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| Photo Credit: Amazon |
In The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky tells us the story of the Grand Inquisitor, which I
paraphrase here:
During the religious persecutions in Sevilla, when all who did not agree with the Church were
thrown into prison, or burned at the stake, Christ returns to earth and mixes in with the
multitudes. But the Grand Inquisitor notes his presence, and orders him jailed.
That night, he goes to visit Jesus in his cell. And he asks why Jesus has decided to return at that
particular moment. “You are making things difficult for us,” the Grand Inquisitor says. “After
all, your ideals were lovely, but it is we who are capable of putting them into practice.” He
argues that, although the Inquisition might be judged in the future to have been severe, it is
necessary, and that he is simply doing his job. There is no use talking of peace when man's heart is always at war; nor speaking of a better world when there is so much hatred in man's heart. There was no use in Jesus' having sacrificed himself in the name of the human race, when human beings still feel guilty. “You said that all people are equal, that each has the divine light within, but you forgot that people are insecure, and they need someone to guide them. Don't make our work more difficult than it is. Go away,” says the Grand Inquisitor, having laid out all of his brilliant arguments.
When he is finished, there is silence in the cell. Then Jesus comes to the Grand Inquisitor, and
kisses him on the cheek.
“You may be right,” Jesus says. “But my love is stronger.”
