Another Perspective on Hope

There is a bottomless darkness and despair to the dominant message that the world (in particular atheists) tell us: that humans are a product of an utterly meaningless randomness. That life is just an accident. That some atoms arranged themselves randomly into molecules that then organized themselves into organic life. That everything is essentially meaningless. That there is no God / that no one cares about existence, you, or life. That is a crushing and thoroughly depressing worldview to live with.

But the truth is that there is a greater hope out there. A hope for an eternal life with a good righteous God, an eternal life that is free of and entirely devoid of sadness and evil, and filled with love, joy, and creativity.

This podcast by Jon Tyson starting at approximately 33:30 is relevant here:

[in reference to people in the word:] …We’re realizing it’s all temporary. So we have to delude ourselves that we’re doing better than we are (the amount of self-talk that says: “I’m worthy; be positive”). The reason you have to do self-care is because you live in a universe with no God, [a universe] that came from nothing, and no one else really cares. Do you know what a crushing heartbreaking story that is?

Human beings are actually meaning creatures. [...] You can’t live without narrative hope. […in reference to certain survivors of Nazi death camps…]: The people who got through were people who had a transcendent hope .. in a better future than they could access in the moment. It enabled to look at the tragedy, the trauma, and the horror of what they were going through; not dismiss it, not bypass it. They could look it the eye and say: “but I’ve got something beyond this, and I’m headed to this; this is now present in me; I will get through this”. (Tragic Optimism)

A lot of times Christians resort to a kind of toxic positivity. Like God is fragile. Like we can’t bring up “it’s not going so good right now”. Like God doesn’t understand seasons.

It’s bad theology that says if you follow Jesus, you’ll never suffer, you’ll be blessed, you’ll prosper, and everything will go well for you.

But here’s the truth: most of the power of God in the Bible was given so that you could get through suffering, and not avoid it. Power is released so that you can persevere under the promises of God, and become those entrusted to inherit what God has for you. Not so that you can bypass them, and live an easy life.

Even if you go through unbearable suffering (like Viktor Frankl did), there is a God, and there is a hope for an eternal life that you can turn to.

On a random note, here’s a good praise song: