Product Description Originally published in 1885, What I Believe is part of series of books by novelist Leo Tolstoy that outline his personal interpretation of Christian theology. After a midlife crisis at age 50, he began to believe in the moral teachings of Christianity, while rejecting mysticism and organized religion. He believed that pacifism and poverty were the paths to enlightenment. His precepts of nonviolence even influenced Mohandas Gandhi. Students of religion, political science, and literature alike will gain new understanding from the ideas presented in this book. Students of literature will get to understand more deeply one of the greatest novelist in history, while those interested in religion and politics can see how Tolstoy's philosophy came to influence the world at large. Russian writer COUNT LEV ("LEO") NIKOLAYEVICH TOLSTOY (1828-1910) is best known for his novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).
Customer Reviews: Eye openingJanuary 9, 2007 L. Humphreys(Minneapolis, MN USA) 21 out of 23 found this review helpful
If you love learning about world religion and looking for insight into why religion today is what it is, this is a wonderful comparative literature that is truly well researched, though out, and controversial. It was a really hard book to find, banned for many years. It is the book that inspired Gandhi to become the man that changed India. It explores the personal stuggles of Tolstoy and is not his characteristic writing style. Easy to read and very understandable. It is a thought provoking and wonderful book.
Riddled with Typo'sDecember 31, 2009 Paul784 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first page of this edition kindly asks the reader to "forgive any spelling mistakes [and]missing or extraneous characters." This edition is riddled with errors. A sentence on page 7 reads "I understand that Jesus in-noj$a$ commands me to turn the other cheek and to give upmyC(Jat, for sheer sufFering-'s sake; but commands me not to resiStrevil, and warns me that my obedience may entail suffering." I strongly encourage you to buy a different edition of this book that is readable.
Apology for PacifismJanuary 26, 2008 Joe Rae(Canada) 1 out of 24 found this review helpful
Tolstoy complains theologians transformed the commands of Christ into meaning commands that could be practically followed by men in the world.
Out of respect for the same theologians he then goes on to downgrade Christ's command to "love one's enemies" into his practical doctrine of pacifism that man is able to follow.
Tolstoy confidently asserts that his liberating work, "What I Believe", has corrected eighteen centuries of misinterpretation of Christ's teachings by Christendom. His hubris knows no bounds by going on to deny the divinity of Christ. One gets the impression that Tolstoy thinks his book is a better Gospel of Christ than what is offered in the Cannon.
Practically speaking, Tolstoy would have been more productive to mankind completing War and Peace, leaving theology to those who study it.
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