Kristine Pye

The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings

10 October 2015
In The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings, Fyodor Dostoevsky expresses his
frustrations with religion and the concept of God in an excerpt from his book The
Brothers Karamazov in the form of two brothers, Ivan and Alyosha, who are debating
about ethics and the morality of God Himself. The older brother, Ivan, illustrates his point
of view by enlightening Alyosha on a number of atrocities that occurred in and around
Russia, particularly those targeting children. Ivan focuses on the plights of children to
make his main point completely clear: that by pure logic God cannot be all-loving and
all-powerful in this world.
Children, until corrupted by adults surrounding them, are pure and innocent. They,
as Ivan described, havent eaten [the apple] (Dostoevsky, para. 3) as grown humans
have, and continue to do. Therefore, Ivan asks, why should children be made to suffer on
the account of their parents?
The first of these atrocities Ivan tells of is one that takes place in Bulgaria, as the
Turks and Circassians grew ever fearful of the rising of the Slavs. As a result of this fear,
these Turks committed horrendous crimes. As Ivan illustrates, they burn villages,
murder, outrage women and children, they nail their prisoners by the ears to the fences,
leave them so till morning, and in the morning they hang themall sorts of things you
can't imagine (Dostoevsky, para. 5). Focusing on the children, these people would cut
babies from their mothers wombs and impale them on bayonets right before the mothers
eyes. In one particular instance, a group of Turks tricked a baby into playing and
giggling, seconds before one Turk shot the baby in the head, once again in front of the
mother.

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A baby, the epitome of innocence, to be murdered in a way so brutal and so cruel,
makes it hard to imagine that that baby existed in a universe in which an omnibenevolent,
omnipotent God reigned supreme.
In another atrocity, a well-educated couple beat their seven-year-old daughter with
a birch branch. After one minute, five minutes, ten minutes passes, the girl loses the
ability to scream, and she is left to gasp and beg her father to stop. When the case is
brought to court, a lawyer manages to convince the jury that this is a normal occurrence,
and the public rejoices that the father is acquitted.
Another girl, this time of five, was tortured beyond recognition by her two
parents. Again, these people were seemingly normal, educated adults, who would beat,
torment, and torture their child. Her mother would lock her in an outhouse through the
freezing night, and wipe her face with her own excrement, forcing her to consume it.
It is said God insists this barbarism occur because without it man would have no
concept of good and evil. Ivan righteously asks, Why should he know that diabolical
good and evil when it costs so much? (Dostoevsky, para. 9) The question arises again,
why a benevolent and all-mighty God who designed the universe, wouldnt design one in
which man had an inherent concept of good and evil; a universe where little ones didnt
have to suffer, where no one had to suffer.
The last example Ivan provides might best illustrate the absolute terror God
allows on Earth. It is the story of a small boy of eight who throws a stone and
accidentally wounds the prized dog of a retired general. This general seizes the boy and
holds him overnight, and in the morning, orders him to be stripped naked while his

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mother is forced to watch. Once left shivering, stripped bare, he sets his hounds after him,
and his mother is left to watch her son being eaten alive.
What Dostoevsky attempts to elucidate with these stories is that God punishing
innocent children in his quest to fertilize Earth with human suffering is purely illogical.
Children are blameless, and have not grown the emotions adult hold, such as greed and
hatred. The fact that God allows this ultimate suffering to occur, especially to those who
could not deserve it, leads one to believe that God could not possibly possess infinite
goodness or infinite power. Since it is virtually wholly accepted that God must have both,
one naturally comes to the conclusion that God does not exist at all.
The story itself takes place 13 years prior to its publication during the mid 1860s,
a period of great turbulence in Russia. Dostoevskys revolutionary argument against God
fits in well with the events taking place in Russia during these years; the abolishment of
serfdom, a centuries-old tradition, and the assasination of a Czar were also seen.
Much of the hardships described in Rebellion were likely inspired by
Dostoevskys own experiences. Ivan explains, Beggars ought never show themselves,
but to ask for charity through the newspapers (Dostoevsky, para. 3). Dostoevsky spent
some time as a beggar himself, so he must have experienced first hand the absense of
love at close quarters. He then passed this attitude onto Ivan. The differences of the two
brothers personalities is stark; these two men may represent the turmoil that might have
once plagued Dostoevskys mind, especially during his time spent in the labor camps in
Siberia.
The Brothers Karamazov is considered Dostoevskys crowning achievement.
Before beginning his argument, Ivan admits, wed better keep to the children, though it

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does weaken my case (Dostoevsky, para. 3). Though the scope of tortures he then covers
is reduced significantly, the impact this restriction provides is far more potent than what a
full coverage would induce, especially with regard to devout religious believers like
Alyosha. Keeping his argument restricted to children provided the absolute clarity
required to really provoke thought.