--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the other hand, hope is subversive…" description: "\"On the other hand, hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg" --- # On the other hand, hope is subversive, for it limits the… ![“On the other hand, hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all made commitments is now called into question.” quote by Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg) > “On the other hand, hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all made commitments is now called into question.” [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope challenges complacency by questioning current commitments and exposing their limits. **In simple terms:** Hope pushes us to question the status quo. Key Takeaway Use hope to critically assess present assumptions. Themes hope critique faith Mood inspired critical Type theological motivational When to use this quote - social activism - personal growth - policy debate Key Concepts theology political thought Questions to Reflect On - What commitments does your hope challenge? - How can hope be balanced with realism? A Different Perspective Hope may breed false optimism if not grounded. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Daring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daring/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Pretension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretension/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) ## Related quotes > [“Hope, on one hand, is an absurdity too embarrassing to speak about, for it flies in the face of all those claims we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/hope-on-one-hand-is-an-absurdity-too-embarrassing-to-speak-about-for/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Lyndon Johnson is not a comfortable model for President Obama to imitate. He is an all-but-forgotten president - pilloried for the failed war in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/lyndon-johnson-is-not-a-comfortable-model-for-president-obama-to/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [There's something so showy about desperation, it takes hard wits to see it's a grandiose form of funk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/there-s-something-so-showy-about-desperation-it-takes-hard-wits-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Darkness always had its part to play. Without it, how would we know when we walked in the light? It’s only when its ambitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/darkness-always-had-its-part-to-play-without-it-how-would-we-know/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Songs are like a form of chaos that you can control. It's a form of intelligence that maybe you only understand and you hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/songs-are-like-a-form-of-chaos-that-you-can-control-it-s-a-form-of/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) > [“I grow grandiose, which is a good sign I should become prosaic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-grow-grandiose-which-is-a-good-sign-i-should-become-prosaic/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [In the nineteenth century the more grandiose word inspiration began to replace the word idea in the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/in-the-nineteenth-century-the-more-grandiose-word-inspiration-began/) [Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/) > [The grandiose plans of what Macintosh was gonna be was just so far out of whack with the truth of what the product was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-espinosa/the-grandiose-plans-of-what-macintosh-was-gonna-be-was-just-so-far/) Chris Espinosa > [Working with Martin Scorsese was an absolute minute-by-minute education without him ever being grandiose about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/working-with-martin-scorsese-was-an-absolute-minute-by-minute/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [The only criticism heard with any frequency of Elton John's first American album, 'Elton John,' was that the production was too grandiose. The melodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-landau/the-only-criticism-heard-with-any-frequency-of-elton-john-s-first/) [Jon Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-landau/) > [I think that doing comedy and playing Dwight is a service. Not to get grandiose about it, but I have a talent for playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/i-think-that-doing-comedy-and-playing-dwight-is-a-service-not-to-get/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [Utopians...consider individual freedom as the stumbling block on which the grandiose idea of mankind's totalization may flounder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-steven-molnar/utopians-consider-individual-freedom-as-the-stumbling-block-on-which/) Thomas Steven Molnar > [I love jazz. I still do. Dave Brubeck and Stan Getz are so good. I took a notification course in Jazz Orchestration. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/i-love-jazz-i-still-do-dave-brubeck-and-stan-getz-are-so-good-i-took/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [Do we pour $40 billion into grandiose Louisiana engineering projects or do we instead put up no trespassing- signs in the areas below sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-brinkley/do-we-pour-40-billion-into-grandiose-louisiana-engineering-projects/) [Douglas Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-brinkley/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) ## More by Walter Brueggemann > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [The world for which you have been so carefully prepared is being taken away from you, by the grace of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-world-for-which-you-have-been-so-carefully-prepared-is-being/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Every imperial agent wants to reduce what is possible to what is available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/every-imperial-agent-wants-to-reduce-what-is-possible-to-what-is/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“The outcome is to delegitimize and deconstruct the kings in effective ways in order to show that while they occupy the forms of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-outcome-is-to-delegitimize-and-deconstruct-the-kings-in-effective/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [The church meets to imagine what our lives can be like if the gospel were