——软弱的人如何承受自由
作者：韩立华
编辑：周志刚 校对：熊辩 翻译：戈冰
阿廖沙说，耶稣是唯一一个“能够宽恕而且有权宽恕的人”，人类命运的大厦不是建立在小女孩的眼泪之上，而是建立在耶稣身上。阿廖沙说，伊凡忘记了耶稣。
伊凡说，他没有忘记耶稣，而且他还为耶稣写了一部长诗（名字叫《宗教大法官》），这就是《卡拉马佐夫兄弟》第五卷第五章中著名的《宗教大法官》。虽然他没有把这首诗写下来，但诗的内容他记得。
作为开场白，伊凡介绍了过去时代类似的诗歌和戏剧，就是“把天神引向人间”的时尚。他提到但丁，提到雨果的《巴黎圣母院》，提到俄国彼得大帝以前的时代演的戏剧，他还特别提到鞑靼人统治时代的一首长诗，叫《圣母游地狱》。伊凡认为诗中的描写不亚于但丁。
伊凡说，他的长诗也是这样的题材，就是耶稣再次来到地上，来到人间。耶稣在圣经中已经应许说：“我必快来”（启示录3：11“我必快来，你要持守你所有的，免得人夺去你的冠冕。”），但他什么时候来，“但那日子、那时辰没有人知道，连天上的使者也不知道，子也不知道，唯有父知道。”（马可福音13：32）
于是，地上的人们一代又一代地等待着他的再来，“满怀着当年的信仰和当年感动的心情在等待着他。”
十五个世纪过去了，人们已经整整十五个世纪没有得到来自天上的保证了。正巧那时候，在欧洲北部出现了一种“新的、可怕的邪教”，就是波及西欧各国的宗教改革运动。“那些邪教徒开始亵渎上帝，否认奇迹，但是虔诚如初的教徒们对上帝的信仰变得更加炽烈了。”他们一代一代地祈祷：“主啊，快降临吧”。最后耶稣终于怀着无限怜悯之情降临到祈求者面前，回到那些“受苦受难，罪孽深重，但婴儿般爱他的百姓面前”。
那是在十六世纪，西班牙南部的塞维尔（塞维利亚），耶稣再次降临人间。那是在宗教裁判制度最猖獗的时代。耶稣来到这里，“只是想看一眼他的孩子们，看一看架起火堆活活烧死异教徒的那个地方。”
就在前一天，在这个城市的广场上，“为了上帝的荣耀，一下子活活烧死了上百个异教徒。”“他悄悄地不知不觉地来到广场，但是很奇怪，大家马上认出了他。……人们势不可挡地纷纷向前拥去，将他团团围住。……他默默地在他们中间走过，脸上挂着无限同情的宁静的微笑。爱的太阳在他心中燃烧，光明、智慧和力量的光辉从他眼中闪射出来，照耀着人们，震撼着他们的心灵，向他们报以深情厚爱。”
他让一个瞎子重新看见，让一个躺在棺材里的小女孩死而复生。就像一千五百年前，他在地上三年时间所做的一样。
就在这时，宗教大法官经过广场，书中描述他的样子，“这是个将近九十岁的老人，高个子，腰板笔直，一张干瘪的脸，眼眶深陷，但目光炯炯，犹如两颗火星。”他看到了广场上发生的一切，于是他命令卫队把耶稣抓起来，押到宗教法院那幢古老大楼里的一间带穹顶的狭小而阴暗的牢房里。
到了夜里，“在一片漆黑中，牢房的铁门打开了，年迈的宗教大法官亲自提着灯，慢慢地走进监狱。他独自一人，铁门在他身后又立刻关上了。”
宗教大法官和基督就在这昏暗的牢房里面对面了，开始了他们的谈话。其实不是交谈，只是宗教大法官一个人的独白，因为从头到尾，基督一直保持沉默。
大法官也让基督不要回答，他的理由是“你也没有权利对自己说过的话再增添什么新内容”，“既然你把一切都交给了教皇，现在一切都在教皇手里，那你现在完全没有必要再来了，至少暂时不要来妨碍。”
其实，耶稣在当年受犹太的大祭司审判时就是这样一言不发。
现在，他当年亲自建立的教会，再一次地审判他，不让他开口。因为按照大法官的说法，基督现在再说什么的话，将会侵犯人们的信仰自由，因为人们是按照一千五百年前基督的话去自由信仰的。而基督又把信仰自由看得比一切都宝贵。“你们必晓得真理，真理必叫你们得以自由。”（约翰福音8：32）
大法官说，基督白天已经在广场上看到了那些信仰他的“自由的人”，他们恐惧地、顺服地跪在大法官面前，眼看着基督被卫兵抓走。
“现在，就是目前，这些人比任何时候更加坚信自己是完全自由的，而实际上是他们亲自把自己的自由交给我们，服服帖帖地把它放在我们脚下。”大法官认为这样的结果正是他和他手下的人的功劳，因为他们终于压制了自由，为了使人们得到幸福。
这就是大法官的立场：为了人类的幸福否定人的自由。
他对基督说：“对你的警告和指示的次数不能算少了，但是你却一次次不听警告，你放弃了那条唯一可以使人幸福的道路。”
他所说的“警告和指示的次数不能算少”，指的就是圣经中记载的耶稣在开始传道之前所受的魔鬼的三个诱惑（试探）。
当时，耶稣被圣灵引到旷野，受魔鬼的试探。他禁食四十昼夜，后来就饿了。那试探人的进前来，对他说：“你若是神的儿子，可以吩咐这些石头变成食物。”耶稣却回答说：“经上记着说：‘人活着，不是单靠食物，乃是靠神口里所出的一切话。’”
魔鬼就带他进了圣城，叫他站在殿顶上，对他说：“你若是神的儿子，可以跳下去。因为经上记着说：‘主要为你吩咐他的使者，用手托着你，免得你的脚碰在石头上。’”
耶稣对他说：“经上又记着说：‘不可试探主你的神。’”魔鬼又带他上了一座最高的山，将世上的万国与万国的荣华都指给他看，对他说：“你若俯伏拜我，我就把这一切都赐给你。”耶稣说：“撒但退去吧！因为经上记着说：‘当拜主你的神，单要侍奉他。’”
