The Kingdom of God Is Within You Paperback – Sep 13 2010

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.

got to read it again, i was very stoned the first time through. I remember the later sections condemning conscription. but this book is tolstoys civil disobedience. its essential reading

Interesting history about real Christianity. MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT THE REAL MEANING OF RELIGION
IN OUR LIVES AND THE STRUGGLE TO REMAIN OPEN TO THE MYSTERY.

Great read

Tolstoy with amazing forsight and insight ,cuts through falsehoods that alienate,corrupt and brutalize mankind, to core issues whereby man may realize in his life the truth he knows, thereby reforming and emancipating mankind.

This is the book which sparked the spiritual revolution in Ghandi, and helped make him the unbelieveable man he was. Ghandi raved about this book in his autobiography, and I couldn't agree more. This could quite possibly be the best book I have ever read. However, two years ago I wouldn't have gotten all that I have out of it. It came in the perfect time of my spiritual awakening. By the very Truth of you reading what I am saying I would suggest you get this book RIGHT NOW! You are ready to hear what he has to say, and it will make you a better person and thus making our world better. Tolstoy is a remarkable spiritual revolutionist, and he will open your eyes to the works of others that have been suppressed throughout time. Good luck to you and take care out there!

This is an interesting book, which I bought on the strength of its author's name. It is almost a companion piece to "War and Peace," another pacifism book. The reviews so far extensively cover the content of the book. I will include some criticisms.
1) We need to keep in mind the Russian word "Mir," as in the ex-space station. "Mir" can be translated as "peace" or "community." As Tolstoy explains the progression of society, he begins with the individual-animal, then the state-pagan, and finally the world (ch. IV). So "World Peace" can be translated as "World Community." This idea is an expression of the Russian language.
2) Tolstoy is an advocate of a radical pacifism to the point on non-intervention when others are being affected by evil (p. 33-34). In other words, America should not have stopped Hitler. That idea is worse than Nazism itself!
3) Tolstoy inadvertently makes the "Self Inclusion Fallacy," the technical name for when someone criticizes someone else for doing something that he himself is doing-in psychology it is called projection. The specific error he makes is that he relies on the Bible for his brand of pacifism, and criticizes others for going beyond the bounds of the Bible for their brand of pacifism (34). Well, Tolstoy's own argument is also not found in the Bible-if it was, why then write the book? It is the same mistake Martin Luther made: "Sola Scriptora" is itself unscriptural.
4) Tolstoy also makes the mistake of citing a few scriptures as the basis of his philosophy. He reduces the sixty-six books of the Bible to a few verses, and is therefore playing a one key piano. His philosophy is more like an elaborate slogan or bumper-sticker. Dr. Boyd K. Packer observed that any virtue pushed to an extreme becomes a vice. So, any truth pushed to an extreme becomes a lie.
5) C. S. Lewis warned about a hyphenated Christianity, called "Christianity And."(Screwtape Letters, ch. 25). Tolstoy advocates a "Christianity AND the Peace Movement." What happens is Christianity gets politicized and reinterpreted in terms of the minor suffix, and eventually the major prefix of Christianity is lost. Look at the Crusades; we can sin in the opposite direction.
6) Tolstoy's reliance on scriptures only works if you believe the Bible.
7) Honestly--who really IS for war? Just the bullies and the people of Evil. Possibly the arms makers. Maybe the generals and admirals. But out of normal people, who is for war? In light of the World Trade Center calamity, many people are for defense and justice. Tolstoy sees no distinction between defense, justice, and war. The book presupposes that there is an inclination for war among people. I concede that at the heart of every war is a philosophical question, but Tolstoy never discussed the drives or appetite for war in man. James 4:1.
Read this book with M. Scott Peck's "People of the Lie," for another Christian's perpective on war, especially chapter 6: MYLAI: An Examination of Group Evil.

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. Tolstoy argues, very persuasively, that the core teachings of Jesus have been lost to the modern Christian (as of the 1890's, and still true today). His insight into the nature of man is nothing short of brilliant. Man is too comfortable with the way things are to really adopt Jesus approach to life, one of the core underpinnings being non resistance to evil by violence.
Another reviewer said that following Tolstoy's advice, we (the US, I guess) should have never opposed Hitler. We shouldn't have -- Hitler would have been out of power in short order; he was no threat to us. Forgive this brief aside.
Most of what passes for Christianity today is nothing of the sort. A great deal of it is self-serving. Jesus said salvation is personal -- you don't need a "church" to be saved. As Tolstoy explains, church's are largely the invention of men, who crave a hierarchy and order.
This book is a revelation. Christians take note: you may feel rebuked (convicted?) by the words written here.