In this scene from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Karamazov explains to his pious younger brother, Alyosha, a Christian monk, why he cannot accept God. Ivan's impediment to full devotion to God is the problem of evil. He declares that there is untold, unfathomable suffering in the world-suffering such as that of a little child who is tortured, mutilated, and murdered by a ruthless general for no reason. God allows this suffering, but no adequate justification or explanation can be given why God would permit such evil.
-The central question raised by Ivan Karamazov is:

Question

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Ivan Karamazov's central question revolves around the theological and philosophical problem of theodicy, which questions how a benevolent and omnipotent God could permit the existence of evil, especially in the form of innocent suffering.

In This Scene from Dostoevsky's the Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Karamazov