Grigory Rasputin was a good man.

Thank you (note: I did not manage to get this debate sent in time. I am sorry for that, it was a real nuisance) Point 1. First before we say that he was slowing down, we need to remember that he had been doing what he thought good, and if he does what he thinks is good : he is good. First of all: Rasputin's followers were given high power in control but they were not good at this and that led to Russia's failure .One could argue that this was because of Rasputin's influence on them but Rasputin did what he thought was good (proof WWI). Therefore Rasputin was not evil because of that. So how else could he be evil by slowing down Russia ? Well within his influence over the Tzar's wife, by healing their son, he wished to create a greater and holier Russia. First off, he did not want the great suffering in WWI, and he helped the Tzar's son by healing him, he was defined as a "faith healer". Let us now look at what a faith healer is: ----------------------------------------------------- Healing someone spiritually ------------------------------------------------------- This is an act of kindness which makes whoever does it good. It could be said that he only healed the Tzar's son to get close to the Tzar, if also it was only because he thought that it was not practical for Russia to go to war and that is the only reason why he he tried to stop it means that he was doing what he thought best for Russia so then how could he be evil. He was also put in a high position and his decisions were not helping Russia. But all his intentions were good. Rasputin's political mistakes only made him seen as a bad man because of these affairs he had with these women in bathhouses and because he looked like a weirdo by seeing visions of the Virgin Mary when he was young. I will now list some of the greatest mistakes made in history and how the people who made them could not possibly be bad. 1. The Crash of the Titanic (a great ship crashed into the Iceberg and many people died) 2. Hunter tries to lite a signal (a lost hunter had lost a signal and lit a fire that spread and killed 14 people) 2. The Nuclear meltdown (due to an equipment malfunction, water meant for cooling unrianium fuel burst from its containment chamber, although nobody died) Rasputin would never do something deliberate to slow down Russia, he did strongly what he thought God wanted him to do. You will have to prove that Rasputin's intentions were bad and yes many people died but look back to some of those events that happened. Point 2. You wrote Rasputin: "Sinning is necessary" This automatically proves that Grigori Rasputin was a good man because he did believe it was necessary. He believed it was the message of God and I quote from the Bible : Luke 7:736 - 50 Jesus and the Sinful Woman ---------------------------------------- Jesus was dining with the Pharisee: Simon. Suddenly a woman rushed into the room and wept on Jesus's feet so much that they were completely wet, and then she perfumed it and kissed it. Jesus blessed and forgave her sins. Simon wondered how could he bless her and offer her to eat if she was so sinful. Then Jesus told him that if there were two men, one had borrowed five hundred denarii but the other only owed him 50. They were both greedy and neither of them paid it back. The man who had his money borrowed forgave them both. "Now tell me: Who would be more grateful" Jesus asked. "The man with 500 denarii" said Simon, you have judged correctly said Jesus. The greater amount of Sin that has been done, the more grateful you are to God for forgiving you and therefore you are closer to him. I do not believe that was the only or a good way but that was what Rasputin did. It was to get him closer to Jesus. So in order to say that he was evil, you would have to say that Christianity was evil. He may or may not have got closer to God that way but that is of course what he believed. And in Christ he saw his love and kindness as he showed to the people by trying to help them. Either by making Russia a better place or stopping the mortal suffering. In WWI, after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, War broke out. This was WWI and it was greatly known for its massive suffering. Grigori Rasputin begged the Tzar to not go to war and said that it would end the Romanovs's reign. In this great and miserable suffering, many soldiers suffered from Shell shock and at the Eastern front, more than 1,5 million soldiers of Nicholas II had died at the Eastern front. Nicholas the second had played a major part in WWI and this suffering was massive. Rasputin also sent telegrams from hospital, begging for the Tzar to stop war and how it would have a bad effect on Russia. If only Nicholas had listened to Rasputin, none of this would have happened. Or at least much less would have happened for a while. Grigori Rasputin must have had a reason for all this. Reason 1. He thought it would be very bad for Russia as he claimed Reason 2. He wanted to stop the suffering Either way he was still a good man because he was helping Russia and helping Russia helps the people. Point 4. You said that people who knew Rasputin did not like him. That is true, he disgusted them with his belief that sinning is necessary when he went out having affairs during the night with women. However, the Tsarina wife of Tzar Nicholas saw Rasputin as a saint. And she knew him very well. She believed that her son would die of his illness if he dared separate her and Rasputin for nobody would be able to heal him and she would be seriously mad at him. So the Tzar decided not to, although he did not come under the influence of Rasputin. When the Tzar left for war, he left his wife in charge and because Rasputin looked like he was curing the boy and so she adored Rasputin and did whatever he asked. This way Rasputin was now in power. But it is a known fact that the Tsarina adored Rasputin and had a huge faith in him. And she knew him very well. Others were just disgusted by his ways. And although Rasputin sent a blackmail and had strong affairs with these women, he believed not only he would be closer to God but they would as well. All Rasputin did was of a good intention and you will have to prove in the next round how it was not. I believe that I have made my arguments clear. Have a good day. Sources: ------------ Wikipedia : Grigori Rasputin The 25 Worst Mistakes in history Power of the Unknown and some others that I can't remember Have a nice day.