The Grand Inquisitor Analysis

Improved Essays
Question1
In the "Wanderings of Our Lady through Hell" portion, of "The Grand Inquisitor,’ some desperate perceptions about the theme of forgiveness are presented. The views include the fact that the forgiveness is vital in order to save the human race from pain and suffering. Indeed, an illustration of this frantic call is demonstrated in Our Lady’s plea for God to have mercy on the burning sinner in as an act of revenge for His son’s torturing. To show more desperation about the issue of forgiveness, God asks: 'How can I forgive His tormentors? '(Dostoyevsky, Garnett, and Matlaw 5.5.1).
Question 2
According to the presentations in The Grand Inquisitor, it is clear that the version of Christ’s return not the Second Coming (Dostoyevsky
…show more content…
Some of the reasons could be the fact that he presents himself as a powerful personality to them as buttressed in his miraculous raising of the girl from the dead as well as restoring the blind man’s sight (Dostoyevsky and Dostoyevsky 51). Similarly, the mystery that revolves around his personality, for example, though he possesses power, he is so a humble an individual that instead of making a grand entrance to Seville, he arrives silently and unnoticeably in addition to performing his miracles …show more content…
Innately, his reasoning may be informed by the truth that freedom, in the Grand Inquisitor’s mind, entails a form of imprisonment that prevent people from living a life that is conducive to human contentment (Lantz 413-4).
Question 15
According to the Grand Inquisitor, there is a relationship between the free will, and the miraculous. For instance, the cardinal thinks that the acts of miracles can be used to persuade the people to surrender their freedom of choice (Dostoyevsky, Garnett, and Matlaw 112).
Question 16 The Grand Inquisitor opines that human happiness requires a miracle, mystery, and authority. However, the standpoint may not be true because, for instance, people’s contentment will be difficult to realize in case miracles, mystery, and authority is abused as in the case of the suggestion by the Inquisitor that Christ uses his power to deny humans the freedom to choose what is good for them personally.
Question 17 According to the Grand Inquisitor, the statement that Christ refused to enslave man by a miracle may mean that he refused to take advantage of the powers, and the influence that he has over them to usurp their natural right to enjoy the freedom of choice.
Question

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Divine forgiveness is only due to pure agape love and this love is wholly transformative as it is wholly foreign to depraved humanity: “in charity we are loved, not because we are lovable, but because love Himself is in those who love us” (Okita, 72). Thus, Lewis presents agape as the only acceptable Gift-Love as Need-Love as it is boundless and unwearied in giving” (FL, 8). The gift of agape is not cause for pride, but for humility in that it highlights an utter inability of the self and reliance on another. Only in accepting perfect love is one able to infuse it among other…

    • 2400 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Christianity's perspective on forgiveness results from the the most consequential sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus, in order for the sins of humanity to be forgiven, the death that allowed all to be exonerated from their wrongdoings, and therefore, were then obliged to do the same to their fellow neighbours. Overall, forgiveness in Christianity has arisen due to the salvation of the Messiah, thus, a difference in the views of forgiveness by these two religions is that Jews do not believe that believe in Jesus’ sacrifice, and that He is the son of God. In addition,…

    • 1690 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bradstreet Vs Edwards Puritanism - The beliefs or principles of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church under Elizabeth I as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. (Puritanism) Puritans did everything in their lives in the name of God, so there was seldom a need to do anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary such as writing. Because Puritanism limited the amount of Purist authors, our knowledge of how the religion works is limited as well. Thankfully there were people like Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards who wrote to glorify God. Anne Bradstreet’s writing consisted of personal thoughts and experiences, some of these writings being “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” and “Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666.”…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Peasant Revolts DBQ

