Influencing the World

Last updated on: October 10, 2025 at 11:15 am by Richard E. Simmons III

Influencing the World 2025-10-10T11:15:25-06:00 Richard E. Simmons III

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One observation I have made is that books have a great ability to influence people. That influence can be good (the books of C.S. Lewis) or evil (Hitler’s Mein Kampf).

The reason I write books is to influence people spiritually and to give them wisdom to help them live wisely. I have also come to realize that with books, you never know where your influence ends. A person may read a book, and then give a copy to someone else. Over the years, a book that you give someone may have a powerful influence on many people that you will never know about.

I recently read in one of Charles Colson’s books, The Good Life: Seeking Purpose, Meaning, and Truth in Your Life, about the life of the great Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. From 1860 to 1880 he wrote his major novels, among them Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. He died in 1881.

Dostoyevsky’s novels helped keep the Christian faith alive during the seventy years of Soviet repression that began in 1918.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the dissident whose Nobel Prize-winning books exposed the repression of the Soviet gulag, took many of his cues from Dostoyevsky. Through Solzhenitsyn and other dissidents who treasured Dostoyevsky’s work, Dostoyevsky’s suffering proved an indirect but powerful force in toppling the evil Soviet regime.

What most people don’t know about is the powerful event that shaped Dostoyevsky’s life.

Enamored with French utopian socialism, the young Russian intellectual attended a meeting that the czar believed was subversive. For that, Dostoyevsky was condemned to eight years of hard labor. After he had been in custody for a time, he learned that his sentence had been changed to execution by firing squad. On a bleak winter day, Dostoyevsky and his fellow prisoners were marched through the snow in front of the firing squad. As a military official shouted out the death sentences, a priest led each man to a platform, giving him an opportunity to kiss the cross the priest carried.

Three of the prisoners were then marched forward and tied to a stake. Dostoyevsky looked on, realizing he would be next in line. He watched the soldiers pull the men’s caps down over their eyes. He felt revulsion in his stomach as the firing squad lifted their rifles, adjusted their aim, and stood ready to pull the triggers.

Frozen in suspense, Dostoyevsky waited for what seemed like a lifetime. Then he heard the drums start up again. But they were beating retreat! He watched, stunned, as the firing squad lowered their rifles and the soldiers removed the prisoners’ caps from their eyes. Their lives—and life would be spared.

Immediately after this incident, Dostoyevsky wrote a letter to his brother about the change the experience had worked in him: “When I look back on my past and think how much time I wasted on nothing, how much time has been lost in futilities, errors, laziness, incapacity to live; how little I appreciated it, how many times I sinned against my heart and soul—then my heart bleeds. Life is a gift … Now, in changing my life, I am reborn in a new form. Brother! I swear that I will not lose hope, and will keep my soul and heart pure. I will be transformed for the better. That’s all my hope, all my consolation!”

Dostoyevsky’s near execution and the eight dreary years in a Siberian prison gave him a unique gift: the ability to see life from its end. He understood what really mattered in a way most of us never do. And this perspective equipped him to write great novels filled with incredible insights into the human condition and into the battle between good and evil.

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 3, 2025

Nuggets of Wisdom – Fall 2025

Next Post

October 17, 2025 Thoughts On Marriage

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Character Development Inspiration Leadership Life Purpose Personal Growth Relationships Seeking God Spiritual Truth The Bible True Masculinity Uncategorized Wisdom

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A stone A fence A wall A door