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=                  The_Kingdom_of_God_Is_Within_You                  =
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                            Introduction
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'The Kingdom of God Is Within You' (pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform
) is a non-fiction book written by Leo Tolstoy. A Christian anarchist
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 30 years of Tolstoy's thinking and lays out a new
organization for society based on an interpretation of Christianity
focusing on universal love.

'The Kingdom of God Is Within You' is a key text for Tolstoyan
proponents of nonviolence, of nonviolent resistance, and of the
Christian anarchist movement.


                             Background
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The title of the book originates from Luke 17:21. In the book, Tolstoy
speaks of the principle of nonviolent 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.



Tolstoy was largely inspired by the writings of American Christian
anarchists Adin Ballou and William Lloyd Garrison, who also shared his
viewpoint that all governments who waged war were an affront to the
New Testament and Christian ethics. Tolstoy discusses Ballou and
Garrison's texts and biographies at length in the book, including a
whole excerpt of Ballou's '[http://www.adinballou.org/catechism.shtml
Non-Resistance Catechism]' (originally published in 1844). As the
Russian Orthodox Church was at the time an organization merged with
the Russian state which was completely subservient to the state's
policies, 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 nonviolence 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:



Tolstoy presented excerpts from magazines and newspapers relating
various personal experiences, and gave keen insight into the history
of non-resistance from the very foundation of Christianity, as being
professed by a minority of believers. In particular, he confronts
those who seek to maintain 'status quo':



In 1894, Constance Garnett, who translated the work into English,
wrote the following in her translator's preface:

One cannot of course anticipate that English people, slow as they are
to be influenced by ideas, and instinctively distrustful of all that
is logical, will take a leap in the dark and attempt to put Tolstoy's
theory of life into practice. But one may at least be sure that his
destructive criticism of the present social and political regime will
become a powerful force in the work of disintegration and social
reconstruction which is going on around us.


Tolstoy's relationship with Mohandas Gandhi
=============================================
Mohandas Gandhi wrote in his autobiography 'The Story of My
Experiments with Truth' (Part II, Chapter 15) that Tolstoy's book
"overwhelmed" him, and "left an abiding impression". Gandhi listed
Tolstoy's book, as well as John Ruskin's 'Unto This Last' and the poet
Shrimad Rajchandra (Raychandbhai), as the three most important modern
influences in his life. Reading this book opened up the mind of the
world-famous Tolstoy to Gandhi, who was still a young protester living
in South Africa at the time.

In 1908, Tolstoy wrote 'A Letter to a Hindu', which Gandhi would read,
and which outlined the notion that only by using love as a weapon
through passive resistance could the native Indian people overthrow
the colonial British Empire. This idea ultimately came to fruition
through Gandhi's organization of nationwide nonviolent strikes and
protests during the years 1918-1947. In 1909, Gandhi wrote to Tolstoy
seeking advice and permission to republish 'A Letter to a Hindu' in
his native language, Gujarati. Tolstoy responded and the two continued
a correspondence until Tolstoy's death a year later in 1910. The
letters concern practical and theological applications of nonviolence,
as well as Gandhi's wishes for Tolstoy's health. Tolstoy's last letter
to Gandhi "was one of the last, if not the last, writings from his
pen."


With other nonviolent activists
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In 1894, 'The Kingdom of God is Within You' inspired the soldier
Arthur St. John to become a pacifist. It also had a great effect upon
James Bevel, a major 1960s strategist of the civil rights movement.
After reading the book while serving in the U.S. Navy, Bevel came to
the conclusion that he would be unable to kill another person. He
thereafter sought and was granted an honorable discharge, and entered
a seminary for religious training.


Importance of Jesus' words
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"The Kingdom of God is Within You" is the key phrase in Luke 17:21
which furthers the idea of nonviolence. Jesus said, "for, behold, the
kingdom of God is within you" in response to the Pharisees asking when
the Kingdom of God will come. The saying has numerous explanations
including that enlightenment is within you, in your heart, and your
spark of God has always been there. Therefore only a nonviolent,
peaceful nature will result in nonviolent, peaceful, Kingdom of God
outcomes.


                              See also
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* Leo Tolstoy bibliography
* Adin Ballou
* Divine presence
* Kingdom of God
* 'The Gospel in Brief'
* List of books about anarchism


                          Further reading
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*Milivojevic, D. 'Leo Tolstoy and the Oriental Religious Heritage.'
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1998).


                           External links
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*
*
*[https://archive.org/details/TheKingdomOfGodIsWithinYou 'The Kingdom
of God Is Within You'] — complete text in various formats at Internet
Archive
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120205200941/http://www.kingdomnow.org/withinyou.html
'The Kingdom of God Is Within You'] — complete HTML text by Kingdom
Now
*'[https://sniggle.net/TPL/index5.php?entry=tkogiwy The Kingdom of God
Is Within You]' — complete HTML version, with links to Wikipedia and
to Tolstoy's source material
*Tolstoy's Legacy for Mankind- A Manifesto for Nonviolence:
[http://www.fredsakademiet.dk/library/tolstoj/tolstoy.htm Part 1]
[http://www.fredsakademiet.dk/library/tolstoj/tolstoy2.htm#contents
Part 2]


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