tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767755611010523671.post7131358672614392246..comments2023-04-10T04:06:30.195-06:00Comments on Think and Wonder. Wonder and Think...: HopeDoOrDoNothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15775977854913362396noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767755611010523671.post-11241080982452656842010-09-20T10:24:13.788-06:002010-09-20T10:24:13.788-06:00I agree, the desire or magnitude of our hope does ...I agree, the desire or magnitude of our hope does not bear any connection about the veracity of what is hoped for. If anything, the hope can cloud our perspective to know what is true or not (as noted in comment above). I really dislike the way hope can be used as something of an apologetic for the object of the desire being true.<br /><br />I've seen the argument that hope is so necessary that it is better to believe in something than disbelieve. Maybe that can be true, but maybe some people have more ability than others to suppress evidences against what they hope for, in order to maintain their belief. I try to be careful about taking a soap box to declare that it is morally superior to only go with the hard, cold facts, but I think that is naturally more how my mind works, more so as I get older. I think...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767755611010523671.post-91137362541667398482010-09-20T07:43:57.982-06:002010-09-20T07:43:57.982-06:00I agree with the general concept of hope. As huma...I agree with the general concept of hope. As humans we are ingrained to desire “better”—an improvement from our current situation. A better salary, more full-filling relationships, better health, etc.<br /><br />What we have to be careful, though, is allowing that hope to bias our perceptions. For example, we can all remember our friends “being in love” with some person while in High school. A person out of their league. This is certainly laudable, but we also remember how they can misinterpret a glance at the locker, or a “Thank you” in the hall as being, “See? See how they like me?”<br /><br />Or worse, how the hope for a good relationship can cause a person to excuse the other’s behavior (“He only hits me because I deserve it”) when there is no excuse.<br /><br />I, too, hope for an afterlife. I would like ultimate justice—like to see family and friends who have died. Like to live in the Wonka Chocolate Factory for ever and ever and ever. I, too, would like the answers to problems that vex us. But simply because I desire these things—even hope for them—does not equate to proof they are true. <br /><br />In fact, the very desire itself should temper my willingness to argue for it by recognizing the bias instilled by the desire.DagoodShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767755611010523671.post-17776564641439825362010-09-20T07:30:46.987-06:002010-09-20T07:30:46.987-06:00I think being content is a much more fulfilling go...I think being content is a much more fulfilling goal than being hopeful. I spent most of my life thinking that I would finally "get over" my doubts and had high hopes for reading books, but I've been so disillusioned with Christian apologetics and their claim to truth...so now I'm learning to just be content with the way things are.Like a Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15991265512226039592noreply@blogger.com