A hope versus a wish/hoping versus wishing

Greenwich, England (photo by trekearth.com)

In a Biblical context, Browning uses some of the following examples of hope. Old Testament prophets taught that any hope for a reasonable and good future depended on trusting in the God of the Hebrew Bible. Without it disaster and bad things would occur. In the New Testament there is a hope within the new covenant fulfilled through the atoning and resurrection work of Christ. Taking this concept, the Apostle Paul applies the work of Christ to believers and an eventual culminated Kingdom of God. Therefore as I Peter notes, persecution should be endured. Browning (1997: 176).

Tongue (Dr. Tongue?) states that Christ himself is the Christian hope. By his resurrection he provides this and the fact that regenerated Christians will also be resurrected. Tongue (1996: 532). Tongue explains that the word elpis had in New Testament Greek an expectation of something good or evil, and that the one that hope is placed in sometimes was called elpis, as in Christ with 1 Timothy 1: 1, for example. Tongue (1996: 532).

In Strong's, elpis is not the only word used for hope, there are several, but he defines elpis as to anticipate, usually with pleasure, expectation, confidence, faith, hope. Strong (1986: 34).

This one definition suits as a contrast to a concept of a wish or wishing.

I can hope philosophically and more importantly, Biblically that God exists. Christ exists and has applied the atoning and resurrection work to myself and others which can be understood within the historical evidence of his word. There is something real, objective, and concrete that I place my hope in…Christians place their hope in.

From The Concise Oxford Dictionary 1995, page 1608.

A wish is a desire or aspiration for happiness.

A demand to bring about what is wanted.

To express one's hopes.

A thing desired.

End citation

A wish can include hope.

So, I suppose one can wish for what is also reasonably hoped for in a concrete sense. I wish for my own resurrection which I also hope for in Christ. I wish for the resurrection of others and there is hope.

One can also wish for something that cannot be reasonably hoped for in a concrete sense. I wish to never physically age or die.

In philosophical terms a hope/hoping for something concrete is more beneficial than simply a wish/wishing for something.

Hope is ultimately more beneficial to a mere wish if God is reasonably shown as the ultimate source behind hope, whereas a particular wish is a human thing which God has willingly allowed to exist, but may not bring about, especially if it is not tied to reasonable hope.

Moving on from the argument, the more important things within Christian faith and philosophy are things of hope and not merely things that are just a wish.

In my life I am working through some issues. As in what things are in the wish/hope category (in Christ) and what things are simply a wish.

BROWING, W.R.F. (1997) Oxford Dictionary of the Bible Oxford, Oxford University Press.

STRONG, J. (1986) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Pickering, Ontario, Welch Publishing Company.

TONGUE, DENIS HAROLD. (1996) ‘Hope' in Walter A.Elwell (ed.), Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Books.

New Testament Greek Referenced

Elpis

ἐλπίς

Definition
1. expectation of evil, fear
2. expectation of good, hope
a. in the Christian sense
1. joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation
3. on hope, in hope, having hope
a. the author of hope, or he who is its foundation
b. the thing hoped for

Please do have a quick glance at my latest on thekingpin68

Christian Career Women and also Books on the Problem of
Evil

Some points within the main text:

I deduce Biblically a woman can rightly have a career and a wife/Mother can be a career woman...

In other words, I find a career woman worth considering partly because of her goals and dreams, if she is on the younger side or older side, within my age range, I am not going to do anything to work against her hopefully God-given goals, but will be fully supportive...

I am not go to work against what I find at least somewhat interesting in the woman in the first place...

There are also comments on traditional and egalitarian approaches.

I come out in support of a sovereignty approach in regard to the problem of evil.

Thoughts on New Year's Eve (Input requested)

New Year's Eve, Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York

The Canucks and the Yankees share fireworks in friendship.

Two of my three favourite countries, The Socialist Paradise of Canada and the Excited States of Americana.

This is December 28th but the article is dated January 1, 2010.

I did a post on this topic in 2006, but it now is 2009.

1990s

In the 1990's for a few years I did the First Night supposedly dry New Year's Eve evening. Yes, the actual events were dry as in non-alcoholic, but between shows many of the people on the streets were hammered. I remember being in downtown Vancouver with a crowd of 100,000-300,000 people, many of them drunk and the scene was questionable enough that one female member of our group that I barely knew grabbed onto my arm for protection. I suppose at the time as I was a developing kingpin this was not too much of a surprise. Oh what fun it was to be downtown with six figures of people, many of them wasted, hardly being able to move, people throwing up, and fights breaking out.

Those kind of good times just are so very difficult to match. And that almost trampled feeling is fantastic.

I did this for about three years and then decided...never again, or at least I have not done it since then. It is questionable to have alcohol free events that can be crashed by people that get their alcohol from somewhere else and come to the event 'influenced.'

2000s

Well, a certain Cousin when he was single that was looking for a good Christian young lady had a New Year's Eve party. He is now a happily married man. He also looks like a male model. Well, after midnight he and I ended being the last two guys around with about six ladies in the hot tub, as he had rented the hot tub.

I of course behaved myself...

The next year, I came to his party again in a different city. This time there was a snow storm and NO ONE showed up. Plus the washroom door ended up locking itself and we had to get into the washroom from the outside window while in the snow with the use of equipment.

Quite a contrast between the two years...from hot tub with ladies to being out in the snow trying to simply avoid using an invisible outhouse.

It looks like I will be going to his party in 2009...

One night I remember being in British Columbia with a bunch of people playing Trivial Pursuit via phone with someone in Ontario.

This would be one funny party to attend and is one of the rare films that I can watch again and again.

The Party 1968:


Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's Eve is a bore as is that dropping ball is Times Square. I know many will disagree, but it seems so similar every year.

The producers could save money in places and use a lot of footage from recent previous New Year's Eve shows. At the end simply show the 2009 to 2010 celebrations.

I mean many of the viewers will be drunk and were drunk the previous years and so would not clue in.

That's me, always trying to save a buck.

Input request

What are some good things to do on New Year's Eve besides a party at a friend's place or at a friend of a friends?

Just about anything should beat Dick Clark's Rotten New Year's Ball or going to bed, which in my mind are both equally intellectually stimulating.