"The Kingdom of God Is Within You" / Christianity Not as a Mystic Religion but as a New Theory of Life

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Gutenberg ID

43302

Title

"The Kingdom of God Is Within You" / Christianity Not as a Mystic Religion but as a New Theory of Life

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

In this provocative philosophical treatise, Leo Tolstoy challenges the Church's corruption and the state's reliance on violence. He argues that true Christianity demands absolute non-resistance to evil, a principle he claims has been ignored by institutional religion for centuries. Tolstoy urges readers to reject military service, capital punishment, and war, proposing instead a life of active love and moral integrity as the only path to social reconstruction and personal salvation.

Summary up to 500 words

In "The Kingdom of God Is Within You," Count Leo Tolstoy presents a radical reinterpretation of Christianity, stripping away the mysticism and dogma of the institutional Church to reveal what he considers the pure, original teaching of Jesus: the doctrine of non-resistance to evil by force. Tolstoy begins by recounting the suppression of his earlier book, "What I Believe," which first articulated his rejection of the Church's teachings on war and state authority. He details how he received letters from American Quakers and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, who affirmed that true Christianity forbids violence, even in defense of others. Tolstoy systematically dismantles the common justifications for war and state coercion, refuting arguments that force is necessary to restrain wicked men or protect neighbors. He exposes the hypocrisy of religious leaders who preach forgiveness while administering oaths of military obedience and participating in the machinery of state violence. The text argues that the Church has perverted Christ's message by aligning it with the 'pagan theory of life' based on force and hierarchy. Tolstoy asserts that the Kingdom of God is not a future political entity or a mystical realm, but a present reality achievable through individual moral choice and the establishment of public opinion based on truth and love. He contends that the contradiction between Christian conscience and the violent reality of modern life—evident in compulsory military service, the death penalty, and international wars—cannot be resolved by words but requires a fundamental change in human behavior. The book concludes with a call to repentance, urging humanity to abandon the 'pagan' organization of life based on force and to embrace the 'new theory of life' founded on the recognition of the truth that makes us free. Tolstoy's tone is earnest, logical, and uncompromising, blending the psychological insight of a novelist with the fervor of a prophet.

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Categories

• Religion
• Philosophy
• Politics