My Religion

Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 419K words
Chapters: 42

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.My Religion by graf Leo TolstoyAuthor: Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910,Language: English, Class: BR: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity, Release Date: Sep 22, 2013

Editor's review

This book is a major text of Tolstoy's late religious thought, published in English by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. In it Tolstoy systematically sets out his understanding of Christian doctrine, especially his critique of the institutional church, dogmatic theology, and secular power, emphasizing a faith centered on the law of love and moral practice. For readers, its value lies less in a rigorous system of theological argument than in showing how a great writer, late in life, pursued the true meaning of faith with almost uncompromising honesty. The book has strong moral passion and a polemical quality; its language is direct, and its logic carries Tolstoy's characteristic stubbornness. It is suited to slow reading in a quiet setting; with some initial familiarity with the Gospel texts, its lines of argument become clearer. Readers should keep a critical distance, appreciating its moral force while noting where its thought is reductive or extreme.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in Tolstoy's late thought and moral philosophy
Non-specialist readers who want to understand the tradition of critiquing the church within Christian intellectual history
Students who need to study the relationship between Tolstoy's religious views and his fiction
General readers who enjoy reflective essays and can accept a polemical style

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic theology textbook or a scholarly annotated edition
Readers wholly averse to religious topics who read only fiction
People who want a simple introduction to faith and are unwilling to face critical argument

Reading tips

Read the relevant Gospel passages first, then compare them with the book's views to judge its interpretive approach.
Pause briefly after each chapter and note points of agreement and doubt, so as not to be carried along by a single tone.
Read alongside Tolstoy's late fiction or diaries to observe how his thought and literary expression interact.
If reading the English is difficult, first learn the main points of his religious thought, then return to the original text to grasp its tone.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book Tolstoy's autobiography?

No. It is a discursive work in which Tolstoy systematically sets out his religious beliefs in his later years. It has an autobiographical flavor, but its main substance is argument and critique concerning Christian doctrine, church institutions, and moral practice, not recollections of his life.

Can I understand it without a theology background?

You can grasp the general sense. Tolstoy writes directly, and his arguments mostly revolve around Gospel texts and church practice, so no specialized theological training is needed. But if you are entirely unfamiliar with basic Christian concepts, you may need to look up relevant background as you read.

What are the features of this edition?

This is an English public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg. It is freely available and easy to search, but it usually has no modern scholarly notes or introduction, so readers must supply background knowledge themselves, and its page numbers may not match those of a print edition.

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About the author

Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910 Author

Leo Tolstoy (Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910) is a highly important writer in the history of Russian literature. Public information about his nationality and exact dates of birth and death is limited; the library records only his name, the number of his works, and representative titles. The library holds 81 of his works, with representative titles including Anna Karenina and War and Peace (Sota ja rauha). These titles show that he excelled at presenting characters' fates and inner conflicts against broad social panoramas, with calm narration and a reflective quality, while questions of family, morality, and the course of history run throughout. His works have been translated into many languages and have a lasting readership and wide influence.