Dostoevsky

[Kreikkalainen]

Dostoyevski was a novelist, not a Church Father. Why do his religious beliefs and struggles matter at all? As if I didn't have my own struggles to haunt me .

If you want to read theology, read the Church Fathers, the Bible, or pray the prayers of the Church - don't read Dostoyevski.

If you want to read a difficult work of secular literature, with strong philosophical & psychological traits, that will give you a headache, take up months to finish and you may never forget in your life, then read Dostoyevski.

If you are concerned that his writings are spiritually harmful for you, then honestly I don't think so. They can be depressing, depending on your character & depending on what's going on in your life around the time of reading (by "depressing" I mean the sort of depression that you just drop the book and it's off, not the clinical type). Or they can be eye-openers on how the human soul works.

I was reading Dostoyevski like mad in my early 20s. Ever since I can't easily finish his books. You need to get away from life for a month or so & spend your time in solitude reading the book & perhaps listening to your favourite relaxing music to appreciate his writings better. I can't do that these days . But I still say, in my opinion he was probably one of wisest men who ever lived on Earth. Can you handle wisdom and all its unpleasant truths?

 

[Kreikkalainen]

I'll add though that I can imagine how "law and order" type of Christians can freak out big times at some of the things Dostoyevski wrote (I have a particular example in mind from Crime and Punishment but I don't want to be a fun-spoiler for potential readers ).

 

[ThePilgrim]

Again -- it is not shooting the messenger to disagree with you. Your post was factually incorrect, which is my only issue here. The article that you yourself posted shows that.

In your original post, you claimed that Dostoevsky never accepted the idea of God or of Jesus Christ and saw religion as merely a useful social structure. That is not true. Believe me, I've studied Dostoevsky for years. Your portrayal was simplistic and inaccurate, and makes Dostoevsky out to be a hypocrite, promoting something that he himself did not believe in, merely for the societal use of the belief

Your own article, on the other hand, says:

" What is important however, is the actual regeneration of the faith which is evident and steadfast in novels such as The Brothers Karamazov, Devils, The Idiot, and Crime and Punishment."

"Another important consideration is that this spiritual rebirth took place within the confines of a Siberian prison, where Dostoyevsky was amassing a large storage of information on the capacity for evil in men. That Dostoyevsky was able to cultivate a belief within such a hostile environment demonstrates the strength of his conviction."

Yes, Dostoevsky did have doubts, but you originally claimed that he "never believed," while the article that you brought up states, "While Dostoyevsky examines his religious doubts, funneling his struggle into the voices of his characters, it is clear that his final resolve lies in a strong conviction of the presence of God."

Dostoevsky had a very difficult and intense life, but at the core, he is a deeply, deeply Orthodox writer, which permeates all of his post-exilic writings. His writings have served to help bring many people to faith in Christ.

Grace and peace,
Sbn John

 

[Chesterton]

One of the reasons he can come across as anti-Christian is because he was brilliant at character development. He portrayed the secular philosophies so well in his character development that it can appear he was siding with it--however, at the end of every book Christian truth wins out.

Yeah, I think you nailed it here. Even Nieztsche admired him greatly, and you can count on one finger the Christian writers that Nieztsche admired. It had to do with the hard realism of the portrayal of the struggle.

 

[ProtectionofMotherofGod]

Again -- it is not shooting the messenger to disagree with you. Your post was factually incorrect, which is my only issue here. The article that you yourself posted shows that.

In your original post, you claimed that Dostoevsky never accepted the idea of God or of Jesus Christ and saw religion as merely a useful social structure. That is not true. Believe me, I've studied Dostoevsky for years. Your portrayal was simplistic and inaccurate, and makes Dostoevsky out to be a hypocrite, promoting something that he himself did not believe in, merely for the societal use of the belief

Your own article, on the other hand, says:

" What is important however, is the actual regeneration of the faith which is evident and steadfast in novels such as The Brothers Karamazov, Devils, The Idiot, and Crime and Punishment."

"Another important consideration is that this spiritual rebirth took place within the confines of a Siberian prison, where Dostoyevsky was amassing a large storage of information on the capacity for evil in men. That Dostoyevsky was able to cultivate a belief within such a hostile environment demonstrates the strength of his conviction."

Yes, Dostoevsky did have doubts, but you originally claimed that he "never believed," while the article that you brought up states, "While Dostoyevsky examines his religious doubts, funneling his struggle into the voices of his characters, it is clear that his final resolve lies in a strong conviction of the presence of God."

Dostoevsky had a very difficult and intense life, but at the core, he is a deeply, deeply Orthodox writer, which permeates all of his post-exilic writings. His writings have served to help bring many people to faith in Christ.

Grace and peace,
Sbn John

It is disturbing that you called my opinion and others' who have contemplated Dostoyevsky’s letters (in which he stated he wrestled with trying to believe in God's existence his entire life) "simplistic" when they came to a different conclusion than yours, Sbn John. Many have read all of Dostoyevsky's works, including myself, and continue to wonder if he was finally able to make that final leap of faith before his death.

I do not disagree with your belief that Dostoyevsky had a strong conviction about the Orthodox faith which is surprising considering the misery he had endured. I wished this conclusively proved that he finally determined that God exists. Sadly, in my opinion, it does not. Because I work as a mental health practitioner, I find it significant that Dostoyevsky openly discussed that he had doubts about the existence of God all of his life, but he never openly recanted those statements or wrote that he had finally determined God existed.

 

[ThePilgrim]

It was simplistic when you stated in your first post unequivocally that Dostoevsky never believed in God or in Christ. Quote: "Dostoyevsky never believed in God or accepted that Jesus was God."

That is both simplistic (ie it oversimplifies things, not mentioning the larger context of his life) and inaccurate (Dostoevsky did believe in God which, really, isn't a controversial statement among scholars of Dostoevsky).

I believe that your first post was an honest mistake, based on misremembering what Dostoevsky said in that letter and not knowing the larger context of his life and writings. However, to continue to defend the position that Dostoevsky never believed in God or Christ seems an unwise course of action, and not in line with Christian charity.

I have nothing against you at all But please, don't make statements like "Dostoyevsky never believed in God or accepted that Jesus was God."

Grace and peace,
John

 

[Chesterton]

Someone once said something about worrying about God's plan and other men's condition. Oh, yeah - "what is that to thee? follow thou me."

 

[xuxana]

no not at all. if anything his books brought me closer to Christ. in The Brothers Kamarazov, theres dialogue between one of the brothers & the devil, cant remember i think its ivan, anyways... that dialogue really made me realize that God is real for me.