在人們生活中，絕望與希望如影隨形、無法分割，如同情緒起伏存在於實現人生目標的過程之中。絕望被理解為重度缺乏與力量和意義的有效連結，它會導致一個基礎性的人格解體並且喪失生命的活力。希望是絕望的解藥，在人類求生存的意志背後，它是一個必要的前提。在心理學的範疇裡，希望被定義為一種產生路徑的感知能力，藉著希望，我們走上這些途徑，因而達成渴望的目標。但基督宗教認為希望就像神學上的一種德性，它是天主所賜給人類的禮物——人們因為相信天主將會給予永恆的生命，因此而獲得達到永生的方法。因此，本文在當前的哲學和心理學背景之下，從基督宗教神學的觀點探討，希望與絕望之間的關係。明顯地，這意味著能理解的僅限於基督徒。

As emotions that exist in the process of achieving our goals, despair and hope are inseparable parts of our life. Despair is understood as a severe lack of effective connection to power and meaning that it causes a foundational depersonalization and loss of vitality in life. Hope is the antidote to despair and it is the presupposition behind the human will to live. Although psychology defines hope as the perceived ability to produce pathways to achieve desired goals and to motivate self to use those pathways, Christianity considers hope as a theological virtue bestowed by God as a gift through which one trusts God will grant eternal life and the means of obtaining it. This paper, therefore, discusses the relation between hope and despair from the Christian theological perspective, against the background of current philosophical and psychological understanding. The implications of such an understanding are obviously limited to Christian believers.