For Part Two of this, “versus” article series, I am focusing on the Russian author, Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), and his views on non-resistance and Pacifism. To gain some context for this article, it would be helpful for you to go back and read Part One of this series if you haven’t done so already. As you read this, it would also be helpful to note that although I agree with Tolstoy on many topics of debate, I do not necessarily agree with all of Tolstoy’s views expressed in this article. At the same time, my goal is to bring out the very best of his arguments in the most persuasive way possible, as to try to convince the reader of his views.
When most people hear the name Leo Tolstoy, one of his most famous works, War and Peace, instantly comes to mind. He is considered one of the greatest Russian authors of all time. As a young man, Tolstoy was no stranger to violence and warfare. In fact, he served as an artillery officer in the Russian army during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Later in life, Tolstoy’s views on violence and war would drastically change. As Tolstoy speaks to in his book, A Confession, by the age of 50 he struggled with depression due to much regret and a lack of meaning in life. Tolstoy would go on to find meaning in life through what he called, the “Doctrine of Jesus,” and would write about his newfound faith and his views on non-resistance in several religious works including his books My Religion and The Kingdom of God is Within You.1
One reason I am narrowing in on Tolstoy for the pacifist side of the argument is due to the fact that outside of Jesus himself, Tolstoy has had the greatest impact on the doctrine and spread of non-resistance and Pacifism in our modern world. I know that is quite a claim, but when you think about the fact that Tolstoy has influenced people such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jane Addams, the claim seems soundly justified. Gandhi wrote in his autobiography, The Story Of My Experiments With Truth, that Tolstoy’s, The Kingdom of God is Within You, was one of the three most significant modern influences in his life. He stated that the book “overwhelmed” and left an “abiding impression” on him2
A second reason for using Tolstoy for the pacifist side of the argument is due to the impact he has had on me over the past few years. Outside of C.S. Lewis, I’ve read more Leo Tolstoy in this time period than any other author. Overall, he has challenged and even changed the way I think in profound ways.
It should be noted that Tolstoy had a very unorthodox view of what it means to follow Jesus. Some would say that many of his teachings are heretical. Yet, there is much to be gained from studying his theological insights and views on non-resistance. From Tolstoy’s own description of his beliefs in his books, My Religion and The Kingdom of God is Within You, he did not believe in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit being necessary for sanctification, God/Jesus coming incarnate for redemption, the hope of eternal life and many other core doctrines of the historical Christian Faith.3 4
Part of understanding Tolstoy’s arguments in favor of Pacifism comes down to understanding his view on what he calls the “Doctrine of Jesus.” According to Tolstoy, the core of the Doctrine of Jesus rests in the idea expressed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount of “Resist not evil.”5 Early on in his book, My Religion (also titled “What I believe”), Tolstoy states it clearly, “The command, “Resist not evil,” is the central point of Jesus’ doctrine; it is not a mere verbal affirmation; it is a rule whose practice is obligatory… When we regard it as a command impossible of performance, the value of the entire doctrine is lost.”6 As can be seen, Tolstoy looks to the “Doctrine of Jesus” with the command “Resist not evil” at the center as his authority. In other words, if one was to ask Tolstoy why he is a Pacifist, he would inevitably reply, because Jesus commanded it.
There is much that can be said concerning Tolstoy’s views on the “Doctrine of Jesus” and his views on the Kingdom of God. My goal in this article is to focus on Tolstoy’s “Doctrine of Jesus” and views on the Kingdom as they pertain to non-resistance and Pacifism. To accomplish this, I will break down Tolstoy’s arguments found in, My Religion and The Kingdom of God is Within You, into what I find to be his five most compelling arguments in favor of Pacifism.
First, Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 should be understood in a simple and literal way leading to a complete non-resistant lifestyle.
According to Tolstoy, Matthew 5 verses 38 and 39, taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, were key to his understanding of the Doctrine of Jesus.7
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38-39, KJV)
In his book, My Religion, Tolstoy takes this passage and summarizes it in his own words,
Whatever injury the evil-disposed may inflict upon you, bear it, give all that you have, but resist not. Could anything be more clear, more definite, more intelligible than that? I had only to grasp the simple and exact meaning of these words, just as they were spoken, when the whole doctrine of Jesus, not only as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount, but in the entire Gospels, became clear to me…8
As seen, Tolstoy rests his understanding of the teachings of Jesus expressed in the Sermon on the Mount on a simple and literal interpretation of the words. Expressly, Matthew 5, “means what it says and imposes a duty of nonresistance on all men in all circumstances.”9 For Tolstoy, understanding Jesus and the Gospels comes down to understanding this passage and the duty of non-resistance it imposes on us. “‘Resist not evil’ means, never resist, never oppose violence; or, in other words, never do anything contrary to the law of love.”10 To use violence in any and all situations is in opposition to Jesus and his teachings.
