Monotheism and Hope in God

This Element examines aspects of monotheism and hope, both defending and challenging the sorts of love cherished by different religions.

This Element examines aspects of monotheism and hope. Distinguishing monotheism from nontheistic religions, it explores how God transcends terms used to describe the religious ultimate. Wainwright examines the loves prized in Islam, Christianity and theistic Hinduism, and defends the sort of love valorized by them against some charges against it.This Element examines aspects of monotheism and hope. Distinguishing monotheism from various forms of nontheistic religions, it explores how God transcends the terms used to describe the religious ultimate. The discussion then turns to the nature of hope and examines how the concept has been used by Augustine, Aquinas, Kierkegaard, and Moltmann, among others. The Christian tradition to which these monotheists belong associates hope and faith with love. In the final section, Wainwright shows the varieties of this kind of love in Islam, Christianity, and theistic Hinduism, and defends the sort of love valorized by them against some charges against it. He examines why the loves prized in these traditions are imperfect because their adherents invariably believe that the love that they cherish is superior to that cherished by others.