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1). If it were not for Luther the peasants would still be blind and not know what the lords were doing to them. According to Leonhard von Eck they are still blind in their revolts (doc. 1). They do not know what they are doing they are just fighting blind. Although the peasants are revolting because of Luther he does not like that they are revolting.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Dante’s Inferno, Dante states that pitying those damned in Hell is impious and highly discouraged. This is exemplified through the multiple instances of pity and its consequences throughout the book and through Virgil’s guidance. In this essay, I will discuss pity’s role within the Inferno and how it is proven to be a sign of impiety. Pitying the sinful never has positive consequences and surprisingly turns the person pitying the damned into a sinner themselves as they are restricting themselves from growing and learning from the sinners’ mistakes. Pity is a complicated concept.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Forgiving an individual can be an appropriate action if the one’s action is not significant if it does not cause life or long lasting effects. However, in the case of a major offense such as taking the life of an innocent individual, one cannot be forgiven on any level. The act of taking away a person’s life is ultimate and cannot be undone. In The Sunflower, Simon Wiesenthal demonstrates the essence of forgiveness through a situation as a holocaust survivor. Simon faced a situation where he met a SS soldier, Karl who was facing death and asked Simon for forgiveness due to a guilty conscious.…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Republic, Plato sets up a dialogue between Glaucon and Socrates wherein Glaucon seeks an argument in favor of justice by hypothetically arguing against it. One main point of Glaucon’s argument against justice is that men are naturally unjust. Glaucon’s evidence for his position lies in a thought experiment he presents, which relies on understanding his definitions of justice and naturally unjust. Glaucon begins his argument by stating, “those who practice justice do so involuntarily and because they have not the power to be unjust,” (359e).…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hate will always be present. There was never a time where no one man, organization, or country hasn’t hated another of it’s kind. This poses the question then: Can a society hate based on hate survive? Obviously this is the goal of The Party in the book 1984, to brainwash people into believing that the only emotion is hate. It is difficult to pinpoint the results, but both article and opinion can be used to answer this question.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many people consider forgiveness as a virtue and something desirable. Nevertheless, people define it differently, probably depending on circumstances. As Jeffrie Murphy puts it, forgiveness is the forswearing of resentment- the resolute overcoming of the anger and hatred that are naturally directed toward a person who has done an unjustified and non-excused moral injury. According to this statement, forgiveness is directly related to moral obligation from individuals. It suggests that unjustified moral injury to a person may cause anger and hatred that can only be overcome through forgiveness.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Inquisitor uses many rhetorical strategies to establish his argument against Joan. He uses elements of ethos, builds a powerful tone, and includes biblical allegories throughout his speech. Characterization is an essential piece of the puzzle that will play an important role in his speech. Finally, the inquisitor demonstrates a sophisticated example of a “slippery slope” to expand his analysis of Joan’s position.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    On December 17, 1942, several countries, including the United States and Great Britain, identified the law as an avenue for pursuing justice on behalf of individuals persecuted in the Holocaust, resolving to prosecute war criminals responsible for the mass murder of civilian populations (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). From 1945 to 1946, the Allied powers sentenced 22 war criminals for their actions, yet the process of understanding crimes against humanity and empowering their victims extends beyond legal ramifications (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Labeling the Holocaust as a stain in human history is an understatement; the massacre of 6 million individuals, each bearing a story, familial lineage, and personal aspirations,…

    • 1642 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In his article, “Gentle Savages and Fierce Citizens against Civilization: Unraveling Rousseau’s Paradoxes,” author Matthew Mendham further explores Shklar’s work by creating the “Shklarian Model” which is simply split between what is best for a man and what is best for a citizen as being distinct ideals (172). Mendham further elaborates on this argument by explaining the position of Leo Strauss, who argued that Rousseau’s political solution “ought to be read as merely intended for modern consumption” since it is impossible for humans to ever truly return to the ideal solitude and naturalness of the original state of human nature (172). In fact, in his Confessions Rousseau posited that “he alone has maintained the soul of original, natural…

    • 1754 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    When Karl, a dying, twenty-one year old Nazi soldier, begs Jewish prisoner Simon Weisenthal for forgiveness, Wiesenthal responds with silence. Unsure of the his neither refusal nor acceptance to grant the soldier his forgiveness, Wiesenthal asks the reader what they would do. In Book Two of The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, fifty-three responses from varying ethnicities, experiences, religions, and countries yielded their opinions on what Wiesenthal should or should not have done, analyzing if his silence was an acceptable. Author Jean Améry wrote a particularly persuasive argument. Améry’s argument was the most compelling because it subtracts religion from the equation of forgiveness and is able to secularly analyze…

    • 1601 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Irenaeus

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Irenaeus was born in second century Smyrna and was a student of Polycarp who in turn was a student of St. John the Evangelist. Eventually made bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, Irenaeus is considered by some to be the Church's first systematic theologian. He primary opponents were the Gnostics who claimed a greater spiritual knowledge and believed the material world to be evil. As such, they asserted that Christ could not have been fully man. Rather, he either only appeared to be or else controlled the normal human man Jesus of Nazareth, leaving him at the crucifixion.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethos In Sinners

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Preacher, Jonathan Edward, in his sermon “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”, preaches his personal belief of what is going to happen to us when we die and what God will do to people who have not repented. Edward’s purpose is to convey the idea that we are all sinners and God has the power to do whatever he wants to do to us. He adopts a furious tone to affect the reader's feelings and make them feel repentful and guilty. Edward starts his sermon by arguing that God is not required to keep anyone out of hell. He appeals to the listener's emotion through fear, he uses imagery to show how easily God can decided to drop us into hell.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics