Hope as an evil

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Norm640

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How many of you have heard or read this quote:

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.”

Nietzsche wrote this. And though Christians are all about hope, I think there is some truth in this. I would like to hear why anyone thinks this is not a good quote.

Isn’t there a point where hope is counterproductive? Where there is no practical reason to hope? Where you should just let God go?
 
Norm640 said:
How many of you have heard or read this quote:

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.”

Nietzsche wrote this. And though Christians are all about hope, I think there is some truth in this. I would like to hear why anyone thinks this is not a good quote.

Isn’t there a point where hope is counterproductive? Where there is no practical reason to hope? Where you should just let God go?
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Can’t imagine how that would work. It seems to me that despair is the main reason behind the “torments of man”.
 
Norm640 said:
How many of you have heard or read this quote:

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.”

Nietzsche wrote this. And though Christians are all about hope, I think there is some truth in this. I would like to hear why anyone thinks this is not a good quote.

Isn’t there a point where hope is counterproductive? Where there is no practical reason to hope? Where you should just let God go?
Click to expand...
I’m very “down” even now, too, but when you write this, it makes me realize, even more objectively, how wrong I am to think like that.

Norm, hope isn’t evil, and some quotes of Nietzsche seem fine. However, please be careful with believing that one. That’s one’s dangerous.
 
Norm640 said:
How many of you have heard or read this quote:

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.”

Nietzsche wrote this. And though Christians are all about hope, I think there is some truth in this. I would like to hear why anyone thinks this is not a good quote.

Isn’t there a point where hope is counterproductive? Where there is no practical reason to hope? Where you should just let God go?
Click to expand...
Well, you asked why that’s not a good quote. It invites despair rather than people working through their problems, having hope, faith, and trust in God.

If I listened to that, I’d, right now, want to run out and commit suicide. Do you see the problem?
 
Norm640 said:
How many of you have heard or read this quote:

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.”

Nietzsche wrote this. And though Christians are all about hope, I think there is some truth in this. I would like to hear why anyone thinks this is not a good quote.

Isn’t there a point where hope is counterproductive? Where there is no practical reason to hope? Where you should just let God go?
Click to expand...
As others have said, Hope is not evil. Scripture tells us: "For in the end there are three things that last, Faith, Hope and Charity (Love). Hope sustains us when all seems lost. It may be a very fine thread, but it has much strength and power when placed in God not humans, societies or governments.
 
God designed us to be with him for all eternity. We CAN’T be happy without him, in fact!
 
Pope Benedict XVI has said:
“Hope, as a virtue, lies in a mean between the extremes of two vices, presumption and despair”.

When one leans toward either of these vices, one leaves hope twisting in the wind.
One can presume that their life is never going to get better, and thus hog-tie hope.
Or, one can despair of things and simply fail to accept that hope even exists.

There is a trap to feeling so low, you begin to feel like that’s the only place you can rest.

Look, I used to be married to a really mean guy. He mocked me constantly for my sunny disposition. He said I was too stupid to understand when things were bad.
On the contrary, I refused to allow him to destroy me. My sunny disposition infuriated him.
He didn’t need to know that on the inside I was dying. But I would not allow it/him to conquer me. I only gave my true feelings to the Lord in prayer. And in my trust and hope for relief, He lifted me. He saved me. And He loved me when I didn’t think anyone else ever would. ***And I felt it. ***

Don’t fall into the trap of the one who wants you to despair…the one who thinks it’s “fun” to watch you writhe in pain.

Reach higher to the Lord’s arms. I don’t know when things are going to ease up for you.
But the Lord knows, and you have to give Him an opportunity to work in your life.
Lost hope is a door locked.

Praying for you, my friend.

pianist
 
Hope is only counterproductive when it is placed in the wrong things. True hope is in the Lord and the things of the Lord.
 
I guess it depends on the situation.

I don’t even hope to win the lottery, for example, not that I ever try.

I don’t even hope other things, as well.

Is that what you mean? Sometimes, yes, it seems we may need to resign ourselves to something or accept. Other times, we need to persist with hope. That probably isn’t helpful, I realize.

I’m not sure I would even know how to distinguish the two, though.

Even if we accept something, we can still often hope, even so, though.
 
