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I finished Book 5: Pro and Contra in The Brothers Karamazov today. 2 chapters contained within it, "Mutiny" and "The Grand Inquisitor," are true works of art. I don't want to get too into talking about them, as they are rather preachy and dense, and I'm still figuring out a good ratio of light and heavy writings for my burgeoning blog. I also frankly don't believe I can do them justice; I think these chapters invoke in a reader a sort of emotion that one could go their whole life without ever quite being able to vocalize but would have no such trouble feeling. These chapters deal with religion, specifically how it pertains to the concept of free will. Assuming God exists, and the consequence of not believing in Him is eternity, why does He even allow us the choice? He wouldn't even need to exert control through force; simply work miracles and those who witness them have no choice but to believe. Isn't it cruel to allow us this freedom, to force us to walk a tightrope for no apparent reason? And if He does reveal Himself, isn't that unfair to those who have already died? I can't even begin to answer these questions, and it honestly makes me feel a little strange to even discuss this on some super simple beginner blog template. I've just been absolutely loving TBK and need some place to sort of discuss it. Discussing and rephrasing something I've just read has always been a great way for me to process things.