Today was an interesting day. At church today, the reading and sermon was about the doubting Thomas story from the Gospel of John. It frustrated me on two levels. First, the pastor's sermon included an idiotic story that he believed made a point about individuals who look at the world, see suffering, and claim that there is no God. The individual in the story that said that was a barber. The response came from a customer, who once he stepped outside the barber shop, saw a man who was filthy, generally unkempt, and had long, straggly hair. The customer then stopped back inside and stated that there was no such things as barbers. The barber, of course, was flabbergasted. He stated that of course there are barbers, and he had just given the customer a haircut. But the customer responded that if there were barbers, there would be no men in the world that had long straggly hair, but he had just seen a man with such hair. The barber responded that this was because those men did not seek and come to a barber. The pastor concluded by saying that the same applies to God.
For the analogy to make consistent sense, the conclusion is that if people are in suffering (that is, are unkempt and have long, straggling hair), it is because they do not seek and come to God (the barber). This is akin to stating that if an someone gets cancer, TB, becomes paralyzed as a result of an earthquake or loses their life due to a hurricane or tornado, that their suffering is a result of not seeking and coming to God. This is Pat Robertson theology at its best, and is idiotic. Unless the meaning of “good” is absolutely foreign from the way we understand it, no “all good being” would deliberate punish individuals and make them suffer for their doubt, for their not seeking. That would be a petty and vindictive God, not a God of love and mercy. And which one are Christians supposed to believe in again?
The second part that was frustrating was that I believe the pastor, as with many people (I think), missed a primary point of the doubting Thomas story in John's Gospel. He focused on the Thomas's not believing without seeing, and not being part of Jesus's blessing on those who believe without seeing. He forgets other parts of the story, where the other Apostles are hiding in the room because they are afraid. They are afraid because of their doubt, their disbelief, because they believed that Jesus, as the Son of God, would not succumb to such a fate, or something dramatic would happen immediately following the death revealing Jesus's divinity. They did not affirm their own belief until they saw as well. Thus, under the pastor's reasoning, they too would have not been part of the blessing Jesus bestowed on all those who believe without seeing.
Further, this particular take on the doubting Thomas story frustrates me because every is quick to ridicule Thomas, without again reflecting on the entirety of this Gospel story, and Thomas's story. Jesus did not reject Thomas. While he did not include Thomas in that particular blessing, he did not reject Thomas; he accepted Thomas even with that doubt. For Thomas's part, many early texts suggests that he was a very active apostle following Jesus's time; active in carrying his faith and being a missionary for the faith of Christianity as begun by Jesus (not necessarily Paul).
Jesus still accepted Thomas. I think the particular take presented by our pastor makes me fear doubt even more than they will when they encounter. I have always found the doubting Thomas story to be incredibly comforting, and showing Thomas, like Peter, as the most normal humans of the Apostles. Peter represents the passion and intense emotional side of humanity. Thomas represents the skeptical side of humanity. Both are necessary parts of humanity. Doubt, I believe, is a very good thing for any faith, a continue challenge to push us forward as we explore our existence, our consciousness, and attempt to make sense of our situation and our relationship with the Universe and any divinity. This particular sermon suggests that doubt should be avoided, less we miss certain blessings. For me, I doubt that such a message will assist in individual's personal faith journey.
“Doubt everything. Find your own light.” - Siddharta Gautama (Buddha)
“Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” - Paul Tillich
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