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Berdyaev on Freedom in The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor

3/8/2022

2 Comments

 
Excerpted from The Russian Idea; bold added

A very original feature in Dostoevsky is that freedom is to him not a right of man but an obligation, a duty. Freedom is not an ease, it is a burden. 

I have formulated this idea in this way, that it is not man who demands freedom from God, but God who demands freedom from man, and in this freedom He sees the worth and dignity of the God-likeness of man. 

On this account the Grand Inquisitor reproaches Christ on the ground that He has proceeded as though He did not love man, by laying upon him the burden of freedom. 

The Grand Inquisitor himself desires to bestow upon millions and millions of people the happiness of feeble infants, by withdrawing from them the burden of freedom which is beyond their strength, taking from them freedom of spirit.

. . . 

The denial of freedom of the spirit is to Dostoevsky the temptation of the antichrist.

​Authoritarianism is the principle of antichrist. This is the most extreme form of the rejection of authority and compulsion which the history of Christianity knows, and Dostoevsky here passes beyond the frontiers of historical Orthodoxy and historical Christianity in general an eschatological Christianity and a Christianity of the spirit, and discloses the prophetic side of Christianity. 
2 Comments
jorgen
3/8/2022 20:19:47

"Authoritarianism is the principle of antichrist."

I can't agree. Imposing belief in transubstantiation or worship of Mary, or forcing people to accept gay, these are forms of authoritarianism that are antichrist. The first two becauae they condemn good Christian who are honestly better at theology than the authoritarians, and the latter because it imposes sin. But the authoritarian who executes gays, this is right and freedom to gay cannot be allowed. The Bible says in the OT concerning some good Israelite king "he was a good king like his father David, nethwrless he didn't get rid of the sodomite." I.e. he would have been a truly great (not just good) king if he had.

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Francis Berger
3/8/2022 20:43:31

@ jorgen - Berdyaev is focusing on authoritarianism within the context of spirit/religion. The social/physical aspects of freedom are more the realm of the Grand Inquisitor who doesn't offer real spiritual freedom, only "physical" freedom that is granted after spiritual freedom is surrendered.

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