“Doubt is the shadow cast by faith.” Hans Kung

“But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” John 20:24-25

Let me say right up front that Thomas should not be referred to as “The Doubting Thomas”. He should be called “The Curious Thomas” — for that is a better description of his actions on that first night of the resurrection. But even if we want to keep the title “Doubter” for the one called “The Twin”, doubt is not a sign of weak faith. Instead, it is a sign of active, curious faith.

Mike Yaconelli in his book “Dangerous Wonder” spends time building up the resume of Thomas. He says “Thomas believed in Jesus, trusted Him, followed Him, was willing to die for Him, but he was infected with a risky curiosity. When everyone else said they had seen Jesus after the Crucifixion, Thomas wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more. He wanted to touch Jesus, hear Jesus, see Jesus, embrace Him. Thomas wasn’t doubting Jesus, he was longing for Jesus.”

Hans Kung is a Catholic Priest and theologian. Here is the full quote from Kung: “Doubt is the shadow cast by faith. One does not always notice it, but it is always there, though concealed. At any moment it may come into action. There is no mystery of the faith which is immune to doubt.”

Doubt is the shadow cast by faith. In other words, faith does not exclude doubt — for doubt is engulfed by faith and makes it a part of our journey. It is one of the reasons we join a faith community — for just like Thomas, though he questioned the experience of the other disciples, he was not dismissed nor was he chastised by his friends. The story of Thomas confirms that doubt is what gathers disciples together — and should not be what drives us apart. It is in the face of doubt that faith is birthed.

G-d does not call us to a blind, un-questioning faith where we accept all that we see and all that we hear as unquestionable truth; G-d instead calls us to an illumined doubt, through which we search and journey toward a greater understanding of G-d.

Pastor Dave