Ivan has not effectively proved the injustice of God’s plan as he has not been presented with the complete counter-argument to his points and has thus not had the chance to present a full argument for the injustice of God. Ivan states that he accepts God and all of the beliefs about him, but he whole-heartedly rejects “his ticket” to salvation and heaven if it depends upon the suffering of innocent children.
His argument rests upon the idea that children under the age of 8 or 7 are not yet cognizant of what is right and wrong, and who is God to punish them. He accepts the original sin of adults, but indirectly distinguishes that he does not believe in the original sin existing fully within children.
Alyosha presents the main counterpoint to Ivan’s arguments for the injustice of God’s plan – the redemption of suffering. However, he fails to explain this notion and its relation to Jesus. Once again, Alyosha sounds as though he is committing “literary theft,” quoting Zosima on something he does not quite fully understand and hoping optimistically that there is proper reasoning for the order of the world. Alyosha does not appear to understand why Jesus’ death provides an answer for Ivan’s question.
As Alyosha fails to present a coherent counterpoint fully explaining the redemptive quality of suffering, Ivan does not explain why such a point would be mute without faith. Therefore, Ivan’s argument does not effectively prove the injustice of God’s plan.
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