Theodicy and Dostoevskys The Brothers Karamazov Essay -- The Brothers

Theodicy and Dostoevskys The Brothers KaramazovThe problem of reconciling an omnipotent, suddenly just, perfectly benevolent god with a world full of barbarous and suffering has plagued believers since the beginning of religious thought. Atheists often site this paradox in order to demonstrate that such a god cannot exist and, therefore, that theism is an remove position. Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that seeks to defend religion by reconciling the supposed existence of an omnipotent, perfectly just God with the presence of malefic and suffering in the world. In fact, the word theodicy consists of the Greek words theos, or God, and dike, or arbiter (Knox 1981, 1). Thus, theodicy seeks to find a sense of divine justice in a world filled with suffering.Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was among those philosophic thinkers who grappled with the task of explaining why repulsiveness exists in a world created by a perfect god. Despite the powerful influence of Christianit y in his primaeval childhood and throughout his life, Dostoevsky encountered difficulties in answering this question, which he described, Nature, the soul, God, love every this is understood by the heart, not by the mind (Gibson 1973, 9). Nevertheless, Dostoevsky not except felt obligated to discover a declaration to the problem, but in like manner responsible to his fellow believers for its success or failure (Gibson 1973, 169). This quest for a solution to the problem of theodicy ultimately led Dostoevsky to write The Brothers Karamazov, a overbold that attempts to explain the need for evil in the world. In posing his solution to this problem, Dostoevsky explains the necessity of suffering for the realization of human redemption, as well as the role of Christs atoneme... ... Christ and for his role in overcoming evil and suffering, and with the idea that the negative effects of suffering can be countered by compassionate love of others. Works CitedBakhtin, Mikhail. Problyemi tvorchestva Dostoevskogo. Kiev Next, 1994.Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Trans. Constance Garnett. New York Signet Classic, 1986.Gibson, A. Boyce. The Religion of Dostoevsky. capital of the United Kingdom SCM Press Ltd, 1973.Hansen, Bruce. Dostoevskys Theodicy. Provo, Utah Brigham Young University, 1996. At . accessed 18 November 2001. Knox, John. The enigma of Evil and Suffering. At . 18 November 2001. Kraeger, Linda, and Joe Barnhart. 1992. Dostoevsky on Evil and Atonement. Lampeter, Dyfed, Wales The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.