Reasons to Hope

Hope is approached here not only as an object of belief, but as a relational human praxis. Hope can be seen as a God-given gift which is essential for the life of people and their communities. Werner G. Jeanrond discusses different contemporary approaches to hope from salvation from this world to reconciliation with God, the neighbour and the emerging self in and with this universe. He examines various texts by Joseph Ratzinger, Robert Jenson and Anthony Kelly to fully illustrate the subject of hope through a contemporary eschatological viewpoint. The distinction between human hopes, hope as a virtue, and radical hope in view of massive religious, personal and cultural changes provides a liberation of all concepts of hope and reopens the ensuing conversation on important Christian eschatological symbols, including judgement, heaven and hell. The Christian praxis of hope can make an important contribution to the multi-religious conversations on hope, death and the human future in a globalized world.