Why Is There Evil? By Fydor Dostoevky

Religion is an issue that can make it hard for us to consider things objectively for fear of afterlife consequences. Fictional stories can help us see how hypothetical people deal with hypothetical situations. From the reading, Why is there evil? By Fydor Dostoevky, Ivan, a good person, wants to end his relationship with God. Ivan states, “The fact that God allows evil to exist is so unforgivable, that I’ve decided worshipping such a God would be just unconscionable.” Ivan even declares that he is returning his ticket to Heaven. Ivan concludes that, “A bad God is not only unworthy of my worship, He’s also not someone I want to spend eternity with.” Ivan rejects God because there are innocent people suffering and evil resides in the world. For any person with good moral standards, it is hard to justify watching
If suffering does not exist, then why would we even need God? It is in this suffering state that we find God. We find the strength he gives us to get through our suffering or to help someone else during a hard time they may be going through. During times of happiness we often forget about God, but it is during times of hardship that we are reminded that we need God to be there for us as our driving force. I believe this was the spiritual understanding Alyosha, Ivan’s brother, possessed. Alyosha used his struggles to solidify his faith in God. Contrary to Ivan, a lot of people are not willing to give up their ticket to Heaven. In order to, in good conscience, keep believing in and worshipping God, is to argue that good cannot exist without bad. You cannot know what it feels like to be warm without having been cold. You cannot experience pleasure if you have not felt pain. Suffering allows us to experience love. Also, many people see suffering as tests in faith, which allow people to grow spiritually. There is always a good that corresponds to and is proportionate to any