Tag Archives: Grand Inquisitor

Facing the Terrors of Freedom & Joy

By Robin Bates | Published: August 31, 2024

In “St. Peter and the Angel,” Levertov notes that divine revelation is only the first step.

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The Stone Is Rolled–I’m Whole, I’m Held

By Robin Bates | Published: April 15, 2023

Note: If you wish to receive, via e-mail, (1) my weekly newsletter or (2) daily copies of these posts, notify me at [email protected] and indicate which you would like. I promise not to share your e-mail address with anyone. To unsubscribe, send me a follow-up email. Spiritual Sunday The story of doubting Thomas is fertile ground for […]

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Come, Holy Spirit

By Robin Bates | Published: June 8, 2019

Pentecost Sunday Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz uses the occasion of Pentecost to explore the nature of faith in his poem “Veni Creator.” Although the apostles may have been filled with the Holy Spirit, what about those of us who don’t experience tongues of flame? Here’s Luke’s description of moment (Acts 2:1-4): When the […]

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Zamiatin Anticipated Trump Cultism

By Robin Bates | Published: October 5, 2018

Friday Having just reread Eugene Zamiatin’s dystopian novel We (1920) for the first time since encountering it in 1972 in a junior-level utopian literature class, I’m struck by how it captures the cult behavior of Donald Trump fans. The novel even features a protective wall. Although Zamiatin supported the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, by 1920 he […]

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Does the GOP Love Big Brother?

By Robin Bates | Published: December 26, 2017

Do Congressional Republicans flatter Trump Goneril-like out of convenience or do they “love Big Brother”? Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor may hold the key.

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I Am Lazarus Come Back from the Dead

By Robin Bates | Published: September 24, 2016

I’ve just realized that the Lazarus mentioned in Eliot’s “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a different once than I’ve been assuming. This makes me appreciate the poem even more.

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Dostoevsky Explains Trump’s Appeal

By Robin Bates | Published: December 27, 2015

Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor helps explain Donald Trump’s popularity: people want certainty more than they want freedom of thought.

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ISIS and the Grand Inquisitor

By Robin Bates | Published: August 17, 2015

Dostoevsky may provide a compelling explanation for the recruiting success of ISIS: young people want to escape from freedom.

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