Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Das Reich Gottes ist inwendig in euch
Go deeper: the whole of Das Reich Gottes ist inwendig in euch
About 8 h to read.Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who love moral argument, Christian thought and Tolstoy's later writing, and anyone drawn to questions of conscience, peace and the individual before the state.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
A young man stands before a Russian conscription board. He is frightened, his voice barely rises above a whisper, and he says that as a Christian he cannot serve. The officers do not listen, and the line moves on.
That scene sits at the heart of The Kingdom of God Is Within You, which Leo Tolstoy finished in 1893. His earlier book was stopped by the censors, yet it passed from hand to hand and brought him letters and critics. This book is his answer. His claim is that Christ forbade resisting evil by force, and that this rules out war, oaths and the machinery of the state.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1Quakers and Garrison kept nonresistance aliveFree
- 2Ballou and Helchitsky show a long silence around the truth
- 3Refusing military service is a duty each person must own
- 4Critics dodge the question instead of answering it
- 5Churches teach the creed and bury the Sermon
- 6Scientists mistake an ideal for a rule
- 7Our lives contradict our conscience at every turn
- 8Conscription is where the state's logic breaks down
- 9Freedom begins when one person stops obeying
- 10Public opinion will carry the change, and hypocrisy blocks it
Punkt 1 von 10
Quakers and Garrison kept nonresistance alive
Tolstoy begins with letters from strangers. American Quakers described more than two hundred years of refusing weapons, even in self-defense. They argued that nothing hides the Christian faith from outsiders more than the permission Christians give themselves to wage war.
Then came a letter from the son of William Lloyd Garrison, who enclosed a declaration his father drew up in Boston in 1838. It says the signers owe no allegiance to any human government, that their country is the world, and that it condemns every war and every standing army. Garrison's followers would obey every law except those that clash with the Gospel, and would accept the penalty meekly. They would spread their view only by preaching and petitions.
Yet even Americans who admired Garrison hardly knew of it. Good ideas are sometimes left alone because they ask too much. Nonresistance is an old Christian position, and Tolstoy did not invent it.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Das Reich Gottes ist inwendig in euch
About 8 h to read.About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 126,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 25 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Das Reich Gottes ist inwendig in euch
What is The Kingdom of God Is Within You about?
It argues that Christ's command not to resist evil by force is the core of his teaching, and that war, oaths, conscription and the violence of the state cannot be squared with it. Tolstoy supports this with history, replies to critics and examples.
Why was The Kingdom of God Is Within You banned in Russia?
Tolstoy criticizes the Orthodox Church, the army and the state, and urges refusal of military service and oaths. The Russian authorities saw this as a danger, so the book circulated through copies and foreign editions.
What does nonresistance to evil mean in Tolstoy's book?
It does not mean doing nothing against wrong. It means never answering evil with evil or violence, and opposing it through example, speech and refusal to take part, as Ballou's catechism in the book explains.
When was The Kingdom of God Is Within You written and is it true?
Tolstoy finished it in 1893 and signed the preface at Yasnaya Polyana. It is a nonfiction treatise that draws on real letters, books, diaries and events, including a train of soldiers he met in 1892.
What is the main message of Tolstoy's book?
The main message is that real change begins with each person refusing to take part in violence and deception. Tolstoy believes that when enough people follow conscience, public opinion will carry society toward peace.
Cite this edition
Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God Is Within You. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you.
Tolstoy, L. (2026). The kingdom of God is within you. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you (Original work published 1894)
Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God Is Within You. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you.
@book{tolstoy2026kingdom,
author = {Tolstoy, Leo},
title = {The Kingdom of God Is Within You},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you},
note = {First published 1894}
}
