VISIONS OF A FUTURE

Does Christian hope have any relation to the specific hopes of humanity? What is the role of the Christian community in the movement of human history? What is the relation between the human, historical activity of building the world, which is the concern of human hope, and the divinely given gift of the Kingdom of God, which is the object of Christian hope? Through these developments, the primary thrust of eschatology has shifted from a concentration of the structures of the world beyond to a theological reflection on the nature of Christian hope itself. Its biblical motto might be drawn from the First Letter of Peter: "Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you...." (1 Peter 3:15). What is the ground and object of Christian hope? How can we give an account of Christian hope in the context of the secular hopes of the modern world? What is the Christian vision of hope for the individual, for the human race, and for the world of God's creation?