In the novel The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoyevsky, chapter four is entitled rebellion; Ivan is questioning the existence and/or character of God. In this chapter, Ivan and his brother Alyosha, discuss if God is just and give examples to support their questions. Ivan suggests that believing in God, or spirituality for that matter, can bring unhappiness and suffering. Ivan explains this rationale by telling stories of mistreated and abused children whom he calls "…showed first 75 words of 1279 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1279 total…ing suffering because God's ways are mysterious and unexplainable. Ivan's religious doubt somewhat differs from atheism, because Ivan says that if God does in reality exist, the he is not good or just. But Ivan doesn't take into account all the good that God has been accredited with. Ivan is concluding that if there is a God then he is here to torture us and, that is how we as humans, learn our "life lessons".