于是魔鬼离了耶稣，有天使来伺候他。（马太福音4：1-11）
从圣经上我们看到，基督拒绝了魔鬼的三个诱惑，照大法官的说法是魔鬼的三个警告。因为大法官认为这是一个“伟大的魔鬼”，并且他认为这三个“诱惑”是加引号的。因为在大法官眼里，魔鬼的三个诱惑不是坏东西，而是切切实实、千真万确的东西。他认为，魔鬼向基督提出的这三个问题是一个奇迹，超越了现有全部的人类智慧，而且是永恒的抽象智慧。“因为这个问题似乎把人类未来的整个历史集合成一个整体，并且预告了它的前途，同时也出现了三个形象，它们囊括了全世界人类本性中所有无法解决的矛盾。”
大法官说，“现在，过了十五个世纪以后，我们看到这三个问题所包含的一切已经被认识、被预告、被证实了，再也不能增添或删减任何内容了。”
现在，对我们来说，经过了不是十五个世纪，而是二十个世纪，特别是二十世纪中，随着极权主义的产生，魔鬼的这三个诱惑在世界历史和人的本性当中，更加直接、更加惨烈地显明出来。所以，圣经，以及宗教大法官的故事，在我们所处的时代仍然具有极为重要的意义，对于我们如何分辨真理和谎言，如何选择人生的道路具有重要的启发作用。
第一个诱惑——将石头变成面包
基督降临人间，想要人们得到自由，“但是他们由于单纯和与生俱来卑劣的天性，不可能正确理解自由，他们对自由感到害怕和恐惧。因为对人类和人类社会来说从来没有什么东西比自由更加无法容忍！”
魔鬼对基督说，“只要你把石头变成面包，那么人类就会像羊群那样跟你走，对你感恩戴德，俯首听命。”但是，这样的跟随是带着恐惧的，因为他们害怕有一天你缩回手，不再供他们面包。
基督拒绝了这种面包换来的驯服。他要的跟随是自由的，出于爱的，而不是作为生存的手段进行的交换。所以在圣经上，当耶稣行使“五饼二鱼”的神迹喂饱了五千人以后，那些人到处追着跟随他，耶稣并没有为此高兴，而是责备他们跟随他是为了“吃饼得饱”，就这样使其中大部分人离他而去。
从作为一个领袖的角度来看，耶稣这样做真是太不明智了。他完全可以先带他们“打土豪，分田地”，等事业成功了再把田地从他们手中收回来。不，基督要的不是这样的跟随者，他不愿利用人卑劣的天性；他要的是有尊严的、有人最初的荣耀形象的自由跟随他的人。所以，基督说，“人不是单靠面包活着。”（这也是中国国内一本陀思妥耶夫斯基的书信选的书名）
但是，“地上的魔鬼为了这面包可以起来反对你，跟你交战，并且战胜你，而大家会跟着他跑，赞美他。”（“东方红，太阳升，中国出了个毛泽东。他为人民谋幸福，他是人民的大救星。”）
这就是马克思主义和社会主义所宣称的：“不存在犯罪，也无所谓罪孽，只有饥肠辘辘的人”，“先填饱他们的肚皮，然后再叫他们讲道德。”
这就是斗地主、公私合营，这就是“我穷我有理”。为了所谓的均贫富，他们掀起了一阵阵血雨腥风，“在你圣殿的废墟上，将耸立起一座新的大厦和可怕的巴比伦塔。”这座新的大厦，新的巴比伦塔，或者叫人间天堂，或者叫共产主义社会，它们在二十世纪给全人类带来了无尽的混乱与苦难。
宗教大法官对人性抱持着轻蔑的看法，认为他们“软弱、渺小、无德无行、不仁不义”，他们对于基督视为宝贵的自由最难以忍受。在他们的心目中，天上的面包不能跟地上的面包相比。这里“天上的面包”指的是人的永恒的自由，他的绝对尊严，他与永恒的联系。“地上的面包”指的就是生活的安宁，肉体的满足，地上的幸福，“岁月静好”。
大法官认为，只有几万个“强者”愿意为了天上的面包自由跟随基督；而还有几百万的“弱者”不能为了天上的面包放弃地上的面包，谁给他们地上的面包，他们就跟随谁，并将自由拱手交出。
大法官指责基督是精英主义者，只把地上那几万个看重天上的面包的强者视为宝贵，而对剩下的几百万贪恋地上面包宁愿放弃自由的人不管不问。大法官说：“我们也关心弱者。”大法官和他的随从们掌管了这些弱者的自由，统治他们，并且是假借基督的名义进行统治。
也就是说，大法官的统治是建立在欺骗的基础上的。他装扮成民主主义者，弱者和被压迫者的朋友，然后声称珍惜爱护他们。他所谓的对弱者的爱其实是对他们的轻蔑。因为他不相信人的崇高来源，认为只有少数人才有能力走上崇高的生命之路，不被地上的面包诱惑，爱天上的面包高于一切。
别尔嘉耶夫说：“宗教大法官的精神，为了虚假的、尘世的爱，而不是为了天上的爱，怀疑人们有登上高山、不断提高的权利，为了同情人们，它号召与自己的兄弟分享贫穷，是贫穷而不是财富。丰富的精神生活被禁止。不准考虑永生，称其为个人主义，只称颂对暂时的关心。你们要卑贱、贫穷，永远放弃自己的自由，到那时候你们才会得到地上的面包，那时候你们才会安宁，那时候大家才会幸福。”
大法官认为弱者不配享有自由，当自由临到弱者身上，他们只想要地上的面包，这种自由对他们来说就成了一种负担和煎熬。“难道你没有想过，假如选择的自由成了他们一种可怕的负担而压得他们喘不过气来，那么他们到最后会放弃甚至反对你的形象和你的真理。”
这些弱者，只看重地上面包的人，他们不准备为自由付上代价，他们不想要真正的信仰，而宁愿选择信仰的代替品——奇迹、神秘和权威。
“世界上有三种力量，只有这三种力量才能永远征服并俘虏这些软弱无能的叛逆的良心，使他们得到幸福——这三种力量就是奇迹、神秘和权威。”
