Submarine accidents are rare. Successful submarine rescues, unfortunately, are rarer still. The complex variables of depth, pressure, temperature, and time conspire to doom most trapped sailors. During one celebrated rescue attempt a message could be heard reverberating through the hull of a downed sub. It was tapped out in code from the inside, metal clanging against metal: Is there any hope? 

At the beginning of the twenty-first century the world is waiting for an answer to that question. Opinion guru George Gallup has concluded, "People in many nations appear to be searching with a new intensity for spiritual moorings. One of the key factors prompting this search is certainly a need for hope in these troubled times." 

What the world needs now is hope. Thinking people crave assurance…