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One Body, One Spirit, One Hope: Theological Resources for those who Struggle to Hope

In a recent essay Margaret Adam describes how emphasis on certain ideas about hope in theological discussions can result in the neglect of other valuable ideas about hope from the Christian tradition.1 For example, focus on the revelatory character of human suffering can diminish the importance of a God who transcends suffering, and determination to fight injustice in this world can overshadow longing for eternal life beyond this world. The oppositions Adam describes reveal a characteristic of the larger discussion of Christian hope. The current conversation about hope is actually multiple conversations, with different presuppositions and focal points, that have surprisingly little engagement with each other. In addition to writers who focus on the classical topics of eschatology, such as the afterlife and the end of time, there are theologians who emphasize the social and historical character of hope, others who maintain the traditional understanding of hope as a theological virtue, and pastoral theologians who draw on psychology. To some extent the variety of approaches reflects the richness of the Christian experience of hope. However, the lack of engagement among different schools of thought results in disjunctures and omissions in the conversation. Some situations for which hope is important are not well addressed in the literature. An example of such a situation is found in the lives of individuals who struggle to hope. The literature contains many stories of how hope carried someone through great difficulties; however, there are also times when hope fades, wavers, or seems to disappear. In Apprenticed to Hope,