Non-violence, Christianity and Society in The Kingdom God Is Within You, by Tolstói

Abstract

At the end of the 19th century, renowned Russian writer Leo Tolstoy published The kingdom of God is within you in which he defends his main proposals for society based on his vision of Christianity. At times when Christianity appears in society as being used to support the defense of the hardening of punishments against crime, such as the death penalty, the use of weapons to defend itself and even wars and social exclusions worldwide, the Tolstoy’s proposal to free mankind from evil, based on non-violent resistance to all forms of violence, gains relevance. Based on the method of sociological analysis and historical contextualization in The Kingdom of God is in You, of Tolstói, it is evident his defense that Christ freed all people, and they can then decide between good and evil, rejecting violence and seeking to establish the kingdom of God in every human being so that they might come to an understanding of the truth. Thus, the author builds his work, proposing a break with violence in society, based on a rereading of the gospels, to point out ways to be followed in order to affirm non-violence, as something that should be experienced and defended by all Christians.