The Grand Inquisitor...

Today I had lots of time to kill. I went to early service with my sister and brother-in-law, and then they went off to teach Sunday school to little kids. Since we rode in the same car, I just brought some books and relaxed with a cup of coffee for about two hours. It was kinda nice.

I found myself holding my copy of The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, a book I haven't found time to REALLY embark on yet. I still haven't taken any good chunk out of it, but I DID read the oft-quoted chapter, "The Grand Inquisitor." I can finally cross that off of my list (now I only have about 860 pages of the book left before I can REALLY cross it off!). Anyway, it made me think a lot.

In the chapter, Dmitri outlines a poem he wrote about Jesus coming back during the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Jesus never says a word, he just helps people and gives people looks of infinite compassion and love. Strangely, when the Grand Inquisitor sees Jesus bring a young girl back to life during a funeral procession outside of the church, he immediately has him detained with the intention of burning him at the stake.

First, the Inquisitor tells Jesus not to speak. "You have no right to add anything to what you have said already in the days of old," says the Inquisitor. He then jumps into a lengthy and very thought out discussion about how even though he knows this is truly Jesus, he fully intends on executing him in the morning.

You see, Jesus is dangerous to the Church. He pushes for absolute freedom of all beings because only love that is freely given has meaning. The Church (this is passage was speaking directly about the Catholic church during the Inquisition, but I'm sure Dostoevsky had a broader audience intended) has become an entity based on power.

Dmitri pushes this idea by having the Inquisitor talk to Jesus about the times he was tempted in while fasting in the desert, comparing and contrasting the answers Jesus gave Satan with the answers the Church ultimately gave Satan. Jesus rejects the bread Satan offers, rejects the vulgar display of power by jumping off the cliff, and also rejects having the world's power at his fingertips. The Church, on the other hand, gave in to Satan on the third temptation. They now work for Satan and lust after power. The Church has been forced to go back and "correct" much of the work of Jesus, which encourages people to think for themselves and question authority.

It's a fictitious story, but let's have a look around. Many churches (the kind I like to attend anyway) are still focused on loving people and creating communities focused on bringing about the Kingdom, but let's face it. Lots of religious people would be much happier if we lived in an oligarchy, if the separation between church and state didn't exist.

It's a problem all belief systems (especially Western ones, historically) face. When you think you have "truth," it only makes sense to try and proselytize, to give others the truth. From there it's only a small leap before you're codifying that "truth" (which has by now surely become perverted from its original simplicity and beauty) and forcing people to believe it. "It's good for them! Even if they don't see it yet, sooner or later everyone will come around to see the light." A monster has been created.

So here's the point: If Jesus came back today, would the powers that be love him or have him burnt at the stake? Surely he'd shake things up a bit with his infinite compassion and stares of love, but would we kill him just like we did two thousand years ago? What about the Church, more specifically? What if we were told that we, as an organization, had it wrong? Would we gladly accept criticism or would we too assassinate Jesus? I don't have answers, just questions. They're interesting ones, though.