The Kingdom of God is Within You

ception of Life-Misinterpretation of Christianity by Men of Science, who Study it in its External Manifestations Due to their Criticising it from Standpoint of Social Conception of Life-Opinion, Resul

Divine Force-Christianity Seems to Destroy Possibility of Life only when the Ideal held up is Mistaken for Rule-Ideal Must Not be Lowered-Life, According to Christ's Teaching, is Movement-The Ideal and the Precepts-Second Misconception Shown in Replacing Love and Service of God by Love and Service of Humanity-Men of Science Imagine their Doctrine of Service of Humanity and Christianity are Identical-Doctrine of Service of Humanity Based o

Christianity which hinders the true un

have framed of it for themselves, and this view of Ch

hes in the past and present; and finding that these tenets have lost all the sign

ne must form for oneself an idea of the place actually held by religions in general, by the Christian

living in similar conditions-nations-cannot but have theories of the meaning of their associated life and conduct ensuing from those theories. And as the individual man, when he attains a fresh stage of growth, inevitably changes his philosop

nd the conduct resulting from it, benefits by the experience of men who have lived before him, who have already passed through the stage of growth upon which he is entering. But humanity cannot have this aid,

greater density of population, the establishment of communication between different peoples, the improvements of the methods of the struggle with nature, and the accumulation of knowledge, h

fe from which follow new forms of activity quite different from all preceding them. The formation of this philosophy of life appro

y it. It is a manifestation always inherent in the life of humanity, and is as indispensable, as inherent in humanity at the present time as at any other. Secondly, religion is alwa

s, nor in the external forms in which it is manifested, as men of science imagine; the essence of religion lies in the faculty of men of foreseeing and pointing out the path of life a

es there have been men in whom this faculty was especially strong, and these men have given clear and definite expression to what al

y. These philosophies of life are three in number, and only three, not because we have arbitrarily brought the various theories of life together under these

or the animal view of life; second, embracing the society, or the pagan v

limited not to his own individuality, but to certain societies and classes of individuals: to the tribe, the family, the clan, the nation; the aim of life is limited to the satisfaction of the w

orm the foundation of all the rel

ghest happiness for him is the fullest satisfaction of his desires. The motive power of his life is personal enjoyment. His religi

l good for these societies. The motive power of his life is glory. His religion consists in the exaltation of the glory of those who are allied to him-the f

e nation, the tribe, or the government), but in the eternal undying source of life-in God; and to fulfill the will of God he is ready to sacrifice his individ

ion of life. The whole history of the ancient peoples, lasting through thousands of years and ending with the history of Rome, is the history of the transition from the animal, personal view of life to the social view of li

life and lies at the root of all our activity, practical and theoretic. Yet men of what is falsely called science, p

so on-men of science regard it as only one of an immense number of religions which have arisen among mankind, and now, they say, havi

ontact with phenomena of a higher order, instead of making efforts to understand them, to raise themselves up to the point of view from which they must look at the su

sceticism, Stoic and Neoplatonic philosophy, and insubstantial anti-social visions, which have no serious significance for our times. Its whole meaning is concentrated for them in its external manifestations-in Catholicism, Protestan

ter into their meaning, they refuse, if unfavorably disposed, to recognize any reasonableness in his doctrines; or if they want to treat them indulgently, they condescend, from the height of their superiority, to correct them, on the supposition that Christ meant to express precisely their own ideas, but did not succeed in doing so. The

er of life. "And the doctrine that asks too much, and requires what cannot be performed, is worse than that which requires of men what is possible and consistent with their powers," these lear

h for a tooth, and an eye for an eye-is a law of just retaliation, known to mankin

h such an understanding of it, all that has been said and done by all true Christians, by all the Christian saints, all

igion is a religion of dogmas; that its teaching in relation to life is unreasonable, and is an exaggeration, subversive of the real lawful obligations of morality cons

ed and even irrational. Christianity is much better without it, they think,

the definition of a circle. And those who speak thus are acting precisely like a man who, having no idea of what a circle is, should declare that this requirement, that every point of the circumference should be an

which men have entered now for eighteen hundred years, and also the definition of the new conduct of life which results from it. They do not believe that Christ meant to say w

of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Where-withal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek), for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil

aving no direct application to life. These principles, however, follow from the Christian theory of life, just as logically as the principles of pay

trine says to the man of the social, state conception of life, Repent ye-μετανοσετε-i. e., bethink yourself, or you will be ruined. Understand that this casual, personal life which now comes into being and to-morrow is no more can have no permanence, that no external means, no construction of it can give it consecutiveness and permanence. Take thought and understand that the life you are living is not real life-the life of

ect on a higher plane from a lower point of view. From the basement one cannot judge of the effect of the spire. But this is just what the learned critics of the day try to do. For they share the erroneous idea of the orthodo

erything else, hinder them from a correct understanding of it. One of these misconceptions is that the Christian moral teaching cannot be carried out, and that therefore it has either no force at all-that is, it should not be accepted as the rule of conduct-or it must be transformed, adapted to the limits within which its fulfill

irects men, and taking the Christian principle of perfection as the rule by which that life is to be ordered; they think and say that to follow Christ's teaching is impossible, because the complete fulfilment of all that

rewithal we shall be clothed, do not defend our life, nor resist evil by force, lay down

aching as a rule which everyone is bound to fulfill, just as in the state principles of li

e guide men. The precepts of the state conception of life only guide men by requiring of them an exact fulfillment of rules or laws. Christ's teaching guides men by pointing

