Writing
during
a
period
of
philosophical
and
spiritual
upheaval
in
Russia
in
the
latter
nineteenth
century,
Fyodor
Dostoevsky
brilliantly
depicted
the
futility
of
a
worldview
which
marginalized
God.
I
first
read
him
as
a
young
college
student.
Wading
through
“The
Brothers
Karamazov,”
my
primary
motivation
was
to
complete
the
weekly
reading
requirement
as
painlessly
as
possible.
Only
later
did
I
realize
the
brilliance
of
his
portrayal
of
the
three
brothers,
the
spiritual
Alyosha,
the
sensual
Dmitri
and
the
intellectual
Ivan.
Each
one,
in
his
own
way,
was
responsible
for
their
father’s
murder.
A
Christian
himself
(admittedly,
not
a
perfect
one,
like
you),
Dostoevsky
was
once
challenged
to
write
a
novel
expressing
the
results
of
Christian
worldview
in
contemporary
culture.
His
classic
novel,
“The
Idiot,”
is
the
result.
The
protagonist’s
name
is
Prince
Myshkin,
an
epileptic
who
represents
the
ways
of
Jesus
in
the
world.
In
many
ways,
Prince
is
too
good
for
the
world.
Unerringly
loving,
honest
and
generous,
trusting
to
a
fault,
the
world
chews
him
up
and
spits
him
out.
It
is
a
fascinating
portrait,
and
raises
the
question:
Is
Dostoevsky
right?
Is
the
Jesus
way
so
out
of
step
with
our
dog‑eat‑dog
world
that
it
invariably
leads
to
misunderstanding
and
suffering?
I
want
to
say
that
Dostoevsky
is
wrong.
I’d
like
to
believe
that
living
for
Jesus
brings
blessing:
spiritual,
physical,
financial,
sociological.
I’ve
certainly
heard
a
lot
of
sermons
to
that
effect.
But
it’s
hard
to
find
supportive
evidence
for
this
in
the
New
Testament.
“In
the
world
you
shall
have
tribulation,”
Jesus
said
(John
16:33).
The
Apostle
Paul
confessed,
“Everyone
who
wants
to
live
a
godly
life
in
Christ
Jesus
will
be
persecuted”
(2
Timothy
3:12).
The
Apostle
Peter
affirmed,
“To
this
you
were
called,
because
Christ
suffered
for
you,
leaving
you
an
example,
that
you
should
follow
in
his
steps”
(1
Peter
2:21).
There
are
those
who
believe
that
suffering
is
to
be
expected
in
other
countries,
but
that
due
to
its
accommodation
to
religion,
America
is
relatively
exempt.
To
which
I
muse,
“Who
has
accommodated
whom?”
By
any
honest
appraisal,
Christianity
simply
is
not
the
salt
and
light
to
American
culture
that
Jesus
imagined.
As
Lot
“pitched
his
tent
toward
Sodom,”
American
Christianity
has
too
comfortably
aligned
itself
with
the
gods
of
our
day:
money,
sex
and
power.
Could
it
be
that
we
fail
to
take
the
teachings
of
Scripture
and
the
lifestyle
of
Jesus
seriously?
Are
we
afraid
of
being
thought
an
“idiot”
by
our
culture?
Are
we
so
busy
seeking
an
abundant
life
that
we’ve
neglected
the
“dying
to
self”
part?
In
“The
Idiot,”
Myshkin
says,
“The
world
will
be
saved
by
beauty.”
However,
the
integrity
and
beauty
of
his
own
life
is
unable
to
overcome
the
moral
vacuity
around
him.
Apparently
Dostoevsky
believed
that
although
the
world
would
crush
honest
to
goodness
goodness,
it
was
still
the
right
way
to
live.
While
I
admire
his
philosophical
integrity,
I’m
not
certain
I
share
his
pessimistic
point
of
view.
It
seems
to
me
that
as
salt
preserves
and
as
light
penetrates,
living
according
to
the
principles
of
Jesus
has
a
redemptive
effect
on
society.
It
happened
in
the
first
century;
it
can
happen
in
the
twenty‑first.
