Jesus instructs us to pray that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” At first reading, this assumes that heaven and earth are not the same place. Heaven, it seems, is either a long way away from earth or at least a very different place than earth. There is a huge gap between these two domains! N. T. Wright’s Suprised by Hope argues that heaven, though a transcendent reality separated from earth, is an interlocking or interweaving reality with earth.
I’ve read most of the arguments defending the historical reliability of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and find them overwhelmingly convincing. I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that “Christ was raised from the dead” (Romans 6:4). But when I have a pressing concern and pray earnestly for God to change things on earth, what reason do I have to believe God will intervene? Just as God raised Christ from the dead, in the tangible, historically verifiable way, can I be sure that God will answer my prayer? In a word, is it reasonable to have hope? Is hope grounded in some other belief that is certain?
Hope. What is it? By definition, hope is a belief in what is possible. We cannot hope for what is, only for what may be. After all, “Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:24-25).
But if hope is a belief in what is possible, what makes hope possible?
If God exists, then miracles are possible.
If miracles are possible, then hope is reasonable.
If hope is reasonable, then God exists.
Therefore, hope exists.
The burden of this syllogism (argument) is on the second premise. You see, if God does not exist, then can hope exists?