The Kingdom of God is Within You

The Kingdom of God is Within You is a non-fiction work written by Leo Tolstoy and was first published in Germany in 1894, after being banned in his home country of Russia. The title of the book is taken from . In the book Tolstoy speaks of the principle of nonresistance when confronted by violence, as taught by Jesus:

Related Topics:
Non-fiction - Leo Tolstoy - Germany - 1894 - Russia - Nonresistance - Jesus

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:"But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" ().

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Tolstoy presented excerpts from magazines and newspapers relating various personal experiences, and gave keen insight into the history of nonresistance as being professed by a minority of believers from the very foundation of Christianity.

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Tolstoy recounted challenges by various people of all classes that his views on nonresistance were wrong, but argued that no matter how the challengers tried to attack the doctrine, its essence could not be overcome, as illustrated by the biblical illustration of perhaps the first occurrence of nonresistance:

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:"And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" ().

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Mahatma Gandhi wrote in his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth (available at ) that this book overwhelmed him and "left an abiding impression".

Related Topics:
Mahatma Gandhi - The Story of My Experiments with Truth

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Many consider The Kingdom of God is Within You http://www.kingdomnow.org/withinyou.html to be the founding document of nonviolent resistance, Tolstoyan and Christian anarchism movements worldwide.

Related Topics:
Nonviolent resistance - Tolstoyan - Christian anarchism

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