基督把这三种力量都拒绝了。
第二个诱惑——从殿顶往下跳
基督再次拒绝了魔鬼的这个诱惑。他没有跳下来，没有创造奇迹。
就像当他被那些人钉上十字架，那些人在十字架下讽刺他，嘲笑他，对他说：“你如果是神的儿子，就从十字架上下来吧”，“我们就信你。”那时候，他并没有从十字架上下来。
他没有从十字架上下来和他没有从殿顶跳下来的原因是一样的。“你没有从十字架上走下来，你没有走下来的原因还是因为你不想用奇迹征服人，你渴望自由的信仰，而不是奇迹的信仰，你渴望的是自由的爱，而不是奴隶面对将他吓得永远胆战心惊的强权而表现出来的那种奴隶式的狂喜。”
大法官说，“人一旦抛弃了奇迹，同时也就抛弃了上帝。因为人寻找的与其说是上帝，不如说是奇迹。”
这让我想到中国人的“明君崇拜”，“清官崇拜”，他们几千年来就渴望跪在上帝般的君王和官长面前，否则宁愿自相残杀，他们从未想过把领袖当成会犯错的普通人，从未想过把权力关进笼子。所以，香港某无良明星才说“中国人是需要被管的”。可能这就是中国人固有的劣根性，不知自由的宝贵，他们人生最大的目标只是“活着”。
大法官再一次指责基督过于尊重人的自由，尊重到似乎不爱他们，因为他不体贴人的软弱。
而大法官所谓的对人少一点尊重，对他的要求低一些，意思就是诉诸于人们的盲从和无知。那些没有勇气自由地信仰的人，那些不相信基督在十字架上的死是一种胜利、是唯一拯救方式的人，就只好去接受大法官带来的表面的奇迹和人造的神秘，而这一切的底下只不过是欺骗、谎言和暴力而已。
中国战国时期的商鞅有本书叫《商君书》，里面提到“驭民五术”，就和大法官的思想颇为一致：
①壹民（统一思想）
②弱民（国强民弱）
③疲民（一场接一场运动；996）
④辱民（大法官说的：软弱，卑贱；使他们互相检举，内斗）
⑤贫民（剥夺他们多余的财富，使他们每日只为生计奔波，无暇他顾）
“我们纠正了你的行为，把你的行为置于奇迹、神秘和权威的基础之上。”——“我们拥护的不是你，而是他（魔鬼）。”这就是宗教大法官的秘密。
第三个诱惑——向魔鬼下拜
“我们从他那里接受了被你愤然拒绝的东西”，“我们从他那儿接受了罗马和恺撒的宝剑，并且宣布自己是人间的王，唯一的王。”
这就是魔鬼的第三个诱惑。
“假如你听从了伟大的魔鬼的第三个劝告，你就满足了人类在地上追求的一切，那就是：崇拜谁？把良心交给谁？通过什么方式大家才能最后结成一个没有争吵、和睦一致的蚂蚁窝？因为全世界团结一致的要求正是令人们痛苦的第三个也是最后一个问题。整个人类始终追求全世界的联合。”
第三个诱惑在罗马帝国时代表现为对恺撒的崇拜，中世纪时期表现为教皇崇拜，在现代社会体现为极权、独裁国家的领袖崇拜。第三个诱惑是权力归属谁的问题。归属于某一个人，就是极权国家（纳粹德国，斯大林苏联），归属所谓的“人民”，就是多数人的暴政（法国大革命）。而将二者混合起来的就是中国的“文化大革命”。
第三个诱惑重要的体现就是国家崇拜，就是民族主义、爱国主义的甚嚣尘上。他们宣扬领袖崇拜，政党崇拜，打造民族神话，国家神话，让所谓的爱国、爱党、爱领袖变成真理本身，成为人们的集体无意识。
基督拒绝了魔鬼的这一诱惑，拒绝了恺撒的剑，拒绝作地上的王，拒绝这些自我崇拜的国家或全世界的联合，在上帝之外的联合。
这世上总有人因着骄傲和野心要在地上建造巴别塔，为了传扬自己的名。无论是扩张国土（“如果俄罗斯不存在了，我们还要世界干什么？”），还是扩张经济（全球化，一带一路），还是扩张意识形态（共产主义），都是接受了基督所拒绝的魔鬼的第三个诱惑。它的诱惑如此之大，甚至陀思妥耶夫斯基本人在他的思想里都有建立俄罗斯“第三罗马”的梦想，去维护沙皇专制。
在宗教大法官长篇独白快要结束的时候，他用一大段充满恶魔激情的话，表达了他理想中的人类生活，这也是大法官和他几十万手下所统治的数十亿弱者的幸福生活。
这些驯服的羊群，他们所享受的是只配弱者享受的幸福，他们用自由换来的幸福。他们带着恐惧战兢的心偎依在统治者周围，并为这些统治者的强大和聪明感到骄傲。他们的脑子不再胡思乱想。他们被迫劳动，他们也有劳动之余被安排好的空闲时间，用来“背儿歌，练合唱，跳天真烂漫的舞蹈”。他们甚至被允许犯罪、干坏事。
“他们再也不会向我们隐瞒任何秘密”，“我们可以允许或者禁止他们跟妻子或情妇同房，是否生育孩子——这全看他们听话不听话。”
经历过计划生育和无所不在的摄像头监控，经历过人与人互相警惕、互相举报的耳语者年代，经历过高科技的网络审查、许多的词语只能用谐音和拼音代替的时代，你就会深切感受到，宗教大法官梦想中的人类图景，在我们这个时代已经一步步变为了现实。
但是有一点不同，宗教大法官原是在自由的强者之列，他也在沙漠里呆过，吃过蝗虫和草根，后来据说他是“迷途知返”，加入到纠正基督的事业的行列中。而大法官后来的那些徒子徒孙，远比他更卑劣。比如毛泽东，从他被打造的形象来看，他几乎是一个完美的宗教大法官，伟大的舵手，伟大的导师，作风朴素，为官清廉。实际上他不是。他性格乖戾，喜怒无常，心胸狭窄，生活腐化，他连面包都不能提供给那几万万跪在他面前的臣民。
可悲的是他现在仍在被某些组织和个人膜拜着，无论出自假意还是真心。甚至还有人想要回到他统治的那个时代。这是整个民族的悲哀。
