Naturalism And Christianity In The Brother Karamazov

In the book The Brother Karamazov, two of the major themes that are discussed in the chapter of Rebellion are the contrasting relationships between naturalism and Christianity in relation to suffering. To better understand the relationship between both of these differing beliefs, it is best understood from the main character’s perspective, who is Ivan. He does not endorse either naturalism or Christianity because he believes that neither of them are the solution to stop the suffering in the society. Also, he believes that they are both equally and morally unjust and lack accountability among its offenders and followers. A quote that helps us understand his reasoning for not endorsing Christianity in relation to suffering is that “{he}cannot accept an existence of a God that would allow such atrocities.”(Devita) From this particular quote, Ivan is indirectly doubting the existence of a God because of self-centered behavior among humans. He implies that by adopting a theistic approach to solve suffering, Ivan implies that humans have become …show more content…
This quote implies that humans have become tolerant to accepting evil as something that is socially unacceptable. It also suggests that human beings not only have no control over the actions that they do, but also they do not want to accept responsibilities for their actions. Instead, they use excuses to curtail their actions. Lastly, this quote also indicates that humans are blind to what is happening around them via evil. By reducing the offense of evil, it suggests that not only do human prefer not to accept reality, rather human beings decide what is reality from their own