I know, I know.  It's been a bit.

Strap in, because Ilyin gets on the top of the dias and begins a legit sermon on our duty to resist by force.  Grab a drink and a snack; let's ride.

His first concept is one that is inescapeable.  If we do not actively resist evil with every means at our disposal, we are not merely being indifferent, we are ENCOURAGING the spread of evil.  Ivan puts it best "He who does not resist it, he yeilds to it and joins its retinue....Here one cannot wait, equivocate, or hide, for when confronted with evil to neither say 'yes' or 'no' means to say 'yes' to it; and therefore one who waits and hides does not 'wait' at all and does not 'hide', but defects and betrays."

Yes, boys and girls, there is no choice but to resist.

Ilyin harshly, and rightly, points out that anyone who thinks that appeasement of or indifference towards evil is naive and leads to it's spread.  By the way, that appeasement and indifference in the modern "liberal".

He points out that "villains" have already broken the social contract and any concept of love of fellow man, so it is silly to think that showing them love will lead to them changing their ways.

Another great quote about our duty: "Anyone who has not put all his personal strength into actively suppressing a crime remains guilty of complicity."  Notice how Ilyin doesn't mention fear of arrest or litigation?  That's because right is right, and those considerations are secondary.  Sorry, but that's true.  Daniel Penny and Kyle Rittenhouse were VINDICATED.

Ilyin equates being too afraid to intervene to complicity.  He also mentions that anyone who chooses to "not get involved" are being spiritually complicit as well.  I agree, wholeheartedly.

According to Iylin, every crime we witness is test that we can't avoid.  We either choose to fight evil or to allow it.  Using excuses like not getting invovled, not wanting to be a snitch, aversion to violence, pity for the villain, or "because of my family" are all dodges that reveal your spiritual immaturity and allow  evil to flourish.

He mentions that we must find the courage to pick up the sword and resist not just for ourselves and the victim, but also to be a positive example to others and encourage them.  He points out that even Jesus said "Do not think that I have come to bring peace, I have come bearing a sword."  Ilyin notes that those who resist are never the aggressor, evil is.  Resistance is ALWAYS a counter-offensive against an evil attack.

Ilyin clarifies that all of history involved evil people attacking weaker and less strong people, until those people banded together and offered effective resistance and set societal norms.  If you don't believe that, read the entire Old Testament.  This idea of organized resistance and then setting societal norms is the entire basis of Western (read as CHRISTIAN) Civilization.  We now outsource that resistance to the government and their police, to our own detriment. 

This idea is reinforced in Romans 13:4, pointing out that those who resist evildoers are servants of God and that they do not bear the sword in vain.  I know that contemporary Christians teach that this verse means only the government, but the text actually says "the one in authority".  Guess who is in authority at your house?  YOU ARE.  If no other law enforcement entity is present in public and a felony is being committed in your presence, every state in the US makes YOU the "one in authority" through Citizen's Arrest laws (you should research and study your state's).  In this context, Romans 13:4 makes you the agent of God's wrath.  Pretty cool, isn't it?

Ilyin complains that those who practice "non-resistance" (we're looking at you, Amish folks) can only do so because others are will do violence on their behalf (reminds me of another quote).  It's a naive way to live that eventually leads to evil spreading and potentially the downfall of society.

There are three things that violent resistance accomplishes:

1. It stops the particular crime or evil act, protecting the innocent victim.
2. It protects society as a whole from further crime by deterring others from evil acts (*look what happened to LeRoy Jenkins, I ain't going out like that").
3. It warns others not to victimize their neighbors lest they meet the same fate.

Ilyin posits that the idea of active resistance isn't merely to punish evil doers, but to eventually deter all from undertaking evil acts.  Sure, it's not likely, but it is a lofty goal indeed.

"As long as evil exists in the human soul, the sword will be necessary to suppress it's external action, a sword strong in it's intervention and in it's punishing strike."

Share your thoughts below.

Ilyin first describes our moral obligation to first attempt through conversation to change someone's evil will.  After that, we can then morally resist their evil deeds.  Our requirement to live together in harmony requires to try and stop evil deeds while they are still just thoughts, to permanently change someone's will.

He points out that we are the worst judges of ourselves.  We all keep and inner and outer self; one reserved for ourselves and one that is public-facing.  We all self-delude ourselves into believing that we are always the good guy and that we have no faults.  We get mad when we are "unfairly blamed", when actually being called out for our bad behavior.

Ilyin describes nonverbal communication well.  Every act or attitude we take is physically manifested within us and becomes part of our outward appearance, whether for good or bad, if peolpe just take time to notice.  He calls it "unconscious integrity of communication and transmission".  