true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-church-meets-to-imagine-what-our-lives-can-be-like-if-the-gospel/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“Pharaoh is clearly a metaphor. He embodies and represents raw, absolute, worldly power. He is, like Pilate after him, a stand-in for the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/pharaoh-is-clearly-a-metaphor-he-embodies-and-represents-raw-absolute/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“The news enacted by Elisha is reperformed by Jesus. It is, subsequently, performed in many other venues, sometimes by the followers of Jesus, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-news-enacted-by-elisha-is-reperformed-by-jesus-it-is-subsequently/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [People notice peacemakers because they dress funny. We know how the people who make war dress - in uniforms and medals, or in computers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/people-notice-peacemakers-because-they-dress-funny-we-know-how-the/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“Only those who embrace the reality of death will receive the new life. Implicit in his statement is that those who do not mourn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/only-those-who-embrace-the-reality-of-death-will-receive-the-new-life/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“The truth that is variously enacted by such agents is not an idea or a proposition. It is rather a habit of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-truth-that-is-variously-enacted-by-such-agents-is-not-an-idea-or/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“The same subversion of power by truth is evident in the way in which Luke begins his account of Jesus of Nazareth. Luke is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-same-subversion-of-power-by-truth-is-evident-in-the-way-in-which/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [We now know that human transformation does not happen through didacticism or through excessive certitude, but through the playful entertainment of another scripting of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/we-now-know-that-human-transformation-does-not-happen-through/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“It occurs to me that the situation of the church in our society, perhaps the church everywhere always, is entrusted with a truth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/it-occurs-to-me-that-the-situation-of-the-church-in-our-society/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [The gospel is fiction when judged by the empire, but the empire is fiction when judged by the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/the-gospel-is-fiction-when-judged-by-the-empire-but-the-empire-is/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Hope requires a very careful symbolization. It must not be expressed too fully in the present tense because hope one can touch and handle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/hope-requires-a-very-careful-symbolization-it-must-not-be-expressed/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) [Explore all 71 Walter Brueggemann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) ## More Commitment quotes > [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [“You make me believe in happiness... if I had my way, if anything were up to me, I’d never be without you. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-kirchoff/you-make-me-believe-in-happiness-if-i-had-my-way-if-anything-were-up/) [Courtney Kirchoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-kirchoff/) > [Golf is such a big commitment, and so is acting. Sometimes you have to give up something to do something else, although, when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-newton/golf-is-such-a-big-commitment-and-so-is-acting-sometimes-you-have-to/) [Kathryn Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-newton/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [When you make a commitment to a relationship, you invest your attention and energy in it more profoundly because you now experience ownership of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-de-angelis/when-you-make-a-commitment-to-a-relationship-you-invest-your/) [Barbara De Angelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-de-angelis/) > [ “For \[erotically intelligent couples\], love is a vessel that contains both security and adventure, and commitment offers one of the great luxuries of life:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-erotically-intelligent-couples-love-is-a-vessel-that-contains/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/a-commitment-to-lifelong-learning-is-a-natural-expression-of-the/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [A lasting relationship consists of the 3 C's: Commitment. Communication. Compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/a-lasting-relationship-consists-of-the-3-c-s-commitment-communication/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I've developed a huge regard for Toyota for its environmental awareness, for its immense commitment to research and development in this field, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-strong/i-ve-developed-a-huge-regard-for-toyota-for-its-environmental/) [Maurice Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-strong/) > [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) [Browse all 4,004 Commitment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On the other hand, hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all made commitments is now called into question.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Brueggemann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for-it-limits-the-grandiose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Commitment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for-it-limits-the-grandiose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/walter-brueggemann-9698_commitment_on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for_1270634.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the other hand, hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to…” — Walter Brueggemann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Walter Brueggemann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the other hand, hope is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for-it-limits-the-grandiose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/on-the-other-hand-hope-is-subversive-for-it-limits-the-grandiose/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```