这就是宗教大法官所纠正的基督的事业，他们要在地上建造一座巴别塔来传扬自己的名，但最终无一例外的成了烂尾工程。只是在这个过程中，一代一代的人已经成为了这项工程的材料和代价，烂尾的大厦下面埋葬了累累的白骨和无尽的血泪。
在大法官滔滔不绝的言辞下，在他打着同情、爱护弱者的旗号下，我们看到他对人的极度蔑视。他们不讲道德，叛逆成性，眼睛只盯住地上的面包和自我的欲望，他们带着深深的恐惧匍匐在领袖面前，惟恐他们手上的面包重新变成石头。就是他们，为了三十块钱，出卖了自己的灵魂；就是他们，刚刚还在对着基督欢呼“和散那”，转眼就围住他高喊“钉他十字架”。那么，他们只配交出自己的自由，聚在一起成为一个蚂蚁窝吗？
圣经和基督教怎样看待这个问题的呢？怎样看待人的自由？怎样看待魔鬼的问题和人类的命运的呢？
上帝造人之初，是照着自己的形象造人，并且把自己最宝贵的属性——自由，加在了人的身上。
魔鬼是怎么来的？按照基督教的说法，魔鬼本是上帝所造的最高级的天使，只是它因心中高傲背叛了上帝，妄图取代上帝的地位，最后失败坠落地上。从此，它在地上所做的事情只有一件，就是诱惑、败坏上帝所造的人类，以体贴人的地上需要的名义，使人忘记自己神圣的来源，忘记自己跟另一个世界的联系。
上段时间，我无意中看到一部电影，叫《魔鬼代言人》。电影里阿尔帕西诺扮演的魔鬼对基努·里维斯扮演的律师说：“我从开天辟地以来就来到世上，深入人类生活。我挑动了人性一切潜在的欲望，我满足了人类需求却不批判他。为什么？因为即使再顽劣的人，我也不会拒绝他。我热爱人类，我是个人道主义者。”
听起来是不是特别熟悉？因为这就是宗教大法官的思想，甚至言词几乎都一模一样。
魔鬼和大法官所谓的“人道主义”，不过是纵容人性当中幽暗的一面。他们所界定的自由，是不受任何约束的、为所欲为的自由。
但是绝对的自由，正是绝对的枷锁。当人纵容自己的内心欲望时，人就成了欲望的奴隶。而且人不是独自存活于这个世界，当纵容欲望的人聚在一起，人和人之间，族群与族群之间就开始彼此仇恨，互相残杀。然后被大法官这样的欺骗家利用。他们交出自己的自由，结成一个没有争吵、和睦一致的蚂蚁窝。虽然大法官的理想尚未完全实现，现在的世界仍然充满杀戮和动荡，但是各样的小宗教大法官已经出现。真正的自由在这个世界成为了稀缺的东西。
那么，有没有另一条出路呢？人真的无法承受这宝贵的自由么？
回到圣经中，面对魔鬼的三个诱惑，耶稣是怎样胜过的呢？他分别使用了圣经上的三句话：
①“人活着，不是单靠食物，乃是靠神口里所出的一切话。”
②“不可试探主你的神。”
③“当拜主你的神，单要侍奉他。”
我们看到这三句话的共同点，就是面对诱惑的时候，不可忘记上帝，不可忘记和另一个世界的联系，不可忘记魔鬼只是上帝的手下败将，它所有的诱惑都带着欺骗，它应许的满足和荣光都是窃取自上帝的。它最大的目的就是领人进入地狱。
而宗教大法官，这魔鬼的随从，就“沿着那聪明的魔鬼，那可怕的死亡和毁灭的魔鬼所指点的方向前进。为此就应该采取许诺和欺骗的方法，有意识地引导人们走向死亡和毁灭，而且一路上要不断地欺骗他们，让他们不至于发觉要把他们引向何处，让这些可怜的瞎子哪怕在途中还认为自己是幸福的。”
自由人的道路是什么呢？别尔嘉耶夫的回答是：“人不是没有头脑的羊群，不是不能承受揭示秘密的重负、软弱、卑贱的动物，人——是上帝的儿女，他们被授予圣洁的使命，他们有能力承受自由的重负并能够容纳世界的真谛。”
靠着基督，这是能够的。因为两千年前，基督就在旷野胜过了魔鬼的诱惑。我们，这些有神圣来源，有自由意志，有人的尊严的人，也一定能够胜过这些诱惑。
The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor (Part II)
—How do the weak bear freedom
Author: Han Lihua
Editor: Zhou Zhigang Proofreader: Xiong Bian Translator: Ge Bing
Abstract: Drawing on *The Grand Inquisitor* and the three temptations in the Bible, this article explores why people abandon their freedom and accept enslavement. It critiques modern totalitarian politics and the cult of personality, while articulating the true Christian view of freedom. The greatest danger to humanity lies not merely in tyranny itself, but in people’s own willingness to trade their freedom for bread, miracles, and authority.