Reading this passage with a simple and literal interpretation brings up many questions for the skeptic of Pacifism. Such as, what if one needs to defend themselves? Tolstoy would say, resist not. What if you need to defend another person from harm? Resist not. What if you are called to defend your country? Resist not. In other words, if Jesus meant what he said, the use of violence can never be reconciled with the teachings and doctrine of Jesus.
Second, Jesus not only spoke to the doctrine of non-resistance but he and his followers lived it through their actions.
Jesus didn’t just speak to the idea of non-resistance, he lived out the doctrine. Tolstoy states, “Not only in words but by his acts, by his death, did Jesus propound his doctrine, ‘Resist not evil.’”11 We see the apostle Peter give credibility to this view as he encourages believers to look to Christ as an example. 1 Peter 2:23 states, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”12 When Jesus was arrested and crucified, he did not fight back or resist. He did not seek revenge but instead, he endured the suffering and desired forgiveness for his aggressors.
In his book, The Kingdom of God is Within You, Tolstoy brings up a great question. How can one, “…reconcile the duty of forgiveness, meekness, patience, and love for all, neighbors and enemies alike, which is so clearly expressed in the words of our teacher, and in the heart of each of us…” with the use of violent force?13 Tolstoy’s point is that it is hard to look at Jesus’ sacrificial and self-giving life and at the same time, justify violence against one’s neighbor.
Not only did Jesus live out the doctrine of non-resistance, but his closest followers, the disciples, did as well. Tolstoy states that when it comes to non-resistance, “The early disciples observed this rule, and passed their lives in misery and persecution, without rendering evil for evil. It seems, then, that Jesus meant precisely what he said.”14 To Tolstoy’s point, 10 out of the 12 disciples were martyred for their faith. It is incredible to think that Jesus’ closest followers were all willing to die for their faith. With that said, there is no evidence to suggest that they used self-defense or violence to avoid their fate. The disciples seem to have responded to persecution the same way as their teacher had, humbly non-resisting.
When speaking about the actions of Jesus, for the skeptic of Pacifism, the scenes of Jesus in the temple flipping tables (Matthew 21, Mark 11, and John 2) come to mind. John 2:15 states “And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;”15 Although it is heavily debated whether or not Jesus uses the whips on the money changers and or the animals in John 2, the scene itself seems pretty violent. Tolstoy brings up these scenarios with Jesus in the temple in his writings, but he does not counter or directly address the challenge with any rebuttal.16 (I will be addressing this challenge in a later part of this article series.)
Third, evil cannot suppress evil, only good confronting evil can overcome it
If anything can overcome evil, it is not evil itself, but good that can defeat it. Tolstoy says it this way, “As fire cannot extinguish fire, so evil cannot suppress evil. Good alone, confronting evil and resisting its contagion, can overcome evil.”17 Tolstoy’s words echo the truth found in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”18 Our modern ears can also hear the words of Martin Luther King, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”19 When it comes to acts of violence in our world, it is not hard to see that violence often leads to more violence. Hate often leads to more hate. Here’s how it goes, you attack me, and I will attack you back. You hurt my family; I will hurt yours. Your country bombs our country; we bomb yours back. And the cycle continues. In one sense, it is even worse than that. You hit me, I hit you back harder. You bomb us, we drop more bombs back. The fire adds to the fire. The violence only adds to the violence.
Now imagine if everyone in the world practiced non-violence. Imagine if every Christian in the world lived as Jesus lived. What if all violence was met by unconditional love? The world would change. When it comes to the commandments of Jesus, Tolstoy asked himself, “…what would be the result if the whole Christian world believed in them, believed not only in reading and chanting them for the glory of God, but also in obeying them for the good of humanity?”20 In other words, what if men kept these commandments: Live in peace with all men. Be pure. Take no oaths. Resist not evil. Renounce national distinctions.21 Wouldn’t the world be a completely different place? Wouldn’t it look like the kingdom Jesus described? Violence does not seem like the way to this kingdom.
