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Paperback The Gospel in Brief Book

ISBN: 0803294328

ISBN13: 9780803294325

The Gospel in Brief

"Are you acquainted with Tolstoy's The Gospel in Brief? At its time, this book virtually kept me alive. . . . If you are not acquainted with it, then you cannot imagine what an effect it can have upon a person."--Ludwig Wittgenstein, in a letter to Ludwig von Ficker. The Gospel in Brief is Leo Tolstoy's integration of the four biblical Gospels into a single account of the life of Jesus. Inspired in large measure by Tolstoy's meticulous study of the original Greek versions of the Bible, The Gospel in Brief is a highly original fusion of biblical texts and Tolstoy's own influential religious views. Tolstoy explains that his goal is a solution to "the problem of life," not an answer to theological or historical questions. As a result, he sets aside such issues as Jesus' genealogy and divinity, or whether Jesus in fact walked on water. Instead, he focuses on the words and teachings of Jesus, stripped of what Tolstoy regarded as the Church's distortions and focus on dogma and ritual. The result is a work that emphasizes the individual's spiritual condition in a chaotic and indifferent world. Like Tolstoy's celebrated literary achievements, The Gospel in Brief has the distinct bearing of a classic: in its urgency and directness it is remarkably current, as if it were written only yesterday rather than a century ago.

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Format: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5 stars
Gospels according to Leo Tolstoy -- good way to get a perspective on life

Some nights ago, I picked up a copy of this book, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. I started into this by a separate interest in the syntopical reading of War and Peace, and that led me though many elements of Napoleonic history. Along the way, I added this book because of my growing interest in Tolstoy and his place in Russian literature. Hearkening back recently to my studies of the Russian language...

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Rated 5 stars
A Revolutionary Book

Tolstoy's inspiring translation of the Gospels focuses on the problem of life while detailing Christ's instructions to man concerning the question of how we are to live. This work is revolutionary in the context that it summarizes all of Christ's instructions into 5 simple commands, all of which can be obeyed through one direct command: to love one another even as Christ has loved us. In reading this book, I would recommend...

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Rated 5 stars
My Father is not flesh, but spirit.

I have always felt that much of the Bible and the Church was hiding the heart of Christ's message. The Bible seems a tool that the Church arbitrarily canonized to use for justification; eerily much like the teachers of law that Christ came to nullify.Tolstoy goes to the original Greek texts and renders a striking and illuminating account of Christ's message from the four gospels. He purposely does not delve into Christ's miracles...

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Rated 5 stars
A powerful book.... for those who like it....

This is the kind of book either you like or you hate. Three kinds of people will read this book. The first (and most moderate) will be Tolstoy scholars, etc. interested in his religious beliefs and influences, and there readings of this book will be value-empty and hygenic. The second group of people will be those akin of mind to Tolstoy, and they will love and cherish this book ahead of almost any other: when the philosopher...

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Rated 5 stars
Just the Facts

Tolstoi, one of the five best novelists of all time, in any language, was born into a rich and powerful family (second only to the Tsar) and loved wine, women and song; was married and had fourteen children. In short he was a superstar! And suicidal, depressed and lonely until he learned to live like a Christian instead of living like his church would have him live. He leaves the "churches" contributions out of the Gospels...

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