Description
By Rev Fr William Goh
Set of 3 CDs
Talk 1: Is Christian Hope Concerned with only the Life Hereafter?
“We must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet.” (Rom 8:25) It is in hope that we are saved. Only in hope do we have a future. What then is the basis of Christian Hope? What is the relationship between faith and hope? Is Christian Hope just a hope for the future or does it have an impact on the present? This first talk gives a comprehensive overview of Hope in Christian Tradition. It seeks to show that Christian Hope is not just about eternal life in the future but faith in the certain future which shapes our life in a new way here and now.
Talk 2: Is Christian Hope Individualistic?
In speaking about Christian Hope, there is always this danger of escapism from a world of misery and pain and taking refuge in the world hereafter. The world is seen as something negative and life on this earth is but a punishment from which we must escape. So much so, salvation is seen from a very individualistic perspective of ‘saving my soul’, forgetting the social dimension of salvation of the community and that of all creation. Such a selfish flight from the world ignores the realization that Christian Hope includes the whole of humanity and creation. Christian Hope, in the final analysis, is the perfection of the love of God in us; a life lived from God’s love, for Him and for others.
Talk 3: Learning to Live in Christian Hope
How can we grow in Christian Hope? The first place to learn to live in hope is in prayer, since prayer is an exercise of desire. We can also grow in hope through living a life of love, inspired by the indestructible power of God’s love, to work for the betterment of the world. Another place where we can find inspiration for hope is in our sufferings, not by escapism and denial, but accepting them as redemptive suffering in union with Christ. Finally, Christian Hope is inspired by the inevitable prospect of the final judgement and the resurrection on the Last Day. Encountering God at our death is both judgment and salvation.
