# Chapter II explained — The Kingdom of God Is Within You

> Chapter companion for The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy.

## What happens

Tolstoy reflects on the criticisms of his book 'My Religion', noting that both ecclesiastical and lay critics fundamentally misunderstand Christ's teaching on nonresistance to evil. He identifies three common arguments used to justify violence within Christianity and refutes each. He observes that Russian critics attacked the principle from both conservative and revolutionary angles, while foreign critics dismissed it as impractical for modern civilization.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nonresistance to Evil

The central theme of the chapter; Tolstoy defends Christ's commandment against violence and refutes common objections.

### Hypocrisy of Society

Tolstoy highlights how both conservative and revolutionary critics attack nonresistance for self-serving reasons.

### Critique of Church and State

Tolstoy criticizes church and state authorities for distorting Christ's teaching to justify violence and maintain power.

## Character check-ins

### Leo Tolstoy

Author reflecting on the reception of his book and defending Christ's teaching on nonresistance.

### Jesus Christ

His teaching on nonresistance to evil is the central subject of the chapter.

### John Chrysostom

Mentioned as an early proponent of the argument that force is needed against malefactors.

## Key lines

> the bold assertion that violence does not contradict Christ’s teaching, and that it is permitted and even prescribed by the Old and the New Testament.

Critics boldly claim that the Bible allows and even commands violence, contradicting Christ's message.

_Tolstoy identifies this as a common but flawed argument from church and state authorities._

> the Russian lay critics, who evidently did not know all that had been done in the development of the question as to nonresistance to evil, and who at times even seemed to assume that I personally invented the rule of not resisting evil with violence, attacked the idea itself

Russian secular critics, ignorant of the long history of nonresistance thought, attacked the idea as if Tolstoy invented it.

_Tolstoy notes the critics' lack of historical awareness and their assumption that he originated the doctrine._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kingdom_of_god_is_within_you_se/chapters