Christian Optimism

"Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism, nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots into an awareness of our freedom, and the sure knowledge of the power of grace."

"Let us start each day with prayerful optimism”

"The Bible promotes optimism, but it is a certain kind of optimism. It is not the secular optimism of positive thinking or the natural optimism of a laid-back personality, but the godly optimism of Christian hope. True hope endures in the darkness"

"Without certain hope in Christ's victory in you and in the world that surrounds you, there
can be no optimism; and without optimism that serene gaiety which is characteristic of the young cannot exist."

“I propose these three characteristics for your testimony at this time: honesty, responsibility and optimism. All three accompanied by discernment."

"A Christian is always full of hope, full of joy, full of optimism that physical death is only a passing and that the definitive or ultimate future of man is the Kingdom of God – the entry of every person into the joy, peace, and glory of the Most Holy Trinity.”

"The certainty of Christian hope lies beyond passion and beyond knowledge. Therefore we must sometimes expect our hope to come in conflict with darkness, desperation and ignorance. Therefore, too, we must remember that Christian optimism is not a perpetual sense of euphoria, an indefectible comfort in whose presence neither anguish nor tragedy can possibly exist. We must not strive to maintain a climate of optimism by the mere suppression of tragic realities. Christian optimism lies in a hope of victory that transcends all tragedy: a victory in which we pass beyond tragedy to glory with Christ crucified and risen."

"Even on Christmas Day do men remember that Christ came as a prophet of good? His joyous optimism is like water to feverish lips, and has for its highest expression the eight beatitudes. It is because Christ is an optimist that for ages he has dominated the Western world. For nineteen centuries Christendom has gazed into his shining face and felt that all things work together for good."

“Creation is good because God is good and he decided that creation would be good, so Genesis is not only rational but optimistic. The account in Genesis that God created humanity in his own image is the most powerful statement in favour of universal human rights that the ancient world ever saw.”

"Our attitude makes a crucial difference in dealing with life, and we as believers in Christ have every reason to be optimistic. Our future is guaranteed! We have an incorruptible inheritance and the power of God protecting us until we get to glory (1 Peter 1:4-5)."

"Jesus showed an unquenchable, confident optimism—even in seemingly dire situations. And he commanded us not to fear, but live in hope."

God "wants us to be happy and hopeful, to possess the “joyful optimism” named as a virtue in Salesian Spirituality. And in pursuing our passions, we make a sacred offering. As St. Augustine wrote: “The desire of your heart is itself your prayer.” That prayer keeps pulsing—at 50, 60 and 70. It whispers: I’m just getting going."

"The genuine Christian is an eternal optimist. He knows his faith and hope in God will not disappoint. He knows evil will not succeed in the end even though at times it might appear to be getting the upper hand. As the scriptures says: 'When Christ comes again all his enemies will be put under his feet'"

“The case for optimism is quite easy and can be found in the Bible. Spiritual optimism and a strong faith can lift one’s life beyond imagination. Now if you're talking about the human condition- there will be technological progress, political jockeying, ideological battles, good vs. evil, and so on. Human nature has been pretty constant throughout time as we know it.   Good luck.”

"Those who know Jesus are the most optimistic people on earth. Optimism comes of hope and Jesus is our hope."

"Our optimism doesn’t rest in good things happening. It rests in a good God who has always brought His good gifts from unexpected places. Our expectation is in Him. In Him, we can hope all things (1 Cor. 13:7). In Him, we can find joy in all circumstances (Phil. 4:12). In Him, we are cheerful in our giving (2 Cor. 9:7). In Him, we look for beauty from ashes (Isa. 61:3). In Him, we are eternal optimists (John 6:68)."

"A theme within mainstream Christianity that is often overlooked, if it hasn’t been entirely forgotten, is optimism. A powerful belief in human potential and dignity emerged from the Italian Renaissance. This was a time when the rediscovered dialogues of Plato, with their mystical other-worldly flavour, were made to dovetail with Christianity by philosophers such as Marsilio Ficino. Pagan and Christian mag­ical thinking were harmonised."

"A popular misconception about the Florentine Renaissance – aided and abetted by Stephen Greenblatt’s popular yet profoundly misleading 2012 Pulitzer winner, The Swerve – holds that the emergence of humanism involved a rejection of religion, a breaking of medieval shackles.

"The opposite is the case. The key Florentine humanists were attempting to build bridges between Platonism and Christianity. The Platonic revival among Christian humanists helped to elevate the image of humankind, burdened in scripture by expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the shame of original sin, into, in the words of one prominent Christian humanist of that time, a “magnificent miracle and wondrous creation”.

"It is because human ears are attuned to God’s calling that we have the capacity to experience the divine in this life – a little like the Buddhist notion of enlightenment – and to raise our natures from the base to the noble.

“If God were absent from the world,” said one of the great philosophers in this tradition, “he would not be in you either.”

"The material excellence of the Florentine Renaissance – the art, the architecture, the wealth – would not have been possible without this powerful yearning for spiritual excellence.

"An immense gulf separates this optimistic view of human nature from ours. We are, perhaps, far too aware of humankind’s secular fall – the Third Reich, the sins of colonialism – for this radiant species exceptionalism. But that’s no reason to turn away from, in a spirit of neglectful ignorance, the mystical tradition within Christianity.

"This is a challenge for all people who sense that they are on a spiritual, though not necessarily a religious, search. The challenge is to raise and enlarge the self, to move the mysteries at the periphery of daily existence to the core of consciousness. It’s a contemplative, meditative, mystical line of thinking we associate with Eastern religions. But it’s powerfully present in Christianity, too."

"Next, the second coming says that the ultimate word in history is the triumph of God, the reign of God’s kingdom, the eternal and lasting rule of the good. Here is where our Advent meditation rests. By faith we are promised that evil will be judged and done away with and all will be made whole. This is the vision we want to carry with us as we view the news and visit the hospitals, psychiatric wards, and prisons of our world. Christian hope is an optimism about life that is grounded in Christ and celebrated again and again in the liturgy of the church."

"Optimism is the unwavering expectation that our loving God is working in every situation for our future good." 

“Optimism is the base of our understanding of life. It depends on our belief in Christianity, independent of what mankind makes of it: katholisch, protestant or others. We are sure, that Jesus Christ has helped us through our long life… Sure, we have had many problems.. but we stand always together to overcome those.”

"What makes me optimistic? As a Christian, I believe God is in control, and somehow His love for mankind will make things work out in the end. Nature has shown the way a bit during this COVID-19 and how fast the earth healed. I believe there will be a small group of catalysts who will show us a better way."

"We ought to have ever-fresh visions for our churches, full of hope, optimistic for what can be done for the glory of God.

"If the people of a church are filled with God’s love, then they are optimistic."

"We’re in a very dehumanising time. You have to have a lot of therapy – by therapy, I mean to access things that give you the feeling of being human and connect us to our greater purpose. When I create, it’s never separate from my faith as a Christian. I take my faith as the ultimate form of optimism, because it allows you to understand as much as anyone can why things are the way they are. There are things we can’t change, but we should just focus on things that we can change. That’s what all of the greats have done."

"Methodism exists in order to preach, teach, and proclaim the bold optimism that the grace of God is able to bring full salvation to everyone. Methodism separated from this core teaching has no future. If Methodism focuses once again on this grand depositum, it will find new life and fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its midst."

"Simply waking up in the morning and feeling healthy and alive is a blessing from God. Knowing from experience that there is a solution to every problem gives me optimism and helps me smile brightly."

“We must not fear the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, we must have the spirit of love, hope, and optimism to see better days in the future. We believe that Jesus is with us. Have faith!”