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The Kingdom of God Is Within You · Character

Adin Ballou

An American pastor who practiced what Tolstoy was still theorizing, his writings on non-resistance offered the Russian count a living precedent rather than an abstraction.

supporting

Also known as Ballou

First appearance: I

As a supporting figure in The Kingdom of God Is Within You, Adin Ballou is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

American theologian whose catechism and writings on nonresistance are extensively quoted and analyzed by Tolstoy.
In the storyIOpen this moment free

Ballou belongs to the small company of men who took the divine life-conception seriously enough to refuse violence in a nation that celebrated it. Where most Christians dismissed non-resistance as impractical, he organized a community around it, and Tolstoy leans on that example to prove the teaching is livable, not merely sublime. He matters because he shifts the argument from exegesis to evidence: someone, somewhere, actually tried this.

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Character Web

3 connections

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JCJesus ChristWLWilliam Lloyd …JDJonathan DymondABAdin Ballou

Relationship types

  • Friendship
  • Other

Character groups

  • Pacifist and abolitionist influences
  • Protagonist
  • Historical and biblical figures in Tolstoy's critique

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

SetupAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

This excerpt is the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of despair and co…

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Relationships

Relationship notes

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See Adin Ballou in I

In the story

Adin Ballou appears across 2 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

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See Adin Ballou in I
See Adin Ballou in I
Who is Adin Ballou in The Kingdom of God Is Within You?