So love back then seems so...weird. I don't want to say complicating, because I think that the people of today's society are as complex as can be, but the whole thing between Alyosha and Lise just weirds me out. I mean, Lise says, "No, I do love you. That letter was for serious." And Alyosha's like, "Oh cool. Because I wanted to keep that letter. Let's get married." I mean...it just seems hard to tell if it's truly love or not. But whatever. I think that the way love is portrayed nowadays is what's truly got me confused.
I liked the scene with Alyosha and Ivan where they're discussing God. It seems like Ivan is being convicted and starting to open up to Alyosha. However, I don't really understand how he hasn't rejected God, but hasn't accepted him. It's a one way answer, you either accept or reject. But I think he's just confused and frightened. I mean, it's understandable for him to think that God isn't just, especially with all of the corruptions of the world. But people are only human, and one can't really understand God. When Ivan compared loving God to loving a torturer, I thought that was a good analogy; God does torture people when they're being convicted. Being a Christian isn't easy!
There are also many good things of the world that people so easily look over. But as for the corruptions, we kind of did that to ourselves. Sorry.
While reading about the Grand Inquisitor, I thought of this verse from the Bible:
Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
The Lord doesn't have to physically do anything to prove His existence; one should believe upon faith. For example, if you see the leaves on the trees blowing, you know that's because of the wind. You do not actually see wind, you see it's effects. You just know it's there.