Dostoevsky's belief in God?

Question

Dostoevsky said: "If there is no God, everything is permitted." Also in Notes from Underground the character doesn't believe in free will but believes that if people realize that there is no free will and can even calculate it then people will see life as bland and perhaps not worth living, their desires to live in excitement or to try at all will be gone.

So did Dostoevsky really believe in God and free will or did he just believe that it is best that society believes in them?

grey · Accepted Answer

...or did he ask a question that each in their own heart are able to answer?

Anonymous · Answer

First of all, Dostoevsky did not say that.  Second, the character Ivan Karamozov, who is supposed to have said it, never did either.  It can be most closely attributed to a misinterpretation or extension by other characters of what Ivan did say.  You can visit this link for more information on this subject:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/features/2000/cortesi1.html

It is necessary as a reader of literature to be able to separate an author from the characters he creates.  While Ivan is made by Dostoevsky to ponder some questions that Dostoevsky undoubtedly did himself, he is not autobiographical.  

It seems fairly clear that Dostoevsky believed in God himself, although he, like most of us, had some questions as to the nature of God's existence and His behavior.  It also appears, when exploring the themes of Dostoevsky's work, that he believed that a belief in God was good for society, but this entails actual belief, not a false proclamation to that effect.

Dostoevsky's belief in God?

2 Answers