S9 Ep941: The Brothers Karamazov (and Other Things): Tom Velasco

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov has been hailed as one of the greatest novels of all time. I just got done reading the book and have been mulling over its multilayered meaning ever since. So I invited my friend Tom Velasco to come on the show to talk about. Tom has read the book at least 10 times (which, at 776 pages is not an easy feat) and has been teaching the book to highschool students at The Ambrose School where he’s been teaching for the last 22 years. In this lengthy podcast, we talk a lot about the book including its background, characters, plot, and its philosophical and theological themes, especially the problem of evil, free, suffering, and the nature of belief. This leads to many philosophical and cultural tangents which we don’t shy away from. Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, climate change, creation care, American politics, and what it means to love your democratic or republican neighbor as yourself. Different views will be presented. No question is off limits. No political pa…