Faith, Hope, and Charity: The Three Principal Rounds of the Ladder of Heavenly Ascent

Abstract: This chapter argues that "the scriptural triad of faith, hope, and charity should be understood as something more than a general set of personal attributes that must be developed in order for disciples to become like Christ. Instead, as part of the 'guarded tradition of the Apostle' [Paul] that is transmitted to readers in 1 Corinthians and elsewhere in scripture, these terms have been used to describe a distinct progression of 'stages in a Christian's earthly experience.' The thr...