He puts forth the principle on non-violent resistance to evil and bases it on Christian principles. It took me a long time to read this book because, being written in 1894, the significance of many of the references that Tolstoy makes to 19th century European politics and society are not easily grasped by the modern 21st century reader. Yet if you want to understand the history and theory of nonviolent resistance, I feel this is an important book to read and understand. Not only because of Tolstoy's thinking, but because he outlines the work of previous writers and activists that contributed to his thinking. Tolstoy raises the stakes on what it means to be Christian. I am sure that most of the people who profess Christianity today would turn away from Tolstoy's teachings and go on supporting their country's wars and their own personal wealth that comes from these wars. He starts small with just asking his readers to recognize the truth of what he says, and to speak the truth instead of living the lies. I believe I will read this book again someday as the long time it took to read has diluted its impact on me. Having sampled the wine and found it good, I hope someday to be able to drink it to the dregs.
Tolstoy had completely crippled me mentally, emotionally and spiritually and I mean that in a positive way. I am a reformed christian, a once staunch atheist as well as an anarchist, though my political ideology never changed. I recently found my faith in God and I chose this to be my first book considering it combines my faith with my anti-statist beliefs. I already knew that the State was a monster, but never did I question my own values so deeply until I read Tolstoy's perspective on anti-statism and came to the conclusion that my mere existence, my willingness to pay taxes of all kinds makes me as guilty as the politicians whom use their subject's labor for evil. Going further, I thoroughly enjoyed how Tolstoy expounds upon Jesus' teachings in a manner that no religious leader ever has in contemporary theology, Tolstoy truly gave me insight into Jesus' teachings and the inevitable conclusion of true faith in God; that is relinquishing faith in the State and the crushing weight of its violent subjugation. Between the drone strikes killing hundreds of innocent children overseas, to the kidnapping of non-violent persons at home. The State truly is the antithesis of God's love. Every self-proclaimed christian should read this book second to the Bible to gain a modern interpretation of how one should conduct themselves spiritually consistently in the modern world.
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