Hang in there kitty

I have a lot of time to read while I'm sitting on the metro here, and I just finished reading a novel completely in Russian (it was hard for me, so that was my bragging moment). I chose to read The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. The process of reading this novel was, for the majority of reading time, more interesting to me than the novel itself, but I did manage to gleam a few great ideas out of it by the end. The basic plot of the book is that Satan (Woland) comes to Moscow with his merry crew of hooligan demons Begamot, Koroviev, Azazzelo, and others. While in Russia, the group raises hooliganary among Muscovites including a beheading, a black-magic show, and a witch’s ball. There is a dual plot of the condemnation of one Yeshua Ha-Nozri by Pilate. It includes Matviey the Levite—the somewhat insane, but devoted disciple of Yeshua. I don’t want to ruin the story for any of you, but at the end of the book, I finally was able to grasp some of the deeper themes of the novel. The book puts a twist on familiar stories: the first on Faust, the second on the Gospels.
The first is a conversation between Pilate and the Levite in which they are discussing the already dead Yeshua. Keep in mind that this novel challenges what we may consider as black and white, and doesn’t really apply to religion (in my mind anyway) at all. Pilate says:

"You, I know, consider yourself a disciple of Yeshua, but I tell you that you have acquired nothing of what he taught you…Remember—before he died he said that he blamed no one…You are harsh, yet he was not harsh."

I often see this ultimate flaw in myself and others through self-proclaimed beliefs that are not lived, and ultimately artificial(again, not intending to restrict this conversation to religion). Where bigotry is spoken against, it shows its face in some warped form. Where equality is preached, it is not found. Humans are often so weak in resolution. Yet, there is a dual side to everything as is explained by Satan himself later in the book, again to Matviey:

"What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it? After all, shadows are cast by objects and people. There is the shadow of my sword. But there are also shadows of trees and living creatures. Would you like to denude the earth of all the trees and all the living beings in order to satisfy your fantasy of rejoicing in the naked light?"

Thoughts? I have some, but this is getting too long.