"Doubting Faith and Having Faith in Doubt"

            Doubt is natural and healthy when we question the things we hear in church, watch on television, read in books and discover on the internet. But can doubt be faithful? Yes, when doubting is done in a spirit of faithfulness to the God who has created us and the risen Lord who has saved us.

            Steve Martin is a legend in American comedy, appearing most recently in the popular television series Only Murders in the Building. He has been making people laugh for decades, at least since 1979, when he wrote a book called Cruel Shoes. It contains a number of amusing short stories, poems and philosophical position papers. One of these pieces, a very short story called “Shuckin’ the Jive,” begins with the deaths of some men in a car explosion, and then moves quickly to the growth of a sunflower, the life and death of a horse and the appearance of some hobos.

            Martin writes, “Then one of the hobos met an eastward wandering Canadian guru. But before anything significant could happen the hobo died, being attacked by a dog heart in a scientist’s laboratory. The death was listed as a heart attack. Then slavery was abolished.”

            This humor is mindless and absurd, isn’t it? An attack by a dog heart, “listed as a heart attack.” Ridiculous! But that’s not all. Martin ends with this conclusion: “Grandpa died and was resurrected after three days, but no one called him the Son of God; they just said, ‘Hey, that’s Gramps!’”1 

            Steve Martin must have been in a very strange mood when he wrote that little story. Of course, its very strangeness is what makes it amusing ... amusing to some people, anyway. Perhaps the most ridiculous part of all is the conclusion, which comes as a complete surprise. After a story about a car explosion, a sunflower, a horse, some hobos, a Canadian guru and a real live heart attack, we hear that outlandish conclusion about the resurrection of Gramps, which is completely unexpected and absurd.

An unexpected conclusion

            Could it be that the disciple Thomas, the one we call “Doubting Thomas,” reacted to the news of Christ’s resurrection in much the same way that we reacted to Steve Martin’s story? It is entirely likely that Thomas heard about Jesus rising from the dead and responded to it by saying, “Come on, be serious. That’s ridiculous, completely absurd.” People simply do not come back from the dead, even if they are remarkable people like Jesus ... or Gramps. Resurrection is an unexpected conclusion.

            The Gospel of John tells us that the risen Christ had already appeared to some of the disciples, had shown them his wounds from the crucifixion and had given them the Holy Spirit. For some reason, Thomas was not present when this happened. He missed the gifts that Jesus gave them when he said, “Peace be with you” — not just once, but twice — and promised them that if they “forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” Some biblical commentaries say that this story is a warning: You better not be absent when groups of Christians gather, or you might miss something very important!

            When the other disciples saw Thomas, they said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thoms 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.” Thomas wanted visible proof that Jesus was alive, not just a story that could have easily been made up. He wanted some facts, some rock-hard evidence, some proof to see with his own eyes. Without empirical evidence, the story of Christ’s resurrection sounded no more believable than Steve Martin’s “Shuckin’ the Jive.” Resurrection is a completely unexpected conclusion.

The need for empirical evidence

            We can understand why Thomas felt the way he did. He had probably been humiliated by people making fun of him for following the “King of the Jews,” the king who died like a common criminal on a cross. Thomas was not about to stick his neck out again for Jesus ... not so soon, anyway. And even if he did secretly hope that his Lord had risen, how could he prove it to anyone else in Jerusalem without some facts?

            Any of us who were trained in the sciences or in engineering know the kind of demonstrable proof that Thomas was craving. We know he needed empirical evidence. Solid evidence is needed before doctors can prescribe drugs, architects can design buildings and engineers can build helicopters. No one will trust a health care provider who says, “Here, take these pills. I heard from some friends that these might help you.” No one will buy plans from an architect who says, “This design for a high-rise has never been tested, but I believe it will stay up.” No one will get into a helicopter built by an engineer who says, “I’ve never designed anything like this, but I think it will fly.” None of us would trust professionals who said such things to us. We would never accept, on blind faith, the recommendations of people who offered us no proof.

Doubtful faith versus faithful doubt

            Thomas wanted solid evidence that Jesus had risen from the dead. He was, understandably, full of doubt about this miracle, so he said, “Unless I see [some proof], I will not believe.” If he had any faith at all, it was threatened by his doubt. You might say that Thomas showed “Doubtful Faith” in this story. His faith was skeptical. It was literally “full of doubt.”

            We might want to criticize Thomas for his Doubtful Faith, but the truth is that we all experience doubt. Healthy skepticism is a good thing, especially when people insist that we believe everything they say, without offering any evidence for their assertions. If someone says, “You simply have to believe me,” we are right to ask for proof. Blind faith can lead us to follow some dangerously untrustworthy people. While we want to be faithful Christians, we also want to be honest and admit that doubt has a role to play in our faith.

            So, what are we to do? The solution is to have Faithful Doubt. It is appropriate to probe and question and even doubt the things you hear in church, read in books and discover on the internet. But when you doubt, do so in a spirit of faithfulness to the God who has created you and the risen Lord who has saved you. Don’t have Doubtful Faith like Thomas, who said, “Unless I see [some proof], I will not believe.” Instead, have Faithful Doubt like the apostle Paul, who knew that he could always rely on the faith of Christ. Writing to his younger colleague Timothy, he said, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful — he cannot deny himself.”2

            Paul did not claim to understand everything about Christianity, but he knew that he was saved through faith — through his faith in Christ, and through the faith of Christ. He believed that God had worked in an unexpected and mysterious way to save him from sin and death. Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul said, “For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”3 Paul realized that his spiritual knowledge was partial in this life, but eventually Paul’s knowledge of God would be as complete as God’s knowledge of Paul. A person with Faithful Doubt knows that eventually God will put all doubts to rest.

Christ is not in front of us, but among us

            John tells us that a week later, when the disciples were again gathered, Thomas was with them and was given the gift of empirical evidence. His Doubtful Faith was removed by the appearance of the risen Christ. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and said once again, “Peace be with you.” Turning to Thomas, he said, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, in a powerful expression of devotion, “My Lord and my God!”

            We are challenged to make that same expression of devotion to Christ, although he is not in front of us as he was in front of Thomas. Instead, Jesus is with us as our risen Lord, walking among us and working through us. Our proof of the resurrection comes from the experience we have had of Christ in our hearts, in our community and in our visions of a richer and more abundant life. We can say “My Lord and my God” because we have experienced Christ at work among us. We do not have to feel badly that we were not in the room with Thomas, because Jesus has a special gift for those of us who came along too late to join the disciples. Jesus said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

            The story of Thomas invites us to trade our Doubtful Faith for Faithful Doubt. Faith is not a project that you have to start as a child; you can embrace it today. Faith comes fresh every morning, a gift of God like the manna that was given to the ancient Israelites in the wilderness. We can pray for faith, asking God to replace our Doubtful Faith with a faithfulness that cannot be damaged by doubt. If we do, we’ll be part of a story that has a beautiful conclusion, one that is anything but ridiculous and absurd.

1 Steve Martin, “Shuckin’ the Jive,” excerpts from Cruel Shoes (1979) in Cannon, July 30, 2013, https://cannonizer.blogspot.com/2013/07/excerpts-from-cruel-shoes-steve-martin.html.

2 2 Timothy 2:13.

3 1 Corinthians 13:12.