Summary: The Brothers Karamazov

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Natalie Mendo
Professor Kolak
PHIL 2101
7 November 2017
God Exists: True or False?
In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov: Rebellion, Ivan expresses his resentment towards God and the idea that the innocent must suffer in order to reach heaven. God’s responsibility for all of the atrocities committed by humans can be excused if we believe that free will was given to us and thus are responsible for our actions. One could then argue that God created all evil, which defies the premise “God is good.” If God is not good, then he does not exist.
In order to place responsibility for our own actions, we must first define free will. A person’s act X is free at time T if and only if they could do an act other than X at time T. There have been many instances throughout history where people have justified committing horrific acts against the innocent because they had no other choice. These people were threatened with …show more content…
It makes no difference in whether God created evil directly or indirectly because the outcomes will still be the same. The premise that God is good is false. He created evil, and a God who is good would do no such thing. He cannot exist if he is not good.
References
Calder, T. (2013, November 26). The Concept of Evil. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-evil/#KanTheEvi
Dostoevsky, F. (n.d.). The Brothers Karamazov. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://www.planetebook.com/The-Brothers-Karamazov.asp
O'Connor, T. (2002, January 07). Free Will. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/
The Doctrine of Discovery, 1493. (2011, November 28). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from

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