I don’t hope to be younger, stronger, healthier. I know I’m getting old, gray, slow, crippled, and all the baggage that goes with old age. But, I’m also much closer to Heaven and to death. That is my hope now – that I can pray enough, manage to be faithful enough, and do what good works I can while I still can. The fact that I have lived to be old means God is not yet finished with me, and still has things for me to do. Maybe just a kind word, a smile, a card sent to a friend who is tired and worried, smiling at the Parishioners when I am serving the Chalice with the Blood of Christ is a great blessing. Perhaps my smile as I serve the Lord to them helps just one. Whatever it is, it is the Lord’s work for me, and I will continue it for Him.

I feared being in a Nursing Home in a few years. (I worked in them for years, some good, some really bad, some good Nurses, many who just saw it as a job to be done and get out). I was somewhat afraid of it. I prayed about this for the past year, and the Lord has given me peace. What a joy, if my mind is clear, and I can turn my room in a Nursing Home into a cloister for prayer for God, praying for His people, praying for His Church. Perhaps that is what He has planned for me. So I gave up that fear, and gave that to God to use me as He wills, not my will or choice. My Hope, my ONLY Hope, is that I will see the Lord when this life ends. That is the most important thing in my life. Hope cannot be evil, to me. It sustains and supports me in the Lord.
 
Norm640 said:
How many of you have heard or read this quote:

“Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.”

Nietzsche wrote this. And though Christians are all about hope, I think there is some truth in this. I would like to hear why anyone thinks this is not a good quote.

Isn’t there a point where hope is counterproductive? Where there is no practical reason to hope? Where you should just let God go?
Click to expand...
I am not a philosopher but just an ordinary guy. But it seems to me if I give up hope then I must ask myself, “what do I have left?”

May God bless and keep you. May God’s face shine on you. May God be kind to you and give you peace.
 
I suppose it is a misconception, what is called there hope to me sounds more like lack of resignation over things we must resign, which is totally diferent.

on other hand, if your faith is not built enough i suggest you stay away from Nietzche, his books have converted many to atheism.
 
I had to study philosophy in college and grad school, I know about Nietzschze and existentialism.

But logically speaking, he has a point. We hope and hope and hope in the face of reality sometimes. Is there a virtue in hope itself? Well, according to Saint Paul, sure.

But how does hope actually help us? Maybe it saves us. Maybe God wants us to hope to keep belief in Him so at the end we’ll enter heaven. Maybe.

But when you hope and hope and hope and there is nothing on the other end, that makes hope seem, well, useless. Does God just want people to hope because it pleases Him? Because it makes us hang on to God? That seems selfish and petty to me.

Maybe God doesn’t do that.

So I’ve been hoping for half my life. If I had just been given a normal life, had what everyone else takes for granted I don’t see how I would have turned out worse than what I am now- an unemployed 38 year old man suffering from disabling OCD and living with his father and incapable of keeping a job or girlfriend. What is the point?

Or, maybe God has nothing to do with this. Maybe my life is my own creation, God was never in my life, stays away from me, and hope is useless no matter what.

What is left without hope? An excellent question. Welcome to existentialism. May seem petty to most, perhaps to all here, but I’m tired of being poor, lonely, and having all my hopes dashed. I am tired of fighting. And if there is a God He knows this, and he doesn’t care that I hope. And if there is no God, then I’ve doubly wasted my life hoping. Either way, I’m leaning on the hope = b.s. thought at this moment.
 
Give a call to a “live person” - call the Catholic Answers apologist line – forums are good -but are not the best always when one is suffering so. Give a call. One can even talk with the Priest there.

catholic.com/contact/info
 
Even in the midst of darkness - Christ is with us --he is our truly our* hope *no matter how dark the valley may get along the way…no matter what the storms in life…

Turn away from such thoughts of “hope not being good” and the others - do not let them in – send them packing — and hold fast to him.

And seek out any help you need – we all need someone to talk with…

Give a call …

Refuse to let go of hope!

Mary Star of hope pray for us!
 
DMC12 said:
I suppose it is a misconception, what is called there hope to me sounds more like lack of resignation over things we must resign, which is totally diferent.

on other hand, if your faith is not built enough i suggest you stay away from Nietzche, his books have converted many to atheism.
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Yes, the man had a lot of strange, unworkable, ideas.

Why not use quotes from the sages, instead, Aristotle, Socrates…even modern sages, like Chesterton?
 
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