Alyosha said that Jesus was the only one “who could forgive and had the right to forgive”; the edifice of human destiny is not built upon the tears of little girls, but upon Jesus. Alyosha said that Ivan had forgotten Jesus.
Ivan replied that he had not forgotten Jesus, and that he had even written a long poem about Him (titled “The Grand Inquisitor”), which is the famous “The Grand Inquisitor” found in Chapter 5 of Volume 5 of *The Brothers Karamazov*. Although he had not written the poem down, he remembered its content.
As an introduction, Ivan discussed similar poems and plays from past eras—the fashion of “bringing the gods down to earth.” He mentioned Dante, Hugo’s *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame*, and plays performed in Russia before the time of Peter the Great. He also specifically mentioned a long poem from the era of Tatar rule titled *The Virgin’s Journey Through Hell*. Ivan believed the descriptions in that poem were no less impressive than those of Dante.
Ivan said that his epic poem dealt with the same theme: the return of Jesus to the earth, to the human world. Jesus had already promised in the Bible: “I am coming soon” (Revelation 3:11: “I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may take your crown.”) Yet as for when He will come, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).
Thus, generation after generation, people on earth have awaited His return, “waiting for Him with the faith and heartfelt devotion of those days.”
Fifteen centuries have passed; for a full fifteen centuries, people have received no assurance from heaven. It was precisely at that time that a “new and terrifying heresy” emerged in northern Europe—the Reformation movement that swept across Western Europe. “Those heretics began to blaspheme God and deny miracles, yet the faith of the devout believers, as steadfast as ever, grew even more fervent.” Generation after generation, they prayed: “Lord, come quickly.” Finally, Jesus descended before the supplicants with infinite compassion, returning to those “suffering, sinful, yet childlike people who loved Him.”
It was in the sixteenth century, in Seville, southern Spain, that Jesus once again came down to earth. It was during the era when the Inquisition was at its most rampant. Jesus came here “simply to catch a glimpse of his children, to see the very place where bonfires were lit to burn heretics alive.”
Just the day before, in the city’s main square, “for the glory of God, hundreds of heretics had been burned alive all at once.” He arrived at the square quietly and unnoticed, but strangely, everyone recognized him immediately. … The crowd surged forward irresistibly, surrounding him. … He walked silently among them, a serene smile of infinite compassion on his face. The sun of love burned within his heart, and the radiance of light, wisdom, and strength shone from his eyes, illuminating the people, stirring their souls, and showering them with deep, tender love.”
He restored sight to a blind man and brought a little girl lying in a coffin back to life. Just as he had done during his three years on earth fifteen hundred years earlier.
Just then, the High Priest passed through the square. The book describes him thus: “He was a man of nearly ninety, tall and upright, with a gaunt face and sunken eyes, yet his gaze was piercing, like two sparks of fire.” He witnessed everything that had taken place in the square, so he ordered the guards to seize Jesus and take him to a small, dimly lit, vaulted cell within the ancient building of the Sanhedrin.
When night fell, “in the pitch darkness, the cell’s iron door swung open, and the aged High Priest, carrying a lamp himself, slowly entered the prison. He was alone, and the iron door closed immediately behind him.”
The Grand Inquisitor and Christ stood face to face in that dim cell and began their conversation. In truth, it was no conversation at all, but merely a monologue by the Grand Inquisitor, for from beginning to end, Christ remained silent.
The Chief Justice also told Christ not to answer, reasoning that “you have no right to add anything new to what you have already said,” and that “since you have entrusted everything to the Pope, and everything is now in the Pope’s hands, there is absolutely no need for you to return now—at least not for the time being, so as not to cause any disruption.”
In fact, Jesus remained silent in exactly this way when he was tried by the Jewish high priests back then.
Now, the church He Himself established long ago is once again putting Him on trial, refusing to let Him speak. For, according to the Chief Justice, if Christ were to speak now, it would infringe upon people’s freedom of religion, since people have been freely practicing their faith according to Christ’s words from fifteen hundred years ago. And Christ Himself regarded freedom of religion as more precious than anything else. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
The Chief Justice said that earlier that day, in the square, Christ had seen those “free people” who believed in him, kneeling before the Chief Justice in fear and submission as they watched Christ being led away by the guards.
“Now, at this very moment, these people are more convinced than ever that they are completely free, when in reality they have personally handed over their freedom to us, placing it meekly at our feet.” ”The Chief Justice believed that this outcome was entirely due to his own efforts and those of his subordinates, for they had finally suppressed freedom in order to bring happiness to the people.
This was the Chief Justice’s stance: to deny human freedom for the sake of human happiness.
He said to Christ, “The number of warnings and instructions given to you was by no means small, yet time and again you refused to heed them; you have abandoned the only path that can lead to human happiness.”
