Essay Questions

Why does the Grand Inquisitor take the position of Satan rather than Jesus during his temptation in the desert?

For the Grand Inquisitor (and, in his words, the church as a whole), Jesus missed the fundamental reason why people need religion: security. His argument reveals an underlying belief that religion exists in order to provide people with security and protection. Jesus did things that were all well and good, but he left people with the capacity for free will and the command to use it, which endangers them: they could choose wrongly, or suffer injury that could have been prevented. The Church stepped up after Jesus left and took away the people's free will, providing them with the security and protection the Grand Inquisitor believes they need.

The Grand Inquisitor believes that Jesus acted wrongly in all three trials of his temptation. The first trial, in which Satan tempted the hungry Jesus to turn a stone into bread to feed himself, was an opportunity for Jesus to take the bread, fulfilling a practical need. The Grand Inquisitor says that Jesus should have taken the bread and given man the ability to always have sufficient food, granting them freedom from hunger rather than freedom of will.

In the second trial, where Satan told Jesus to prove his divinity by throwing himself off the top of the temple, the Grand Inquisitor argues that he should have done so. This action would have been an irrefutable miracle by which to convince the people of his divinity. Such a demonstration of power would have essentially made people believe in him, which would entail a reduction of free will. Jesus would not agree with this, but the Grand Inquisitor argues that he needed to give people mental security by taking away their free will.

The third trial was Satan's offer of power to Jesus, saying that if Jesus just bowed down to him, he would give him all the lands and kingdoms of the world. Jesus refused, obviously, but the Grand Inquisitor said that since Jesus didn't take the power, the Church had to step up and do so, using this power to take away the free will of its people and ensure their security. All of these objections reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of religion, which seems to be Ivan's point here.

Explain the significance of Jesus's silent kiss in response to the Grand Inquisitor's soliloquy.

The Grand Inquisitor believes that he has a better understanding of the function of religion in human life than does Jesus, the author and founder of Christianity. He argues that security is more important than free will, and that Jesus made a mistake by giving his people the latter instead of the former. After this intense, argument-filled monologue, Jesus answers him simply by giving him a kiss. This kiss is more powerful than any words he could have spoken in response; it demonstrates the sacrificial, unconditional love that is the true driving force behind Jesus's actions. The Grand Inquisitor has misunderstood: Jesus acted out of love for the people of Earth because he knows what is ultimately best for them, not out of a misplaced obsession with free will.