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The Kingdom of God Is Within You is the non-fiction magnum opus of Leo Tolstoy and was initially banned in his home country of Russia. It is the culmination of thirty years of Tolstoy's Christian thinking, and lays out a new organization for society based on a literal Christian interpretation of the Bible. Here Tolstoy introduces the world to the concept of Christian non-violent resistance. A classic in modern Christian and Western thinking.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You is the non-fiction magnum opus of Leo Tolstoy. A philosophical treatise, the book was first published in Germany in 1894 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 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 17:21. 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 present volume contains two contrasting treatises. The first is religious, and shows in Count Tolstoï's earnest and eloquent manner the meaning of Christ's words which he takes for his text,—'The Kingdom of God is within you.'The outward forms of religion, however helpful they may be to some souls, are not essential; the superstitions with which Faith sometimes clothes or masks herself may or may not be uplifting; but the foundation of Christianity is the truth contained in Christ's words, his simple, plain, undogmatic commands and prohibitions. One word sums it all up, and that word is Love. If the world should take love for its guiding star, it is evident that all the evils of the world would cease,—wars, crimes, poverty, ambitions; the millennium would come! Count Tolstoï shows how that blessed period may begin in every man. The translation of this beautiful and inspiring book has been made by Mrs. Aline Delano of Boston. In answering the question,'What is Art?'Count Tolstoï analyzes and tests the various definitions given by other writers....

The soul-searching book that inspired Gandhi to embrace the concept of passive resistance, Tolstoy's 1894 polemic outlines a radical, well-reasoned revision of traditional Christian thinking. The revered novelist and political thinker denounces violent revolution, calling upon readers to rely upon their inner divinity for the strength to effect social change.

Banned in Russia, Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You was deemed a threat to church and state. The culmination of a lifetime's thought, it espouses a commitment to Jesus's message of turning the other cheek. In a bold and original manner, Tolstoy shows his readers clearly why they must reject violence of any sort—even that sanctioned by the state or the church—and urges them to look within themselves to find the answers to questions of morality.In 1894, one of the first English translations of this book found its way into the hands of a young Gandhi. Inspired by its message of nonresistance to evil, the Mahatma declared it a source of'independent thinking, profound morality, and truthfulness.'Much of this work's emotional and moral appeal lies in its emphasis on fair treatment of the poor and working class. Its view of Christianity, not as a mystic religion but as a workable philosophy originating from the words of a remarkable teacher, extends its appeal to secular and religious readers alike.

In the words of the translator of this volume'The Kingdom of God is Within You'is'one of the most remarkable studies of the social and psychological condition of the modern world.'In'The Kingdom of God is Within You'Tolstoy expounds upon his earlier work'What I Believe.'Tolstoy believes that the true message of Christ is one of peace, love and harmony and he draws sharp contrast to the church doctrine of his time in which he finds the absence of any commandment against violence a perversion of Christ's teachings.

Initially banned in his home country The Kingdom of God Is Within You is Leo Tolstoy's great non-fictional work. The zenith of Tolstoy's thirty years of Christian thinking, it sets out a plan for a new society guided by a literal Christian interpretation. Christ conceived of a society based on love, compassion and tolerance, and Tolstoy believed this was incompatible with violence. Tolstoy's response is the principle of nonresistance in the face of violence, and that the wars that governments wage were at odds with Christian ideals. He believed we should not be limiting the scope of God's commandments, writing'how can you kill people, when it is written in God's commandment:'Thou shalt not murder'?'Mahatma Gandhi wrote that The Kingdom of God Is Within You'overwhelmed'and'left an abiding impression'on him, listing it as one of three modern works most influential on his life and philosophy.