In our lives, there is a crime that instantly devalues all our good deeds and initiatives. It is the maintenance of armies, police forces, and other security services that ensure our safety through threats, mutilation, and the killing of people.
Every day, we are told that violence is necessary. Necessary for security. Necessary for order. Necessary for peace.
But it is clearly not so.“You Shall Not Kill” is not just a manifesto, but a practical guide to breaking free from the vicious cycle of violence through personal refusal:
- Refusal to need bloody protection for your values;
- Refusal to support legalized violence in the form of military, police, and justice systems;
- Refusal to silently consent to a society that approves of killing and maiming.
How can we reject violence? For a long time, people unwilling to depend on or participate in the killing of others to protect their lives, lands, and order have sought — and found — alternative means of protection. This book collects some of them.
Grounded in the teachings of Jesus Christ as interpreted by Leo Tolstoy and summarizing global nonviolence experience, this book reveals:
- How we participate in violence (physically, legally, morally) and why we can’t seem to stop.
- Whether Jesus Christ permitted the killing and harming of others. We analyze the most controversial Gospel passages.
- How to protect yourself and your loved ones without the use of force. Dozens of methods, developed by humanity’s greatest minds, for ensuring safety without bloodshed.
- True stories of nations and individuals who refused to kill.
- On the great power of humility and love.
This is the essence — a digest and a guide to action — for all those tired of hearing: “There is no other way.” It is about how to build a life without needing or participating in violence — here and now.
For readers of:
Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Adin Ballou, Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, Gene Sharp, Thomas Merton
