In The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, Rebellion is right before the famous chapter, The Grand Inquisitor. It is the atheist brother, Ivan, who knows too much about religion to believe in God; berating Aloysha, the priest. Ivan’s main problem is,

“All I know is that there is suffering and none are guilty”

He goes on to say,

I must have justice, or I will destroy myself. And not justice in some remote, infinite time and space, but here on earth so I can see it myself….
All the religions of the world are built on this longing and I am a believer…”

He collects stories about the terrible suffering of the most innocent, children. Their sufferings undeniably showcase the injustice of this world. He then gives them to Aloysha and asks them how his God can allow these things to pass.

I have been pondering his charge all week. Consider the following poem:

The Carpenter’s Silent Hammer

The good suffer and the evil go free;
It is as such, as far as the eye can see.

This problem is seen in the child’s hand,
When, for her mistakes, is struck by the band.

It rears again, in men, who by deed are able
Beat to death a poor boy locked in a stable

Christians, they see and sayest thus:
“Oh Lord you are wise and your ways are Just!”

But for myself, I sit in the corner and weep,
for the child can say no longer a peep.

Where is the Justice of God the Strong?
Why does He not right all of the wrong?

“In time, in time” says the monk passing by.
Laid in my hand, my head does cry.

I cry for the souls pillaged and lost.
I cry for those killed by the frost.

Why does the Carpenter’s hammer go silent?
Why does it allow all that is violent?

How on earth can God let this be?
Perhaps God’s answer lies within me.

All the assistance in the world, is His to give;
But the duty to perform, is ours to live.

After thinking on this some more, it seems that to answer the problem of pain we must not look to God, but to ourselves. God has allowed the potential of evil to exist for the sake of our existence. A life without choice is a life expressed methodically by constants and equations, with the outcomes as predicable as such. Without choice there is no awareness, no humanity, no love, no hate. As the Satan expresses in The Devil a chapter in Brother’s where Ivan is hallucinating and sees visions of the fallen angel:

If everything was sensible, nothing would happen.

God allows us to choose good over evil, and thus gives us real life. We should honor God for giving us the greatest gift ever given, even greater than the gift of grace itself. For without choice, there would be no chance to receive grace. God must remain a hidden God, for otherwise there would be no choice to be made. Allegiance confessed under the blade is a lie told to save the skin.

If we truly make that choice, good over evil, when we see the other side of the coin we should not ask God why he permits it here on earth; we know that. In the stead of that weakness, we should ask out selves why we allow it to persist.

God has given us many great abilities besides that of choice. We should employ them to so that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

That is the best answer that I can put forth for the problem of pain and suffering here on earth. The answer places the blame on myself for allowing it.