Crime & Punishment & Religion
The loss of God, the dissident Alexandr Solzhenitsyn explained, was the reason for all the bad things that happen to Russia. The noble prize winner wrote, “Men have forgotten God.” In the book, “Crime and Punishment” Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote, “If there is no God, everything is permitted. Tsarist Russia sentenced Dostoevsky to death by firing squad, but they canceled the execution at the last minute. Russia has a history of arresting literary figures like Solzhenitsyn and Dostoevsky.
Dostoevsky died before Solzhenitsyn and Friedrich Nietzsche’s births. Nietzsche died before Solzhenitsyn, and after Dostoevsky’s death. Their philosophy held, man can do without (organized) religion. About religion Nietzsche said, “There is not enough religion in the world to destroy the world’s religions.” Yeah, he is the one that said, “God is dead.” God is dead is not a statement of atheism. Nietzsche, Solzhenitsyn and Dostoevsky were not atheist. Defending this claim goes beyond my article. Even thou Dostoevsky’s main character of Crime and Punishment, accepts religion at the end of the novel; I could make a sound argument that the main character, Raskolnikov, was an atheist. Raskolnikov, an impoverished former student, murdered a dishonest pawnbroker. He dreamed of escaping poverty. Justified murder, believing he was like Napoleon, capable of doing extraordinary things; he didn’t think his crime was wrong. Nietzsche understood Dostoevsky. Nietzsche’s Übermensch (superman) and Doestroevsky’s extraordinary man are comparable but not identical. Raskolnikov was no Napoleon, simply an ordinary criminal.
The two philosophers, Nietzsche and Doestroevsky, both of exceptional and excellent mind describe a turning point in history. They’re foreshadowing the turn of the century. Its two world wars and existential conflicts. A description of the scientific revolution (God is dead), and resulting in nihilism; the belief that life is meaningless. Also, people a century ago, without VR headsets or the knowledge of quantum mechanics, just went insane. As, Nietzsche rejected the idea of objective reality. The nihilism of the 20th century could repeat in our current time, a pivotal period in 21st century history.
All men are divided into two categories: ordinary and extraordinary. Raskolnikov unsuccessfully tested himself. The main character in the book Crime and Punishment tried to become an extraordinary man. Raskolnikov was no Übermensch, as his religious ‘picking up the cross’ at the end of the novel proved. This is not a defense of Raskolnikov’s lunacy. Raskolnikov admitted his mistake, repented his crime, and then recovered from the illness from trying to become an extraordinary man. My secularism is a greater distance from the church than Dostoevsky. My understanding lines up with Nietzsche’s Übermensch philosophy.
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about the evolution of self-awareness and ‘overcoming’ of traditional views related to the notion of God and Christianity. Many philosophers attempted to teach this message. French Enlightenment writer Voltaire wrote, “Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense.” Fyodor Dostoevsky and Voltaire share similar and sincere distrust of religion. Dostoevsky considered Russia, as a Christian kingdom, the source of atheism. Fyodor Dostoevsky’s book The Brothers Karamazov, considered one of the greatest works in world literature, described Jesus Christ entering a city unannounced. Jesus heals those that recognized him. Suddenly the cathedral opens. The Cardinal… raises his hand and orders that Jesus be arrested… The Church says the Inquisitor must burn Jesus on the stake. Karl Marx wrote, “Religion is the opium of the people.” Fyodor Dostoevsky would agree.
One hundred years after Dostoevsky wrote his books, ordinary men, those Nietzschean herded people, should continue to follow the dictates of forgotten and useless ideologies. However, today, more people follow consciousness. Existential crises of this age appear unbearable. Yet, “The spring of eternity belongs to us.” -Arthur Schopenhauer (A friend of Frederick Nietzsche)