Tolstoy’s Christianity: by ChatGPT

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Tolstoy’s Christianity: A Radical Vision of Moral Absolutism

Leo Tolstoy’s Christianity, as articulated in works such as The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), What I Believe (1884), and his later essays, represents one of the most radical reimaginings of the Christian faith in modern history. Disillusioned with the Russian Orthodox Church, Tolstoy stripped Christianity of its institutional dogma, rituals, and eschatological mysticism, recasting it as an uncompromising ethical philosophy rooted in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. His vision was fiercely idealistic, often impractical, and deeply challenging - both for its adherents and its critics.

The Core Tenets of Tolstoy’s Christianity

Tolstoy’s interpretation centered on five key principles, derived explicitly from the teachings of Jesus:

1. Non-resistance to evil: Tolstoy understood Jesus’ command to "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39) as a prohibition against all forms of violence, retaliation, and coercion. This principle led him to reject military service, war, and state power as inherently un-Christian.

2. Universal love: For Tolstoy, love was the supreme moral law. It extended not only to one’s friends but also to enemies—a radical altruism that demanded forgiveness and compassion, even toward those who would harm or exploit you.

3. Rejection of materialism: Inspired by Jesus’ admonitions against wealth ("Sell all you have and give to the poor," Luke 18:22), Tolstoy advocated for a life of simplicity and manual labor, rejecting luxury, consumerism, and social hierarchies.

4. Critique of institutional religion: Tolstoy argued that organized churches, with their rituals, creeds, and alignment with state power, had corrupted Christ’s teachings. In What I Believe, he accused the Orthodox Church of hypocrisy, particularly for its support of war and capital punishment.

5. Individual moral responsibility: Tolstoy placed the burden of ethical transformation squarely on the individual. Salvation, for him, was not a divine gift but a product of living in accordance with Christ’s moral teachings.

The Impracticality and Its Defense

Critics have long argued that Tolstoy’s Christianity, while inspiring, is utterly unworkable in a world populated by "actual human beings." A life lived by his principles would invite exploitation, violence, and almost certain destruction. How could a society function if everyone turned the other cheek, refused to resist evil, and gave up material possessions? 

Tolstoy’s response to such critiques was both defiant and paradoxical:

1. A Kingdom of Heaven within the Individual: Tolstoy redefined the Kingdom of Heaven as a personal, internal state of living in truth and love. For him, the measure of success was not societal functionality but individual moral integrity. Even if the world remained brutal and unjust, one could still live a righteous life.

2. The Ultimate Test of Faith: Tolstoy viewed suffering and even martyrdom as inherent to living a truly Christian life. He saw fear of death as the root of moral compromise. To embrace non-violence and self-sacrifice was, in his view, to transcend humanity’s basest instincts and affirm a higher moral law.

3. Faith in Moral Contagion: Tolstoy believed that acts of radical love and non-resistance, while dangerous for the individual, could inspire others to do the same, eventually transforming society. He cited historical movements, such as the abolition of slavery, as evidence that moral ideals dismissed as impractical can reshape the world.

4. Rejection of Pragmatism: For Tolstoy, pragmatism was a thin veil for moral cowardice. He accused his critics of using "realism" to justify complicity in systems of violence, exploitation, and injustice. He argued that the true impracticality lay in accepting these systems as inevitable.

The Role of Eternal Life

Tolstoy’s philosophy also hinges on an implicit belief in eternal life - not in the conventional sense of heaven and hell, which he dismissed as church inventions, but as the survival of moral truth beyond the individual’s physical death. This belief imbues his demands for radical self-sacrifice with meaning. Without it, Tolstoy’s Christianity risks becoming a form of nihilism, where the individual sacrifices everything for an abstract ethical ideal with no ultimate reward.

Contradictions and Failures

Tolstoy’s personal life starkly reflected the tensions and contradictions of his philosophy. A wealthy landowner with a large family, he struggled to practice the simplicity and asceticism he preached. His wife, Sofia, often resented his increasingly extreme ideals, especially as he sought to renounce his property and live as a peasant. These failures, however, did not discredit his ideas in his own eyes. Instead, he saw them as proof of humanity’s deep entanglement in sin and self-interest.

Legacy and Influence

Tolstoy’s Christianity has had a profound impact, inspiring figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other advocates of non-violence. Yet, it remains a vision more admired than emulated. His uncompromising ethics demand a level of moral courage and self-abnegation that few can achieve.

Ultimately, Tolstoy’s Christianity is less a guide for practical living than a mirror held up to humanity’s moral failures. A challenge to confront the gap between what we claim to believe and how we actually live. Whether one sees it as an inspiring ideal or an impossible dream, Tolstoy’s vision of Christianity remains one of the most provocative ethical frameworks ever conceived, and perhaps one with the least influence.

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