The Kingdom of God Is Within You: Christianity Not As a Mystic Religion, But As a New Theory of Life (Timeless Classic Books)

The Kingdom of God Is Within You is the non-fiction magnum opus of Leo Tolstoy and 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 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 nonresistance when confronted by violence, as taught by Jesus. Tolstoy believes that the true message of Jesus Christ was contained in the Gospels, specifically the Sermon on the Mount, and he sought to separate this from Orthodox Russian Christianity which was merged with the state. Tolstoy takes the viewpoint that all governments who wage war are an affront to Christian principles. When Christ says to turn the other cheek, Tolstoy asserts that he means simply that and rejects the interpretations of Roman and medieval scholars who attempted to limit its scope.