The Grand Inquisitor

Billy Graham once said, “Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love.” The Grand Inquisitor, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, is a chapter from The Brothers Karamazov. It is about the time when Jesus Christ comes down to earth and gets caught by the Grand Inquisitor, where He gets blamed for providing people freedom to choose. The two characters, Jesus Christ and the Grand Inquisitor, have two antithetical viewpoints about freedom. Based on their reasonings, we can discern both of them as good or evil characters. In my opinion, the Grand Inquisitor can be considered a good character from the chapter.
The Grand Inquisitor is a good character because of his love for humankind. He loves everyone, those who are both weak (non-believers) and strong (believers): “Or dost Thou care only for the tens of thousands of the great and strong, while the millions, numerous as the sands of the sea, who are weak but love Thee, must exist only for the sake of the great and strong? No, we care for the weak too.” All humans are not strong enough to be faithful and follow God. According to the Inquisitor, those who are non-believers will suffer both on earth and in Hell when they die unlike the believers. He says that he and the
church can at least provide the non-believers happiness and security on earth, even though these people will suffer after their death. This shows his love for humans to get happiness and security on earth. He acts as a parent to all the humankind and care for them.
Another reason why the Grand Inquisitor is good is that he provides happiness and security for humans.
He believes that once Jesus Christ accepts the three temptations, humankind will be complete. However, Christ rejected the three temptations, giving humans the freedom to choose, which is the cause of human suffering according to the Inquisitor. “We have corrected Thy work and have founded it upon miracle, mystery and authority. And men rejoiced that they were again led like sheep, and that the terrible gift that had brought them such suffering, was, at last, lifted from their hearts.” He says that he will provide happiness and security by feeding everyone, which Jesus Christ refuses to do, and by answering any questions humans come up
with.
The Grand Inquisitor is good because he sacrifices himself for the happiness and security of humankind. He argues that it is better to allow these people to sin. By doing this, the Grand Inquisitor and the church are taking upon the sins from these humans and suffer for them: “We allow them to sin because we love them, and the punishment for these sins we take upon ourselves… Peacefully they will die, peacefully they will expire in Thy name, and beyond the grave they will find nothing but death. But we shall keep the secret, and for their happiness we shall entice them with the reward of heaven and eternity.” In addition, with the knowledge of good and evil, they will suffer both when they are alive and after their death.