Fourth, the doctrine of non-resistance is still binding even in defense and protection of one’s neighbor
So far, maybe most can get on board with many of Tolstoy’s ideas on non-resistance but with some caveats. For example, one might say, “If the evil is directed against me personally, resist not. But the doctrine of non-resistance most certainly ceases to be binding when the evil is directed against my neighbor.” One could even argue that a person in this scenario is bound to act by force in defense of their neighbor. It would seem somewhat immoral to sit back while your neighbor is in harm’s way and for you to choose not to interfere on their behalf. To this Tolstoy responds,
If every man has the right to have recourse to force in face of a danger threatening another, the question of the use of force is reduced to a question of the definition of danger for another. If my private judgment is to decide the question of what is danger for another, there is no occasion for the use of force which could not be justified on the ground of danger threatening some other man.22
In other words, if all that we have is our private judgment when trying to decipher threats, we can justify almost any act of violence against another person. To this point Tolstoy gives us a few examples, “They killed and burnt witches, they killed aristocrats and girondists, they killed their enemies because those who were in authority regarded them as dangerous for the people.”23 As soon as we make a caveat for the doctrine of non-resistance, we then find ourselves on a slippery slope leading to violence being justified in similar scenarios. He also adds, if a person has not yet carried out their evil intent, we cannot know which evil is greater, the evil in one’s act of violence or the evil act we were trying to prevent.24
To this argument Tolstoy would also add, nowhere do we find this caveat in Jesus’ life or preaching.25 Jesus never mentions the idea that one should protect one’s neighbor from harm with the use of physical violence. The Gospels also never mention Jesus acting in such a way to protect others from harm. What we do find is Jesus’ response to Peter, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”26 (Matthew 26:52) Overall, the life Jesus lived and the words He spoke pose a challenge to the skeptic of Pacifism.
Fifth, the doctrine of non-resistance extends beyond personal relationships into war.
Tolstoy extends his literal interpretation not just to individual relationships, but to war as well. When it comes to war, Tolstoy states,
We say, ‘If he had forbidden it, he would have said so plainly.’ We forget that Jesus did not foresee that men having faith in his doctrine of humility, love, and fraternity, could ever, with calmness and premeditation, organize themselves for the murder of their brethren. Jesus did not foresee this, and so he did not forbid a Christian to participate in war.27
According to Tolstoy, Jesus never realized the necessity of forbidding his followers to abstain from war. He was so clear in his original command to, “resist not,” why would he need to reiterate this command, which in Tolstoy’s eyes, would obviously extend to practices such as war? To Tolstoy’s point, if we are not called to use violence in defense against our neighbor in the protection of another in our personal affairs, how can we justify the act of violence in a time of war? If our authority is Jesus, then the government doesn’t get to decide either. The government is not our ultimate authority on the matter. The government does not get to define morality for us.28 What a great contradiction we find between Christ’s law and the idea in, “all men are placed by compulsory military service of being prepared for hatred and murder—of being at the same time a Christian and a gladiator.”29 Again, we cannot rectify the contradiction between, “resist not” and war. As Christians, we must look to the One who does hold the ultimate authority in our lives, Jesus.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is much that can be said concerning Tolstoy’s views on non-resistance. Overall, Tolstoy passionately defended his position of non-resistance based on his understanding of Jesus’ words found in the Sermon on the Mount. I have done my best in this article to break down these views and organize them for you in a compelling way. Hopefully, it has given you as much to wrestle with as it has for me. Whether you agree or disagree with Tolstoy’s arguments, I hope this article has challenged you to think well about the doctrine of non-resistance. Next up for Part 3 of this versus series, we will take a look at C.S. Lewis and his views on Pacifism and the doctrine of non-resistance.
Footnotes
1 Tolstoy, Leo. A Confession. New York: Dover Publications, 2005. Kindle Edition.
2 Gandhi, Mahatma. Autobiography: The Story Of My Experiments With Truth (p.188). Sanage Publishing. Kindle Edition.
3 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.55, p.21, p.46, p.127-134). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
4 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 15). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
5 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.8, p.23). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
6 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.23). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
7 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.16). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
8 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.18). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
9 Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963., The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses (p.85). Harper SanFrancisco, 2001.
10 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.20). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
11 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.41). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
12 Barker, Kenneth L. NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 2011.
13 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 16). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
14 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.19). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
15 NASB Thinline Bible: New American Standard Bible, NASB 1995. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020.
16 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.16). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
17 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.47). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
18 NASB Thinline Bible: New American Standard Bible, NASB 1995. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020.
19 King Jr. Martin Luther. Strength to Love. Beacon Press, October 15, 2019
20 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (p.93). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
21 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 19). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
22 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 17). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
23 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 17). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
24 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 18). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
25 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 17). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
26 NASB Thinline Bible: New American Standard Bible, NASB 1995. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020.
27 Tolstoy, Leo. My Religion (pp.90-91). True Sign Publishing House. Kindle Edition.
28 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 11). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
29 Tolstoy, Leo. The Kingdom of God is Within You (p. 68). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.
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