By “the warnings and instructions were not few,” he was referring to the three temptations (tests) by the devil that Jesus faced before beginning his ministry, as recorded in the Bible.
At that time, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and nights, and afterward he was hungry. Then the tempter came to him and said, “ ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.’ But Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’
Then the devil took him to the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. He said to him, “ “If you will worship me, I will give you all these things.” Jesus said, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.
(Matthew 4:1–11)
From the Bible, we see that Christ rejected the devil’s three temptations—which, according to the Chief Justice, were the devil’s three warnings. This is because the Chief Justice regarded this as a “great devil,” and he viewed these three “temptations” as being in quotation marks. In the Chief Justice’s eyes, the devil’s three temptations were not evil things, but rather tangible, undeniable realities. He believed that these three questions posed by the devil to Christ were a miracle, transcending all existing human wisdom and representing eternal, abstract wisdom. “For this question seems to synthesize the entire future history of humanity into a single whole, foretelling its destiny, while simultaneously presenting three images that encompass all the insoluble contradictions within the human nature of the entire world.”
The Grand Judge said, “Now, fifteen centuries later, we see that everything contained in these three questions has been recognized, foretold, and confirmed; nothing can be added or subtracted from them.”
For us today, it has not been fifteen centuries but twenty—and particularly in the twentieth century, with the rise of totalitarianism, these three temptations of the devil have become even more direct and brutal in world history and human nature. Therefore, the Bible, along with the story of the Chief Justice, remains of immense significance in our time, offering vital insights into how we discern truth from falsehood and choose our path in life.
The First Temptation—Turning Stones into Bread
Christ came into the world so that people might attain freedom, “but because of their simplicity and innate baseness, they are incapable of understanding freedom properly; they are afraid of and terrified by it. For nothing is more intolerable to humanity and human society than freedom!”
The devil said to Christ, “If you turn stones into bread, then humanity will follow you like a flock of sheep, grateful to you and obedient to your every command.” But such following is born of fear, for they fear that one day you will withdraw your hand and no longer provide them with bread.
Christ rejected this kind of submission bought with bread. The following he sought was free and born of love, not a transaction conducted as a means of survival. Thus, in the Bible, after Jesus performed the miracle of the “five loaves and two fish” to feed five thousand people, and those people began chasing after him everywhere, Jesus was not pleased. Instead, he rebuked them for following him merely to “be filled with bread,” causing most of them to leave him.
From a leader’s perspective, Jesus’s actions were truly unwise. He could easily have led them first to “seize the landlords’ property and redistribute the land,” only to take the land back from them once his cause succeeded. No, Christ did not want such followers; he refused to exploit people’s base nature. He sought those who would follow him freely, with dignity and bearing the original image of God’s glory. Thus, Christ said, “Man does not live by bread alone.” (This is also the title of a collection of Dostoevsky’s letters published in China.)
But, “the devil on earth will rise up against you for this bread, wage war against you, and defeat you, while everyone will follow him and praise him.” (“The East is red, the sun is rising; China has produced Mao Zedong. He seeks happiness for the people; he is the people’s great savior.”)
This is what Marxism and socialism proclaim: “There is no such thing as crime, nor is there any concept of sin; there are only starving people,” and “Fill their bellies first, then teach them morality.”
This is the campaign against landlords, the public-private partnerships—this is the logic of “I am poor, therefore I am right.” In the name of so-called wealth redistribution, they unleashed wave after wave of bloodshed and violence: “Upon the ruins of your sanctuary, a new edifice and a dreadful Tower of Babel shall rise.” This new edifice, this new Tower of Babel—whether called the “paradise on earth” or “communist society”—brought endless chaos and suffering to all humanity in the twentieth century.
The religious grand justices hold a contemptuous view of human nature, regarding people as “weak, insignificant, immoral, and unjust.” They find Christ’s cherished freedom most intolerable. In their minds, the bread of heaven cannot be compared to the bread of earth. Here, “the bread of heaven” refers to man’s eternal freedom, his absolute dignity, and his connection to eternity. “Earthly bread” refers to the tranquility of life, physical satisfaction, earthly happiness, and “peaceful days.”
The Grand Inquisitor believed that only a few tens of thousands of “strong” individuals were willing to follow Christ for the sake of heavenly freedom; yet there were millions of “weak” people who could not give up earthly bread for heavenly bread. They would follow whoever provided them with earthly bread and willingly surrender their freedom.
The Chief Justice accused Christ of being an elitist, valuing only those tens of thousands on earth who cherish the bread of heaven, while ignoring the remaining millions who are so attached to the bread of this world that they are willing to give up their freedom. The Chief Justice said, “We, too, care for the weak.” The Chief Justice and his entourage have taken control of these weak ones’ freedom, ruling over them—and doing so in the name of Christ.
In other words, the Grand Inquisitor’s rule is built on deception. He disguises himself as a democrat, a friend of the weak and the oppressed, and then claims to cherish and care for them. His so-called love for the weak is, in fact, contempt for them. For he does not believe in the noble origins of humanity; he believes that only a select few are capable of walking the path of a noble life, of not being tempted by earthly bread, and of loving heavenly bread above all else.
Berdyayev said: “The spirit of the religious Grand Inquisitor, for the sake of false, earthly love rather than heavenly love, doubts that people have the right to climb high mountains and constantly improve themselves; out of compassion for people, it calls for sharing poverty with one’s brothers—poverty, not wealth. A rich spiritual life is forbidden. It is forbidden to contemplate eternal life; such contemplation is called individualism, and only concern for the transient is praised. ‘You must be lowly and poor, forever renouncing your freedom; only then will you receive the bread of the earth, only then will you find peace, and only then will everyone be happy.’”
