Analysis of The Grand Inquisitor

Corruption of Religiosity

Introduction

Religion has been turned to serve the purpose of humans. This is widely seen through Ivan's concerns in the Grand Inquisitor. He basically examines the much power that the church holds and the fact that the Christians themselves are not accorded with much freedom. As much as these concerns are majorly based on Christianity, there is a greater similarity to the Muslim culture as the same lack of freedom is widely exhibited. The question in this context is to whether the lack of freedom is a characteristic of Christianity only or whether it is also common in the Muslim culture. This question can best be addressed through making a comparison of the two religions, their cultures, beliefs and the setting. This aspect is based on Ivan’s view as expressed in the Grand Inquisitor.

Grand Inquisitor

This is a tale that is told by Ivan and there are incidents of interruption by Alyosha. In this chapter, Christ returns to the earth during the Inquisition time and performs a number of miracles just as it is written in the Gospels. As much as the people adore and recognize him, the Inquisition leaders arrest him and sentence him to death through burning. He is paid a visit by the Grand Inquisitor who informs him the Church is no longer in need of him and that the return of Jesus would actually be interfering with the Church’s mission. In denouncing Jesus, the Inquisitor sites three major points on the three temptations of Jesus in the desert by Satan of turning stones into bread, throwing Him from the temple and ruling the kingdoms of the earth. The Inquisitor’s view is that Jesus misjudges the human nature and that he rejected the temptations based on his favor for freedom and that the freedom the Jesus has given to humanity cannot be handled by a majority who are excluded from redemption and are therefore doomed to suffer.

Ivan declares that the Inquisitor is an atheist but indicates that the Catholic Church is based on following the teachings of the dead spirit of destruction and death which id Satan or the Devil. The multitude is guided by the few strong people in the church and that under him, the humanity will ead a life that is happy and dies happily because of their ignorance. That despite the fact that the humanity is being led through destruction and death; they will be pleased with the way they are being led.

The Inquisitor further explains in his argument why Christ was mistaken in the decisions he took during temptations. He states that Christ would have accepted to turn the stones to bread as the humanity is usually interested in those who fill their bellies. He even criticizes Christ’s response of man not living on bread alone. The Inquisitor furthers his argument that by casting Himself down from the temple and being caught by the angels would have cemented the godhood of Christ and thus remaining in the minds of the people forever. He further claims that by ruling over the earthly kingdoms, there would be salvation throughout the earth.

This chapter ends with Christ kissing the Inquisitor on his aged and bloodless lips, having been silent all along without answering him. Christ is released by the Inquisitor and told never to come back, and Christ silently leaves into the city’s dark alleys. This ambiguous kiss glows into the heart of the Inquisitor despite the fact that he maintains his idea, marking an end to a parable which is instrumental in both religion and philosophy and contributes to the development of the character in the novel.

The relevance to Ivan’s view of Christianity

This story brings out Ivan’s views on the establishment of the ecclesiastical courts and questions the verdict of the court especially on judging the life of Christian. He presents a conflict that exists between free will and the security through the different viewpoints of Christ and that of the Inquisitor. There is a clear difference in how both of them view freedom and comfort. The question of freedom arises with a clear cut between those who will and can handle the freedom they have as far as religion is concerned, and the fact that this freedom is manifested in the actions of the Christians. His dissent towards Christianity is openly exhibited by the fact that he shows how the leadership of the church is misusing power and the belief that the Christians have on them. This is through the Inquisitor’s questioning of Christ’s actions at the temptation yet Christianity is based on Christ himself. The aspect of freedom comes to light in this chapter in relation to the Christianity faith.

The Muslim relevance

The Muslims culture is not different from that of Christianity in terms of freedom in terms of leadership and power bestowed upon the few leaders on the religion. Just like the Inquisitor claimed that he leads the church through destruction in their own ignorance, the Muslim culture is characterized by Sheik leading the flock. Just like the Christians have a holy book called the bible, the Muslims follow the teachings in the holqquran and do live by its teachings. In the Grand Inquisitor chapter, Ivan openly shows his dissent for the Grand Inquisitor especially on the issue that he represents the corruption in religion. That man has changed the gospel that Jesus brought to Christianity and shifted the power to himself as evidence by the Inquisitor. He shows how Jesus came back and was rejected. This is the same situation with the Muslims despite the fact that in Islam, there are no sacraments and no clergy. The organization of the Islam faith is intense and hierarchical and has the religion based more on worshipping the holy family, mysticism and religious hierarchy. Just like the Catholics, the Muslims have clerical intercessions. Muslims put emphasis on respecting and following what the leaders of Islam say in as far as worshipping of Allah is concerned. The leaders are regarded as being close to Allah, who is the God and they serve as the point of interpretation of the holy book. The Muslims, like Christians, are made to believe fully in their leaders as opposed to the Lord just as exhibited in the Grand Inquisitor. The humans have corrupted the ways of God and enshrined their own ways through confusing the flocks. The issue of freedom of humankind also crops up as the religious leaders both in Christianity and Islam have changed the real interpretation of freedom to suit their own selves. This is what Ivan seeks to bring out in his Grand Inquisitor.

According to Ivan, Christianity has been taken over by the religious leaders, changing the essence of it. What was a religion based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ has been manipulated and changed into human affair, with the leaders imparting their own thought and values. Just as the Inquisitor states, the flock has also been blinded to follow the corrupt ways of religion based on humanity as opposed to the divine nature. This is not only common to Christianity but also in Islam.