Guilt Trip

Ivan Karamazov's argument against God is not good, it's beyond that, pardon the pun. Ivan has his own beliefs and he provides a context for those beliefs, but he also provides premises for his argument which rely on sources from the Bible's scripture. All in all, we should emphasize one of his conclusions, which is, paraphrasing; A world without God is a world without rules. If this is the world we live in then there are no boundaries. We may do whatever is allowed, which is anything and everything, limitless possibilities.

Thereafter in the novel The Brothers Karamazov we are introduced to Father Zosima's refutation of Ivan's argument. It's not that I've found the best refutation against Ivan's argument, but I've located a strong counter-argument from the life-in-text of Thy Zosima. Personally, I may have not have found the most applicable refutation, but the one I've located and have on-hand provides quite the query.

And I shall also tell you, dear mother, that each of us is guilty in everything before everyone, and I most of all. - Father Zosima's recollection from the memory of Alyosha Karamazov

Guilt is the main idea here. Guilt, why guilt? Think, from Ivan's point-of-view, why guilt? If there's not a God, then how is there a God if there's guilt? Many people feel this emotion, guilt, and they only feel that way if they've broken some sort of worldly, social, or moral rule. I would induce, that in Ivan's world, if there's no rules then guilt cannot exist. Yet, is there, shoot, probably. But how is there guilt in a Godless world if there's no rules? Sheesh, I don't know, don't most people feel guilt at some point in their lives, right? In my relatively brief life experience, guilt is inevitable, but does this mean that there's a God or none at all? Shoot, who knows, it's probable, improbable, or improvable. Nonetheless, the query stands, if the idea and potential for someone to experience guilt is possible then there has to be some lawful or moral rule that has been broken. The "Law" is based off morality, which must exist if there is guilt, which is based off of the idea of there being Divine Ruling, a code, a truth, a God.

From the POV of Zosima, it may be argued that the idea of guilt is a downfall of atheism. I 'spose it depends on who believes in guilt, in shame or in wrongdoing. If you don't have that emotional capacity, then believe what you want. But if you do, then consider character Zosima's potential refutation or indirectional idea.