Trusting in the Promise That Does Not Disappoint

The Contribution on Hope of Richard Schaeffler

Abstract

The article reflects on Christian hope in the contemporary context, marked by technological challenges, pandemics, wars and ecological crises. The limitedness of instrumental reasoning and the marginalization of religion in secularized culture is highlighted. Next, we investigate the role of hope in the human and Christian experience, distinguishing between horizontal hope, founded on human potential, and vertical hope, rooted in faith in God. Through the thought of R. Schaeffler, a hope which is born from the  dialogue between subject and reality is outlined, capable of sustaining the unity of human experience even when it is put to the test by paradoxical events. Christian hope, rooted in the resurrection of Christ, presents itself as a trusting openness to the gift of God, which transforms existence and gives back meaning even before the limit of death.