A Theology of Hope

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O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and thou wilt not hear? Or cry to thee "Violence!" and thou wilt not save?
Why dost thou make me see wrongs and look upon trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise....."
Habakkuk 1:2-3;
Religious people are not immune to frustration in the face of the evil they encounter around them. Some prayers are like an angry accusation of God: "How can you let those things happen?"
But then there is the other side of the coin, the realization, that while evil, injustice and suffering exist, they are not the last word spoken.
And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end -- it will not lie. If it seem slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith
Habakkuk 2:2-4
Some people say, that this hope is futile and that religion is a recipe for the afterlife (which they don't believe in) and fails in providing help against the evils of this life.
I happen to disagree.
I believe that hope is a necessary ingredient for any form of effective activity.
Why would you do anything if you had no hope for success?

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