The Chief Justice believed that the weak are unworthy of freedom; when freedom comes to them, they desire only the bread of this earth, and such freedom becomes a burden and a torment to them. “Have you not considered that if the freedom to choose becomes a terrible burden that crushes them and leaves them gasping for breath, they will ultimately abandon—or even oppose—your image and your truth?”
These weak ones, who value only the bread of this earth, are not prepared to pay the price for freedom. They do not want true faith, but rather choose substitutes for faith—miracles, mystery, and authority.
“There are three powers in the world, and only these three can forever conquer and captivate these weak, rebellious consciences, bringing them happiness—these three powers are miracles, mystery, and authority.”
Christ rejected all three of these powers.
The Second Temptation—Jumping from the Temple Roof
Christ again rejected this temptation from the devil. He did not jump down; he did not perform a miracle.
Just as when he was nailed to the cross, and those people mocked him and ridiculed him from below, saying, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross,” “and we will believe in you.” At that time, he did not come down from the cross.
The reason He did not come down from the cross is the same as why He did not jump from the temple roof. “You did not come down from the cross; the reason you did not come down is that you did not wish to conquer people with miracles. You longed for a faith rooted in freedom, not a faith in miracles. You longed for a love of freedom, not the slavish ecstasy a slave displays before a power that terrifies him into perpetual fear.”
The Chief Justice said, “Once a person abandons miracles, he simultaneously abandons God. For what people seek is not so much God as it is miracles.”
This reminds me of the Chinese people’s “worship of enlightened rulers” and “worship of incorruptible officials.” For thousands of years, they have yearned to kneel before monarchs and officials who are treated as gods; otherwise, they would rather turn on one another. They have never considered treating leaders as ordinary people capable of making mistakes, nor have they ever thought to cage power. That is why a certain unscrupulous celebrity in Hong Kong once said, “The Chinese people need to be controlled.” Perhaps this is an inherent flaw in the Chinese character—an ignorance of the preciousness of freedom. Their greatest goal in life is simply “to survive.”
The Chief Justice once again accused Christ of placing too much emphasis on human freedom, to the point where it seemed as though He did not love them, because He did not take into account human weakness.
What the Chief Justice means by “showing people a little less respect” and “lowering his standards for them” is, in essence, appealing to people’s blind obedience and ignorance. Those who lack the courage to believe freely, those who do not believe that Christ’s death on the cross was a victory and the only path to salvation, have no choice but to accept the superficial miracles and artificial mysteries brought by the Chief Justice—yet beneath all this lie nothing but deception, lies, and violence.
Shang Yang, a statesman from China’s Warring States period, wrote a book titled *The Book of Lord Shang*, which mentions the “Five Techniques for Governing the People”—ideas that align quite closely with the Grand Judge’s philosophy:
① Unify the People (Unify their thoughts)
② Weaken the People (A strong state, weak people)
③ Exhaust the People (One campaign after another; 996 work schedule)
④ Humiliate the People (As the Grand Judge says: Weakness, lowliness; make them denounce one another and fight among themselves)
⑤ Impoverish the People (Strip them of surplus wealth, forcing them to struggle daily just to survive, leaving them no time for anything else)
“We have corrected your behavior, grounding it in miracles, mystery, and authority.” — “We do not support you, but him (the Devil).” This is the secret of the religious Grand Inquisitor.
The Third Temptation—Bowing Down to the Devil
“We have accepted from him what you have indignantly rejected,” “We have accepted from him the sword of Rome and Caesar, and have proclaimed ourselves the King of the Earth, the sole King.”
This is the Devil’s third temptation.
“If you heed the great devil’s third counsel, you will satisfy all that humanity seeks on earth, namely: whom to worship? To whom to entrust one’s conscience? By what means can all people finally unite into a harmonious, conflict-free anthill? For the demand for global unity is precisely the third and final problem that causes people suffering. All of humanity has always sought the union of the entire world.”
The third temptation manifested as the worship of Caesar in the Roman Empire, as the worship of the Pope in the Middle Ages, and as the cult of personality in totalitarian and dictatorial states in modern society. The third temptation is the question of to whom power belongs. If power belongs to a single individual, it results in a totalitarian state (Nazi Germany, Stalinist Soviet Union); if it belongs to the so-called “people,” it leads to the tyranny of the majority (the French Revolution). A blend of the two is what we see in China’s “Cultural Revolution.”
A key manifestation of the third temptation is the worship of the state—the rampant rise of nationalism and patriotism. They promote the cult of the leader and the cult of the party, fabricating national and state myths, turning so-called love for the country, the party, and the leader into truth itself, embedding it into the collective unconscious of the people.
Christ rejected this temptation from the devil; He rejected Caesar’s sword, refused to be a king on earth, and rejected these self-worshipping nations or the union of the whole world—any union apart from God.
There are always those in this world who, driven by pride and ambition, seek to build a Tower of Babel on earth to exalt their own names. Whether it be the expansion of territory (“If Russia ceases to exist, what use is the world to us?”), the expansion of the economy (globalization, the Belt and Road Initiative), or the expansion of ideology (communism), all of these amount to accepting the devil’s third temptation—the very one Christ rejected. Its allure is so great that even Dostoevsky himself harbored, in his thoughts, the dream of establishing Russia as the “Third Rome” to uphold the tsarist autocracy.
Toward the end of the Grand Inquisitor’s lengthy monologue, he uses a passage brimming with diabolical fervor to describe his ideal human existence—a blissful life for the billions of the weak ruled by him and his hundreds of thousands of subordinates.
