The Kingdom of God is Within You

Cuido bien el libro y gracias.

I enjoyed the depth, though it is not an easy or fast read. I was looking for personal enrichment (and found it).

One of the most enlightening books I’ve read

This is a book that is challenging and radical, in that Tolstoy asks us to take quite literally the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. While certainly we have made some progress in the past 120 years, there is much in his writing that still holds absolutely true today. I found myself highlighting multiple passages, and thinking how true it is to today's world. For example:"Men might well observe the laws if they believed the Tzars who made them were God's anointed, or even if they thought they were the work of assemblies of lawgivers who had the power and the desire to make them as good as possible. But we all know how our laws are made. We have all been behind the scenes, we know that they are the product of covetousness, trickery, and party struggles; that there is not and cannot be any real justice in them.""The specialty of government is not to obey, but to enforce obedience. And a government is only a government so long as it can make itself obeyed, and therefore it always strives for that and will never willingly abandon its power."and"A man cannot be placed against his will in a situation opposed to his conscience. If you find yourself in such a position it is not because it is necessary to anyone whatever, but simply because you wish it."I think he clearly gets at the problem of the Christian in relationship to the state, and while the government may do things in the interest of "goodness" there is always a threat behind that (and many things that the state does that are just plain wrong and evil). As an American it has certainly given me some new perspective on our military involvements around the world. I believe this is very challenging for anyone who is a serious Christian, or seriously believes in peace, and wants to go beyond the orthodoxy of what we are taught by the established church and government. This book could have benefited from some editing, but overall it is a fairly easy read, and well worth the effort.

Tolstoy raises good points but as book.....he seeks to raise same issues again and again....with same criticisms.....

I just finished this book and it is one of the most effective and brilliant presentations of what Jesus was referring to when He spoke of The Kingdom of God. Tolstoy describes a completely different way of life than the way our world is structured and explains why the current structure is so false and unfulfilling. I honestly wish everyone would read this book, especially everyone who professes Christianity.I did find small parts of it repetitive, but Tolstoy's writing is nothing short of genius and he's trying to get the points across to people like me who are not quite geniuses!

The good:Tolstoy gives compelling reasons, arguments and thoughts as to why genuine followers of Christ should abstain from military and political involvement. The "State" is definitely anti-Christian and unrighteous. It is very clear from the teachings of Christ and the Apostles (and demonstrated by the Early Church) that serving under the power and dominion of the state is contrary to the commands of Christ and lifestyle a Christian is to have. After all, for a true follower of Christ, their "kingdom is not of this world" and "no soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of this life"...the military and politics are just two of the many affairs of this life. There's much more to say on the subject, but that's not part of a review.The bad:He could have said everything he needed to say in 1/3 less pages. Much of it is repetitive and redundant and in numerous places he seems to me to be just rambling on.I also got the impression that all those with wealth were evil and should give all their wealth to the poor. While Jesus does teach forsaking material possessions to follow Him, it is not a requirement. The main principle of wealth is not to make it an idol nor to be encumbered by it and to be willing to give it up or away as needed. Yes, it seems that the majority of wealthy people are greedy and unrighteous, but there are others who are generous and don't life flamboyant lifestyles.Conclusion: Anyone who believes they are a true follower of Christ and serves in the military or politics or is considering doing so should read and seriously consider the thoughts in this book. I would also recommend reading what the Early Church practiced when it comes to this, but most importantly read and live the commandments of Christ.

This is Tolstoy's major work on Christian nonviolence. He puts forth the principle on non-violent resistance to evil and bases it on Christian principles. It took me a long time to read this book because, being written in 1894, the significance of many of the references that Tolstoy makes to 19th century European politics and society are not easily grasped by the modern 21st century reader. Yet if you want to understand the history and theory of nonviolent resistance, I feel this is an important book to read and understand. Not only because of Tolstoy's thinking, but because he outlines the work of previous writers and activists that contributed to his thinking. Tolstoy raises the stakes on what it means to be Christian. I am sure that most of the people who profess Christianity today would turn away from Tolstoy's teachings and go on supporting their country's wars and their own personal wealth that comes from these wars. He starts small with just asking his readers to recognize the truth of what he says, and to speak the truth instead of living the lies. I believe I will read this book again someday as the long time it took to read has diluted its impact on me. Having sampled the wine and found it good, I hope someday to be able to drink it to the dregs.

