Christians are called to hope. But what is the difference between the Christian virtue of hope and just pure wishful thinking? The Scriptures should be our first and most trusted guide to answering this question. But we can see the difference between true hope and fanciful flights in other places as well, such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s wonderful trilogy, Lord of the Rings (LOTR).
It has been noted that there are two kinds of hope in LOTR.[1] There is what can be called surface hope, which is something like a feeling that things will turn out well. But there is also a richer kind of hope in LOTR, which can be called deep hope. The labels are clear here, but what exactly is the difference? Deep hope is more than a feeling, but an attitude of total commitment (or surrender), usually to an action or person, which arises from within a person, especially when surface hope has been exhausted.
Surface hope is often vanquished in LOTR—from the death of beloved characters to the rise of the enemies’ forces. But, though not always explicit, Tolkien drops small hints throughout that there is a deeper hope to be had. We can see this in one of Tolkien’s most moving passages:
There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and beauty for ever beyond its reach. His song in the Tower had been defiance rather than hope; for then he was thinking of himself. Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master’s, ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo’s side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep (Bk VI, Ch 3, p. 901).
But what exactly is Sam’s basis of hope that allows him to fall back into peaceful slumber? Sam and Frodo are stuck in Mordor with no food, no water, enemies all around, and slowly losing strength to complete their mission of destroying the one Ring. What hope could there possibly be beyond wishful thinking? Commenting on this passage, Louis Markos explains what he sees as deeper hope being revealed by Tolkien:
[A]s the white star draws his vision higher; beyond Mordor and his own personal struggle for survival, Sam perceives the true essence of the theological virtue of hope. Hope is more than an engine for endurance; it is the deep, heartfelt understanding that though we may fail in our mission, and though we may perish alone in the dark, the Shadow will pass away and goodness will triumph. It does not finally rest on our efforts or struggles. For the Shadow, despite its momentary triumph, can never touch that light and beauty which ever transcends it.[2]
I think Markos is correct. Here seems to be the ultimate basis upon which deep hope is built in LOTR: regardless of whether Frodo and Sam’s side wins—Frodo does indeed end up failing to complete his mission—there is a confidence that good will ultimately win out in the end.
Though this confidence is only hinted at through LOTR, for Christians, this perspective of hope is given more explicitly in Scripture. For instance, in Psalm 73:1–15 Asaph is nonplussed by how the wicked are seemingly prosperous, happy, and secure. But the turn in the psalm comes in verses 16–17: “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” In other words, the psalmist begins to focus upon a longer view and thus finds a deeper hope regardless of his own shorter view and circumstances.
True hope, deep hope, is not a cheery optimism. No, the theological or Christian virtue of hope is quite realistic: both about the immediately upcoming days (we may not make it, Sauron might get the Ring, etc.) but it’s also realistic about the final day: Christ will conquer, he will reign on the throne (Phil 2:9–11, Rev 4:10–11). Though LOTR only implicitly appeals to what will make an expectation of good’s final triumph a reality, it nevertheless imaginatively embodies for us the true reality that Christ will ultimately be the final victor over evil. As Sam saw, “the Shadow, despite its momentary triumph, can never touch that light and beauty which ever transcends it.” And this is really true in reality for Christians whose deep hope is in the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).
James McGlothlin, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of College Programs
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that we each would hold fast to true hope.
- Pray for our students who are in the midst of final papers.
- Pray for the full funding of The Serious Joy Scholarships needed to support this year’s students.
- Pray for those who are attending and preparing for Serious Joy: The Bethlehem Conference for Pastors