Dostoevsky's Children

Dostoevsky's Children

Does God exist? The question has been a hotbed of discussion among not only philosophers, but is a question each person wrestles with in the course of his or her lifetime. That is if they are everyday philosophers; meaning that they look beyond what they have ever been taught and discover the world through their own lens, posing and addressing challenging thoughts and questions. Philosopher, social activist, and author Fyodor Dostoevsky utilizes what I believe to be one of the most efficient arguments not against the existence of God--but rather the existence of a loving and benevolent God--through his character Ivan of the excerpt "Rebellion" from his novel The Brothers Karamazov.("Dostoevsky,) His compelling views raise the question of how a benevolent God could allow the intense suffering--and even deliberate torture--of innocent children here on Earth.

The base of Ivan's--and therefore Dostoevsky's--argument in "Rebellion" is that even if God is "just" and the tyrant who commits atrocities on an innocent, pleading child is sent to hell for eternity, how is that actually justice? Will that spare what the fear and pain the child had to go through? No. And if torturing and murdering a scared, innocent child is humanity's means of functioning and achieving harmony, then Ivan would like no part in the God who would knowingly create such a system. Such a God could not be a good and benevolent God.

"Rebellion" is in my opinion the perfect title to encapsulate the sentiment expressed in this dialogue between brothers. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the assertions made, it is hard not to admit admiration for the raw honesty of Ivan's open disapproval of a God that he does, in fact, believe in. God in very nature--according to philosophers such as Saint Anselm, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, as well as to faithful believers in general--is that being to which absolutely nothing is superior.(Bowie) Therefore it is reasonably perceived as pure arrogant rebellion for a mere human--and furthermore a believer--to take a moral stance against their Lord, the Author of life itself. Perhaps the most striking statement made by Ivan in "Rebellion" is this declaration:

"I would rather remain with my unavenged suffering and unsatisfied indignation, even if I were wrong.... It's not God that I don't accept, Alyosha, only I must respectfully return him the ticket."(Bowie, 71)

If we are honest, the feeling of injustice at the suffering of innocent children and disapproval of a God who would allow it resonates deep down; it is simply that few of us as believers are bold enough to admit it. However for Athiests, suffering and pain on Earth seem to be the most persuasive arguments against God's existence. There are many philosophers who fundamentally connect with Dostoevsky's statements in "Rebellion".(Ham) David Hume, for example, makes the same argument; if a benevolent God exists, why is there suffering? A God who would create humans just to watch them hurt and destroy is stingy and not good-natured, and if the God is not good, then He cannot be God by definition.(Bowie, 63) Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was also very much influenced by the work of Dostoevsky and stated in his own work "God is Dead," that humans through our actions and greed have murdered God. ("Dostoevsky,) There is no God because we have put and end to him. The creation's evil actions make quite an unforgivable statement about the Creator.

However not everyone has chosen to feel such disdain towards God and the thought of his existence, in fact, there were also many Apologetic philosophers who defended the existence of God as fervently as some of the above deny it. An example of such an author from our textbook is Dostoevsky's fellow Russian philosopher Leo Tolstoy. Through much agony did Tolstoy finally reach his stance on faith in God. In "A Confession"--another very telling title for a work addressing his spiritual doubt--Tolstoy recounts his journey through, out of, and back into faith in God. Years of struggling with nihilism brought Tolstoy to the point of considering suicide. But the more he searched and searched for meaning, he discovered that despite evil in the world and also despite his occasional doubt, seeking God was the sole source of meaning in his life after all. He sums up his final decision on the matter quite succinctly with the statement; "God is life."(Bowie, 21)

Where Tolstoy reaches a conclusion from his personal experience and feeling, other apologetic philosophers approach the subject through pure intellectual reasoning. Saint Anselm and Saint Thomas Aquinas for example, who conclude rationally that by nature we humans are seeking good, better, and best in the world. This innate drive automatically says that there is something at the top tier of that goodness scale, and that by definition is God. What can anyone specify that is greater than God? That is exactly what proves he exists.(Bowie) It is also reasonable with this school of thinking to believe that Earth exists in it's imperfect state under a the greatest being imaginable because we are not on His level of goodness. If we were on that plane, then the definition of God would be undermined and we would have taken his place as gods ourselves as Nietzsche stated in "God is Dead."(Bowie, 78) then there is also the logical illustration presented by William