There Is Always Hope, Even in Death

…“When there is no answer for death, hopelessness inevitably invades life.” But the answer we have seen in Christianity is an answer that can be held high in life as a torch of hope, a hope of unbreakable strength, a hope that burns through death itself. For if death is imminent and certain there is hope in death itself. And if there are far worse things than death at hand, the pain may be great, but it will never be the pain of despair. So never give up. Never despair, no matter what. There is always hope. ALWAYS.

It must be remembered that this hope, which is offered to all, is grounded in the cross, the center of Christianity. This is where death was destroyed. The flame of hope which is given to us to hold as we face death is the cross, a light in dark places when all other lights go out (see “Hope and Strength from the Cross”). The cross and the resurrection is Christianity’s bright and glorious answer to the problem of death.

*See also p. 54: “Bertrand Russell affirmed that his life was built on the foundation of unyielding despair. Perhaps that is why he issued a joint statement with Albert Einstein, just two days before Einstein’s death, confessing that ‘those of us who know the most are the gloomiest about the future.’” For more thoughts on the absurd hopelessness of atheism, see my post “Whispers of Eternity: The Absurdity of Atheism.”