Dostoyevsky – the Church and Crime
December 9th, 2009Still listening to the Brothers Karamazov. From chapter V:
“Yes, but you know, in reality it is so now,” said the elder suddenly, and all turned to him at once. “If it were not for the Church of Christ there would be nothing to restrain the criminal from evil-doing, no real chastisement for it afterwards; none, that is, but the mechanical punishment spoken of just now, which in the majority of cases only embitters the heart; and not the real punishment, the only effectual one, the only deterrent and softening one, which lies in the recognition of sin by conscience.”
In other words, the Church of Christ presents the only real solution to crime. The prisons and civil courts can’t change people’s hearts.