The Necessity of Hope: A Philosophical and Theological Appraisal

Abstract

The world today is full of innumerable uncertainties plaguing humanity. There seem to be a growing concern for the future of the world as various natural phenomena such as earthquake, tsunami, flood, draught, famine and war takes its toll on humankind. Suffering is now on the increase even among the redeemed of the Lord. Many scientists and environmentalists are advocating for the reduction of carbon emission as solution to the perceived climate change. In the midst of these uncertainties hope in the Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Immutable God become the only sine-qua-non and the panacea for survival and continued existence. Being a literary research, the paper adopted the qualitative analytical research methodology in its approach and examined the necessity of hope as it pertained to mankind in the midst of suffering. In recommendation, it among others, advocated that a life without hope will eventually fall into despair or retires into status quo of the society. The paper explained that the Christian hope goes beyond the contemplation of philosophy and hinges on the truth as revealed by Christ and the Scripture.