Dostoyevsky’s Theodicy of Love

What is it?

Dostoyevsky’s theodicy of love stands alone in all of the previous theodicies in the sense that it doesn’t directly solve an atheist’s question. Instead, it aims to help us Christians struggle with the problem of evil and suffering in our life.

How does it work?

Dostoyevsky is undeniably one of the most profound and insightful thinkers of the 19th century. A lot of this profundity was granted to him through his suffering and toils that he had to endure in Russia. Living a life full with pain and conflict, one may think that Dostoyevsky would abandon Christ and succumb to the evil, however, the opposite is true. Despite this suffering, he maintained strong in his faith and lived to become one of the greatest Christian writers of all time.

He lays out this theodicy by asking us to turn to the love of God and compare it to the suffering in this world. Despite all the suffering, by meditating on God’s love, we can be emboldened to stand up for the good news.

More info:
If you want to learn more about this theodicy, feel free to check out my youtube channel where I discuss this in depth, you can find the video (here). And of course, feel free to read the works of Dostoyevsky. I promise you you won’t regret it.