According to Ilyin, you cannot be "evil inside" or "good inside", and not have it affecrt teh outside world.  If you have evil inside, you spread evil around you.  If you are good inside, you spread good to all those you touch. "A good man is a living hearth of good & strength in good, while an evil man is a living hearth of evil, strength in evil and weakness in good."  

We have a duty to resist evil interally within us.

Ilyin says that we are OBLIGATED to resist evil everywhere for the good of all.  He says we are obliged to fight evil at every turn and that we have no right at all to allow evil to go unchecked.  We MUST act against and not let it mutliply.  He claims this is a spiritual call and a public duty. 

He says there is no right to commit evil.  Those who are naive enough to believe that others have a freedom to commit evil will eventually become slaves to it.

After describing this, he points out again that we all have a public duty for the good of all to actively resist evil anywhere.  We obligated to resist evildoers and villains as well as to resist proactively and effectively. 

"Anyone who sends evil must always be cognizant of this and accept that others will be permitted to put a stop to his wicked acts and force him to qualitatively review the evil he sends"

That quote was the basis for law and safety in the old west - before I attack someone, I have to decide if I'm willing to get shot for it.  We need to RETVRN.

Ilyin says that as a society, we all have a desire to see good grow.  Evil people threaten that and threaten our peace, so we must unite against villains in our midst.  Those villains must be met by united resistance and opposition.  Ilyin points out that the resistance to evil is done by few on beahlf of all and benefits a community as a whole.

In the book, Ilyin points out that for any central authority, whether state or church, to exist, it must be supported by the people for the good of the whole, with submitting to it for the good of all.  He believed that the reason that Russia turned communist was because the people desired to submit to the state for the good of themsleves (taking from the rich and giving it to the individual).  The US Constitution as originally written met Ilyin's requirements.  Notably, the church's "Military Orders" or knights, also did.  When governments failed to protect citizens, the church did, and the citizens willingly submitted to the local order.

He points out something here that illustrates our current issues.  He said that as soon as a government begins to appease the villains or the people harbor them, society falls.  That's exactly where we are today.

Let me know your thoughts below.

Ilyin starts out by defining what most people consider to be love "What is nice is good", or that which we are sympathetic to.  He points out that perfection is actually what is good and worthy of love.  He posits that people like things that give them pleasure and confuse that for love, but it is shallow and unmeaningful.

On the contrary, spiritual love means that we do what is right, even if it is not pleasant, not fun, and not nice, even if it leads to discomfort, unpleasantness, or difficulty.  For spiritual love, even suffering is worth it.

According to Ilyin, Christ's two basic Commandments were to love God and to love your neighbor.  He points out that when your neighbor (fellow man) is doing evil, resisting him would seem to be in contradiction to "loving" him, but not resisting violates the love of God.  The love of God (doing what is right in His eyes) outweighs any sympathy or "love" for your neighbor.  If someone has removed God from their lives, they need us to tell them "no", rather than modern society telling them "yes", and thus resistance to evil.

The proponents of "love wins" and "love trumps all", claim that condemning people for their choices and evil deeds is labeled as "hate", "intolerance", and "malice", and thus encourage no limits on behavior.  If I truly love my neighbor, I MUST be able to tell him no, that his behavior is unacceptable, and that I will resist their actions.  Refusing to put them on the right path out of "love" is not truly love and is actually helping to condemn their soul.  Ilyin interestingly paraphrases the idea that "acceptance is not a Christian Virtue".

Ilyin reminds us that while we should indeed love our neighbor, we CANNOT EVER love evil in a man.  There are some people who are just evil.  No amount of acceptance or sympathy will ever change them, and we must modify our approach to resistance.

The only thing we can truly love completely without conditions is God.

When true good is confronted by true evil, evil must be destroyed and, as Ilyin says, executed.  When we resist using force, we do not become evil, as, in the end, we pray for the salvation of the soul of the executed person.

Ilyin points out that we begin with disapproval and work our way through a series of escalating responses to evil done in our presence, which can (and should) include ruthlessness against evildoers.  Remember God's commands to Joshua about what to do to anyone who resisted him.  Ilyin posits that true love of good requires it.

He uses the example of Jesus driving the money changers from the Temple as the justification for righteous application of force in the presence of and resistance to evil.

Ilyin says that resistance to evil can be summed up like this: "the struggle is fought with love, but with spiritualized love."

We must resist evil out of a love for good, not for vengeance, revenge, greed, or desire for power.

The struggle against evil is done from love.

Here's the closing quote, which I love: "but the active resistance against the villain's evil designs on others, and against the villain himself is not evil, but good."

Let me know your thoughts below.