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== The Kingdom of God is within you ==
Tolstoy's great philosophical/religious tract, The Kingdom of God is within you, summarised the development of his thought and reflections on Christianity. At its heart is the explanation of Tolstoy's belief that to truly call one's self a Christian one must abide simply by the teachings of Christ, as expressed in the New Testament. For Tolstoy, this meant, above all, pacifism, as expressed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Tolstoy viewed any person or authority that violated this precept as having rejected Christ's teachings and, thus, as not being Christian. Tolstoy himself did not accept attempts by non-contemporary followers of Christ to re-interpret and de-contextualise the message of the gospels to permit certain forms of violence. This led him into direct conflict with the Orthodox Church and the Russian authorities. As such, The Kingdom of God is within you was banned in his home country, and was first published in Germany.
Tolstoy's philosophy has had a major impact on Christian pacifist movements, such as the Quakers, and on those committed to non
==See also==
==See also==