These tamed sheep enjoy a happiness fit only for the weak—a happiness they have traded for their freedom. With hearts trembling with fear, they huddle around their rulers, taking pride in the rulers’ strength and wisdom. Their minds no longer wander. They are forced to labor, yet they are also granted scheduled leisure time after work to “recite nursery rhymes, practice choral singing, and perform innocent, carefree dances.” They are even permitted to commit crimes and do wrong.
“They will never hide any secrets from us again,” “We can permit or forbid them from sleeping with their wives or mistresses, or from having children—it all depends on whether they obey us.”
Having lived through family planning and ubiquitous camera surveillance, having lived through the era of the Whisperers where people were constantly on guard against one another and ratted each other out, having lived through an era of high-tech internet censorship where many words could only be replaced with homophones or pinyin, you will deeply feel that the vision of humanity dreamed up by the Grand Inquisitor has, in our time, gradually become a reality.
But there is one key difference: the Grand Inquisitor originally belonged to the ranks of the free and powerful. He too had wandered in the desert, eating locusts and the roots of plants, and later, it is said, “saw the error of his ways” and joined the cause of correcting Christ. Yet the Grand Inquisitor’s later disciples and successors were far more despicable than he was. Take Mao Zedong, for example. Judging by the image crafted for him, he was almost a perfect Religious Grand Inquisitor—a great helmsman, a great mentor, frugal in his ways, and incorruptible in office. In reality, he was not. He had a volatile temperament, was capricious, narrow-minded, and led a corrupt life; he could not even provide bread for the hundreds of millions of subjects kneeling before him.
Tragically, he is still worshipped today by certain organizations and individuals, whether out of insincerity or genuine devotion. Some even yearn to return to the era of his rule. This is a tragedy for the entire nation.
This is the work of Christ that the religious high priests have perverted: they seek to build a Tower of Babel on earth to exalt their own names, yet without exception, these projects have ended as unfinished ruins. Yet in this process, generation after generation has become the building material and the cost of this project; beneath the unfinished edifice lie heaps of bleached bones and an endless sea of blood and tears.
Beneath the Grand Inquisitor’s endless rhetoric, beneath his banner of compassion and care for the weak, we see his utter contempt for humanity. They are immoral and rebellious by nature, their eyes fixed only on earthly bread and their own desires. They crawl before their leaders in deep fear, dreading that the bread in their hands might turn back into stones. It is they who sold their souls for thirty pieces of silver; it is they who, having just shouted “Hosanna” to Christ, instantly surrounded him, screaming, “Crucify him!” So, are they only fit to surrender their freedom and gather together to form an anthill?
How do the Bible and Christianity view this issue? How do they view human freedom? How do they view the problem of the devil and the fate of humanity?
When God first created man, He created him in His own image and endowed him with His most precious attribute—freedom.
How did the devil come to be? According to Christian teaching, the devil was originally the highest-ranking angel created by God. However, driven by pride, he rebelled against God, attempting to usurp God’s position, and ultimately failed, falling to earth. From that point on, he has had but one purpose on earth: to tempt and corrupt the human beings God created. Under the guise of catering to people’s earthly needs, he causes them to forget their divine origin and sever their connection to the other world.
A while back, I happened to come across a movie called *The Devil’s Advocate*. In the film, the devil, played by Al Pacino, says to the lawyer, played by Keanu Reeves: “I have been in this world since the dawn of time, deeply immersed in human life. I have stirred up every latent desire in human nature; I have satisfied human needs without judging them. Why? Because no matter how wicked a person may be, I will never reject them. I love humanity; I am a humanitarian.”
Doesn’t that sound particularly familiar? Because this is precisely the ideology of the Grand Inquisitor—even the wording is almost identical.
The so-called “humanitarianism” of the Devil and the Grand Inquisitor is nothing more than an indulgence of the dark side of human nature. The freedom they define is a freedom without any constraints, a freedom to do as one pleases.
But absolute freedom is, in fact, an absolute shackle. When people indulge their inner desires, they become slaves to those desires. Moreover, humans do not exist in isolation in this world; when those who indulge their desires gather together, hatred begins to breed between individuals and between groups, leading to mutual slaughter. They are then exploited by deceivers like the “Grand Judge.” People surrender their freedom to form a harmonious, conflict-free colony, much like an anthill. Although the Grand Judge’s ideal has not yet been fully realized—the world remains filled with violence and turmoil—various “minor Grand Judges” have already emerged. True freedom has become a rare commodity in this world.
So, is there another way out? Are humans truly incapable of bearing this precious freedom?
Returning to the Bible, how did Jesus overcome the devil’s three temptations? He used three verses from Scripture:
① “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
② “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
③ “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”
We see that the common thread in these three verses is this: when facing temptation, we must not forget God; we must not forget our connection to the other world; and we must not forget that the devil is merely a defeated foe of God. All his temptations are laced with deception, and the fulfillment and glory he promises are stolen from God. His ultimate goal is to lead people into hell.
And the Grand Inquisitor, this servant of the devil, “marches in the direction pointed out by that cunning devil, that dreadful devil of death and destruction.” “To this end, one must employ the methods of promise and deception, consciously guiding people toward death and destruction, and along the way constantly deceiving them so that they do not realize where they are being led, allowing these poor blind souls to believe, even in the midst of their journey, that they are happy.”
What, then, is the path of the free? Berdyaev’s answer is: “Man is not a mindless flock, nor a weak and base animal incapable of bearing the burden of revealed secrets. Man—as a child of God—is entrusted with a sacred mission; he possesses the capacity to bear the burden of freedom and to embrace the true essence of the world.”
Through Christ, this is possible. For two thousand years ago, Christ overcame the devil’s temptations in the wilderness. We, who have a divine origin, free will, and human dignity, can certainly overcome these temptations as well.
