These two Christian Russian writers from the 19th century are lauded by some as among the greatest writers of all time. Their ability to see and communicate complex and intricate details sets their volumes above most writings, certainly above the writings of their day.  Though they were both Christian, neither started out that way.

Tolstoy came to Christianity through his study of one simple question: Why does pleasure exist? His obsessive research of every known religion and philosophy of his day resulted in his understanding that only Christianity gave a rationale reason for pleasure. Once he declared himself to be a Christian, he dove headlong into the scriptures, absorbing every word, every passage. He did so, however, at great peril to himself and his family, for he approached the Word as being absolute. That is to say, literal to a fault. His life was void of compassion, but extremely legalistic in his pursuit of perfection. His constant failures to attain the lofty standards in the Gospels eventually drove him to ruin.

Dostoyevsky, on the other hand, was imprisoned for being a member of an underground group opposing the tsar. After a mock execution, in which he was “pardoned” to a lesser penalty of 4 years hard labor in a Siberian prison, Dostoyevsky received a copy of the New Testament, and came to understand what grace meant, and wholly submersed himself in the grace God so freely gave. Though he had lived a life of debauchery and excessive gambling, in the end, he was at peace with himself, his enemies, and his God.

Tolstoy had come to fully understand the righteous demands of a holy God. He failed to see these demands as a way to understand the great gulf that lies between God’s holiness, and our inability to achieve that level of holiness. The lofty goals set by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount point us toward righteousness, but also point out that we must be dependant on the righteousness of Jesus to attain those goals. We, through our own efforts, are powerless to fully achieve those standards. But Jesus has already achieved them on our behalf and extended His righteousness to us through grace. This is the lesson Dostoyevsky had come to learn.

We can admire Tolstoy for his enthusiasm and dedication, and admire Dostoyevsky for his victory over a troubled past, and his capacity to receive God’s grace.

Haole Boy

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 9:26 pm and is filed under Deep Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.