About this episode
The episode explores the concept of hope in relation to Jesus's birth and life, emphasizing its relevance in the present rather than just in the afterlife.
"Hope" is a term often associated with Christmas. "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices..." "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." But what is "hope"? And how is it tied to Jesus's birth and life? Is hope an expectation of a particular outcome, or is it something deeper--perhaps a quality manifest in the character of God as displayed by Jesus. So often in Christian culture, hope is tied to the hope for salvation and life with God after we've died. But that makes hope mostly a "then" thing rather than a character trait for the "nows" of our lives. We want hope "now"! In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon and his friend and one of his partners in the Faith Journey Foundation, Mark Crego , discuss hope from multiple angles. What is disclosed about God in the nativity narratives? Would "liberation" be a better word than "salvation" when discussing the power of Jesus's example in our lives (here and now without worries about life after this one)? Their discussion might be a bit difficult for some Latter-day Saints who want Jesus to be "Christ" right from birth and someone who who rescues us from our pain and travail? But both Mark and Dan work from the…
People in this episode
Host: Dan Wotherspoon
Guest: Mark Crego
Topics covered
- hope
- Jesus
- salvation
- LDS perspectives
- Christmas
- faith
Keywords
- hope
- Jesus
- salvation
- LDS
- Christmas
- faith
- liberation
- nativity
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Hope, Christmas, nativity narratives
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