The point of this is to hopefully pique the readers interest in books that have had a really profound impact on myself, and in books that i feel everybody would be better off for having read. I'll probably be writing about more philosophical books, both existentially, socially, and politically. So there will be no plot outlines or anything, that would ruin it, I'm just going to write about what i learned and why i learned it.
The first book i want to write about is Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You. The paradigm presented in this book is extremely profound and it's one that i have yet to fully understand. I know that the stance that Tolstoy takes in this book is very practical and when it has been applied in the world the outcomes have been powerful. To sum it up The Kingdom of God Is Within You is as much a political manifesto as it is a call for an inward revolution. When a person chooses a beliefs system that opposes institutional powers it is as a consequence that political and social action happen. That is, if that person or collective persons belief is foundationally strong. I think of all the convictions that Tolstoy had, and I'll approach them later, the most integral part of his message, the one conviction that everything else hinged on was love. An undying source of love that a person can embrace, not because they are special or unique but because they have embraced an ultimate humility that allows them to see that it is only through committing their life to what Tolstoy called the "Divine Theory of Life" that they can live a life of love and a life that transforms the lives of those around them.I should probably explain what meant by a "Divine Theory of Life" if i do that I'll be getting into more detail than i want to and end up writing way too much. But to briefly explain it, because i thought it was important, Tolstoy saw three views of life, one being the individual, or the animal view of life, when a person seeks only to fulfill their own personal satisfaction, through fulfilling their own will. the second being the societal or pagan view of life where a person embraces patriotism and commits to the will of the state, under the illusion that it is also their own will. And the third being the divine view in which a person commits their will or their purpose in life to the God, the principle source of life. There is a lot more that can be said and Tolstoy elaborates a lot further so any conclusions about that brief explanation should probably be put off until reading this book.
What i find most inspiring about writers like Tolstoy is that they weren't afraid to approach knowledge and wisdom at a different level. Writers like Tolstoy, Henry David Thoreau, and Soren Kierkegaard among others were writing immensely important philosophy, but they weren't using science to legitimize everything they were saying, they were using faith which is far more powerful. There is a distinct divide for example, between the writings of Frederich Nietzsche and Karl Marx as compared to the writings of Kierkegaard or Tolstoy, the writings of Nietzsche and Marx are far more militant, if i can use that word, they were grounded in science and despite both of them having rejected faith as a way of life, faith was intrinsically bound up within all they wrote, to believe in science takes equal if not more faith than is required to believe in a divinity beyond this world. So to finish this point, Tolstoy did not deny faith it's rightful place as most secular thinkers of that time did and in doing so his writings have served an integral part in creating realizable change in our world.
I'm getting pretty disorganized in what I'm writing now, I wrote the first part of this a month ago so my train of thought isn't exactly fluent. If you've been able to get to this point, I'll sum up the most important idea within this book. The foundation of this book is based on "The Sermon of The Mount" which is found in the Gospels of the Bible's New Testament. This part of the Bible is extremely powerful and has the ability, if believed, to change not only people's lives but the world around them. Essentially it teaches love, unconditional love of all of our human brothers and sisters. As a result it also teaches that we should not strike back at those who harm us, that we should not resist evil, and this is where Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You takes off. If you're familiar with Mahatma Gandhi at all, he corresponded with Tolstoy specifically regarding this book and these ideas were integral, they were actually the foundation of what Gandhi accomplished, just to put into perspective the power of this idea when it's applied to the world.
I won't elaborate further on this concept, it would be doing Tolstoy's explanation a disservice. Another key concept in the book is the idea of Anarchy and how it may be the only true form of equality amongst humanity. The basic idea is that government is inherently flawed, because by nature the minority are controlling the majority, even if they were elected by the majority that does not quell the fact that there is a disconnect between the decisions being made by government and the will of the people. Furthermore Tolstoy would argue that institutions such as military and police forces are set up to protect the state, not the people as is thought to be the case. As such Tolstoy contends that Anarchy is the only feasible solution and that since we have not attempted an anarchistic living environment we do not actually know that it would result in chaos as is generally assumed. The sticking point to this argument though is that although there may be no worldly authority if anarchy were to be implemented there is still a divine authority and one that we must adhere to if anarchy is to be successful. This is where you can get into the idea of Christian Anarchism, which is a key aspect of the writings of not only Tolstoy but the the two other faith based thinkers i mentioned earlier.
Tolstoy also attacks Christendom much the same way Kierkegaard did, he seems distraught by the hypocrisy abound in the lives of "Christians" and by the actions of so called Christian nations, which is a contradictory term in itself. The point he makes is that we do not understand Christianity, we do not grasp Christ and what he did while he lived on this earth, we only take little bits and pieces and use them to our own advantage. But Tolstoy takes the way that Jesus lived literally and is inspired to follow it, as such he wrote this book. To really understand this aspect of Tolstoy it helps to read his book A Confession, i probably should have written about that first but maybe at some later point i will. Anyway if anyone was able to maneuver through that mess of writing, i strongly recommend this book, if it's taken for what it says i think the ideas presented in it have the power to change things, drastically.
