Alexandre Christoyannopoulos > Quotes

“What matters here is that for Christian anarchists, in both theory and practice, the state is founded on violence and maintains itself through violence, a behaviour directly opposed to Jesus’ instruction not to resist evil. Moreover, if the state cannot but be violent, it follows that a perfectly Christian society would have done away with it. If the state cannot but be violent, then in preaching non-resistance to evil, Jesus prescribes a form of anarchism. 1.2”
― Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel: Abridged Edition

“Berdyaev remarks that “no one ever proposes evil ends: evil is always disguised as good, and detracts from the good.”[49] Yet the resort to violence is precisely where evil seeps in. Besides,”
― Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel: Abridged Edition

“Moreover, Chelčický argues, “Wars and other kinds of murder have their beginning in the hatred of the enemy and in the unwillingness to be patient with evil.”[141] Therefore “if Christians really believed in this commandment of love, […] the sword would immediately fall from their hands, all conflicts and wars would cease among them […]; and should they be hurt and oppressed by others, they would not strike back with their sword but patiently suffer all evil.”[142]”
― Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel: Abridged Edition

“Instead, it seems to Tolstoy that “without even attempting it, both believers and unbelievers alike have decided that it is impossible.”[154]”
― Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel: Abridged Edition