the same question on the supposition that state laws will be carried out) what will be the result of all this being carried out? This supposition cannot be made, because the perfection held up to Christians is infinite and can never be attained; and Christ lay

his animal force of movement Christ, as it were, applies the new force-the recognition of

is just like supposing that a little boat afloat on a rapid river, and directin

nd the force of the consciousness of kinship to God. Saying nothing of the animal force which asserts itself, remains always the same, and is therefore independent of human will,

t rules, the law; according to Christ's teaching it consists in an ever closer approximation to the divine perfection held up before every man, and recognized within himself by every man, in an e

fe to which it is always striving, and always appr

wn of a rule. It is only then that the principles presented in Christ's teaching appear to be destructive of life. These princi

the morrow, as is said in the Gospel, but only not to take too much thought for it; one cannot give away all to the poor, but one must give away a certain definite part; one

ecting his course against the current, that it is impossible to cross the river rowing against

which he wants to go, he must row with all

ideal that has power over men is not an ideal invented by someone, but the ideal that every man carries within his soul. Only this ideal of co

every man's soul with the will of God-the union of the Son with the Father. Life according to Christ's teaching consists of no

f God only, is also not human life. Human life is a combination of the animal life and the divine

imply a greater or lesser degree of life. Increase of life, according to this, consists in nothing but the quickening of the progress toward perfection. And therefore the progress toward perfection of the publican Zaccheus, of the woman that was a sinner, and of the robber on the cross, implies a higher degree of life than the stagnant righteousness

n those that were not lost. The prodigal son, the piece of money lo

laws and rules for this fulfillment of the teaching. Every degree of perfection and every degree of imperfection are equal in i

. The precepts of the state theory of life insist for the most part on certain practical prescribed acts, by which men are justified and secure of being right. The Christian precepts (the commandment of love is not a precept in the stric

rfection, toward which humanity is moving, showing the point of perfect

nal ideal toward which men are spontaneously struggling, and also

ll men. The precept, showing the level below which we cannot fall in the attainmen

vel below which we cannot fall in the attainment of this ideal, is that of

The precept, showing the level below which we cannot fall, is the prohibition o

level below which we cannot fall is that of returning good for evil, bei

vel below which we cannot fall, is not to do evil to our enemies, to spea

ht by degrees to translate into instinctive and unconscious habits. But these precepts, far from constituting the whole of Christ's teaching and exhausting it, are

expressed in its precepts; and by no means to diminish the demands either of the ideal itself, or o

st's teaching. Another misunderstanding arising from the same source consists in substituting lov

eems to scientific men obscure, mystic, and arbitrary. And they would absolutely exclude the obligation of love and ser

le of humanity. That is for them the import of the Christian doctrine, and to that they reduce Christ's teaching. They

l the apostles of the universal brotherhood of mankind, based on the general advantage of such a brotherhood. They differ from one another esp

manity alone is based on th

This transference is accomplished easily and naturally in its earliest forms, in the transference of the aim of life from the individual to the family and the clan. The transfere

to love one's wife, the joy and help of one's existence, one's children, the hope and consolation of one's life, and one's parents, who

ible. And though it is zealously inculcated, it is only an imagined sentiment; it has no existence in reality. And at that limit man's power of transferring his interest ceases, and he cannot feel any direct sentiment for that fictitious entity. The Positivists, however, and all the apostles of fraternity on scientific principles, without taking into consideration the weakening of sentiment in proportion to the extensio

and calamities which result from the division of mankind into nations and states by extending their love to the whole of humanity. This would be most logical, and theoretically nothing would appear more natural to its advoca

loves: Anna, Dolly, John, Peter, and so on. The man who loves his tribe and takes pride in it, knows that he loves all the Guelphs or all the Ghibellines; the man who loves the state knows that he loves France bounded by the Rhine, and the Pyrenees, a

line excluding from humanity its lowest representatives, where are we to draw the line? Shall we exclude the negroes like the Americans, or the Hindoos like some Englishmen, or the

n of men's activity by a social universal organisation, so that each would be for all and all for each. Only there are no motives to lead men to do this. The Positivists, the Communists, and all the apostles of fraternity on scientific principles advocate the extension to the whole of humanity of the love men feel for themselves, their families, and

should he not love humanity? That would be such an excellent thing. And by the way, it is precisely what

e, for the love that is based on a personal or social con

tion is founded, rests itself on love of self, and that love grows weaker and weaker as it is extended from self

he possibility of this love is destroyed by the necessity of extending its object

hristian love to make up the default of this bankrupt human love; but Christian love only in its

t. Christian love is the result only of the Christian concept

consciousness of the necessity of love for humanity, a conception which has no definite limits and extends to all living things. And thi

but of everything living, everything existing; it recognizes the necessity of an infinite extension of the sphere of love. But the object of this love is not found outside self in societies of individuals

imal nature], make it subject to the external law of family, society, and state." Christianity says: "Live according to your nature [understanding by this the divine nature]; do

racteristic is love, satisfies the need for the extension of the sphere of love to which the man of the social conception of life had been brought. For the latter, the welfare of the personality demanded an ever-widening extension of the sphere of love; love was a necessity and was confined to certain o

depends not on loving this or that object, but on loving the principle of the whole-God,

octrine and the doctrine of the Positivists, and all the theo

s teaching instructs men, like all previous religions, by rules, which they are bound to follow, and that these rules cannot be fulfilled. The second is the idea that the whole purport of Christ

in the supernatural, and that its moral teaching is impracticable, constitutes a