Look at the story of Jesus's temptation in the wilderness in either the Gospel of Luke (Luke 4:1-13) or the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 4:1- 11). Do you think the Grand Inquisitor is right in the way he interprets the significance of the temptations?

Find out what you can about the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, especially their beliefs about earthly authority. Explain why Dostoevsky, an ardent Russian Orthodox follower, might think that the Roman Catholic Church had joined forces with the devil.

Investigate socialism, especially as it was understood in Europe in the late nineteenth century. Find out what kinds of specific programs and policies socialists worked for. Do you agree that socialism is concerned only with the people's material needs?

Read about the Spanish Inquisition. Why might Dostoevsky have chosen to set his confrontation between Jesus and a...