Electric Circuit Rider

Few stories in the gospels are as well known as the story of “doubting Thomas”. Elaine Pagels, in her book, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, suggests that the Gospel of John was trying to discredit the Gospel of Thomas by including this story.

I’m not so sure, because Thomas, in the end, believes – and he believes for the same reason John believes – because of what he has seen and touched. This story seems to be in keeping with the whole thrust of John’s gospel, which can be discerned, I think, in the story of Nicodemus, who does not understand what Jesus means by “born again”, even though Jesus says he’s talking about something that Nicodemus can see in the world around him.

John is an empiricist. He believes that in Jesus we have seen light and truth. But you haven’t seen Jesus, have you? The story of Thomas is there, in part, to tell us that people doubted the resurrection of Jesus, but then they saw him and were convinced. It’s a technique we see advertisers use: One housewife doubts that a particular laundry detergent could possibly be as good as another housewife says it is, but then she tries it, and lo-and-behold, her clothes really are cleaner and brighter than ever!

The “Doubting Thomas” technique is as old as the Bible and as new as a You Tube political ad.

And, frankly, it can be quite effective. If someone raises valid doubts and then is convinced, the doubter’s new conviction convinces us.

But that’s not all that’s going on in this passage. Thomas, like a lot of us, really does need to see for himself. The remarkable thing about Christianity is that it isn’t afraid of this particular challenge. The thing that a lot of people don’t get is that Christ really does come to those who doubt – to those who need to have a personal experience in order to believe.

I’ve had such experiences. Not a lot. I could count them on one hand and have a couple of fingers left over. In these experiences, I didn’t see anything, but you could no more convince me that I wasn’t in the presence of Christ on that day than you could convince me that I wasn’t standing next to my wife on our wedding day. I wouldn’t have to argue with you or defend my conviction that Jesus had come to me and touched me and spoken to me than I would have to argue my conviction that my wife took my hand as we walked down the aisle after saying our vows. If you don’t believe that happened – that’s your problem, not mine.

Some people envy that kind of spiritual experience. They shouldn’t. What I know from my experience is what Thomas learned from his. It wasn’t granted to me because I am some kind of saint. It was granted to me for the opposite reason. I’m the kind of hard-headed – and hard-hearted – person who would never believe any other way.

Yes, John is an empiricist. He says it is possible to “see and touch” the mystery of Christ, but those who believe in that mystery without seeing and touching know something that those of us who, like Thomas, can’t believe in any other way don’t know.

What is that? I’m not the person to ask.