VIRTUTEA SPERANTEI ÎN GÂNDIREA TEOLOGICĂ PAULINĂ
THE VIRTUE OF HOPE IN THE THEOLOGICAL THINKING OF ST. PAUL

Summary/Abstract: The virtue of hope in the theological thinking of St. Paul. The Christian hope is a gift from God, is sustained by the faith and by the love that derives instantaneously from this connection, and gets transformed into a relation of profound communion with God. Therefore, man, in whose conscience was inscribed the necessity to „move” in the circle between hope and eternity, finds in his own Christian vocation a support for his conscience. Surely, the Holy Scripture speaks about a future hope, that is synchronized with God’s plan and solidly founded on the fidelity towards obeying the will of his Son (cf. 1Cor 1,9; Ps 71). Even if the fulfillment of the Christian hope is achieved only in the event of parusia, it is a promise that is fulfilled now and here (cf. Rom 8,19). Therefore, the Christian hope presented by the Holy Scriptures is one that surpasses any other human hope, because it cares for the man and for the mankind, and this is resulted clearly from saint Paul’s writings. In our support comes the word of saint Paul who told the Thessalonians: „We remember before our God and Father how active is the faith, how unsparing the love, how persevering the hope which you have from our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thess 1,3), thus this hope is a sure one and is founded on the teaching of God. Meanwhile, those who put their total faith and trust in Jesus Christ are capable of this: „simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have” (1Pet 3,15).

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