Where’s Doubting Thomas when you need him?

Where was he on the board of Lehman Brothers when all that cosmetic accounting was going on?
Where was he in all those bank branches when subprime mortgages were being handed out like ice cream at the day care?
Where was Doubting Thomas in all those car dealerships, appliance stores, and rent-a-centers as the national savings rate turned negative and everyone just kept on buying?

When William Shakespeare wrote that doubt is the beacon of the wise, he was touting the value of healthy skepticism – that voice inside each one of us that hesitates when something just doesn’t add up. The unfortunate side to Thomas’ story is that it has painted Christianity as a choice between faith and doubt. They’re seen as polar opposites: if Thomas had simply believed, checked his mind at the door, and blindly accepted the unreasonable he would have been commended and not singled out as the lone loser who has no faith.

However, as Paul Tillich famously said, doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith. And this is why I think the Church, down through the ages, has cherished Thomas and his story.

Doubting Thomas stands in for all of us who certainly respect the claims, creeds and testimonies of others, but need a bit more before we’ll bite. Doubting Thomas shows us that the heart of the faith is not believing six impossible things before breakfast - but a personal encounter with the Numinous. Christianity is not about believing what the Church, the preacher, and even the Bible tells us – but it’s about meeting Christ in such a realistic and genuine manner that all we can say is, ‘My Lord and my God.’ As the old country preacher says, ‘God has no grandchildren, only children, whose challenge it is to discover faith on their own – to ask questions, search their heart, and find their own Thomas moment of belief.’

Reading
The Heart of Christianity – Marcus Borg
The Architecture of Happiness – Alain de Botton
Rediscovering Values – Jim Wallis