I wish this was taught in schools. An eye opener- deep insight into humanity and our purpose within the Kingdom of God

This is a philosophy book, not really about religion. It is about institutional violence and is most interesting because it was written before the nuclear age. He has hope for the United States which as history has shown did not take a non violent route through History. He talks about the lack of respect for human life, artificial lines on a map (borders), and other ways we humans divide ourselves rather than come together in a common humanity. I know this book was an inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr. and to Ghandi and that is why I wanted to read it.

Great read

I do not belong to Chritianity, contradiction between the church teachings and the Christ teaching were so self-evident that this book seems to me irrelevant in this age. But for some, still in the various churches, maybe they could find an interest in the inherent contradictions like the use of violence by christian when Christ exort non-violence. Mainly that's the topic of this book.I was hoping for a philosophical, a larger book, didn't expect to be self-defense against political and religious autorities.

Before setting off for Turkey for two weeks in the summer of 2012, I had discovered the writings of Count Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian writer. I only knew of his work as small inspirational quotations used by various writers, but had never really been introduced to his work properly until i heard that he was a Christian Anarchist...then my ears perked up.I was to go on to find that Tolstoy shared many of my beliefs about how the Christian church had, over the millennia, moved away from the traditional teachings of Jesus Christ. Tolstoy's book "The Kingdom of God is within you", written well over a hundred years ago, is more relevant than ever for us today. First printed in 1894 in Germany, since it was banned in his native Russia, it is the culmination of thirty years of Tolstoy's Christian anarchist beliefs.Reading The Kingdom of Heaven is Within you below the cool shade of the palms trees outside my rented apartment in Western Turkey last year, the vision of Christ that Tolstoy put forth was the Christ I had known from my childhood, the same Christ the church rebuked me for believing in in later years. Tolstoy goes right for the jugular with his condemnation of the hypocritical church of his day, a church not unlike our own today.As is evident in the book, Tolstoy was a pacifist, and his teachings of "The Doctrine of Non Resistance to Evil by Force" is well explained throughout the book, an example of which can be seen here..."The Sermon on the Mount, or the Creed. One cannot believe in both. And Churchmen have chosen the latter. The Creed is taught and is read as a prayer in the churches, but the Sermon on the Mount is excluded even from the Gospel passages read in the churches, so that the congregation never hears it in church, except on those days when the whole of the Gospel is read. Indeed, it could not be otherwise. People who believe in a wicked and senseless God-- who has cursed the human race and devoted his own Son to sacrifice, and a part of mankind to eternal torment--cannot believe in the God of love."While written over a hundred years ago, the translator Constance Garnett has done an excellent job of translating this Russian masterpiece into English, to the point where one could be inclined to believe it had been written yesterday. Yet, it loses none of it's potency to deliver one of the finest works, in my view, concerned with the teachings of Christ and the exposing of the hypocrisy within the modern day church. Tolstoy continues..."But the Church is holy; the Church was founded by Christ. God could not leave men to interpret his teaching at random--therefore he founded the Church. All those statements are so utterly untrue and unfounded that one is ashamed to refute them. 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. In the Gospels there is a warning against the Church, as it is an external authority, a warning most clear and obvious in the passage where it is said that Christ's followers should "call no man master." But nowhere is anything said of the foundation of what Churchmen call the Church."The book opened my eyes to the strange irony that our "Christian" nations are the same ones who spend so much money on military armaments, often at the expense of health care, all the while claiming to follow the pacifist "love your enemies and bless those who curse you" Jesus.I could go on and on about this book.I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those who, having sensed something hypocritical in traditional Christianity's teachings, want a book to remind them of the difference between Christ's teachings and those of the Church. It would also be a very good book for those who are either thinking about eventually serving in the military who also consider themselves to be of a Christian standing, and also those who want material to convince their sons or daughters not to sign up for military life.