For Friends of Doubting Thomas

I’ve considered myself a Christian most of my life. But much of that time I have also resonated with St. Thomas—Doubting Thomas. Thomas followed Jesus faithfully, but when he missed Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the rest of the disciples, he proclaimed that he could not believe it until he could see it for himself.

I’ve been a student of science since elementary school, especially biology and astronomy. These disciplines often raised questions for one raised in an evangelical church tradition. What about evolution? How old was the universe? Where does God fit in, if at all? Even today I consider myself a questioning Christian, a friend of doubting Thomas.

I spoke about that with an adult Sunday school class recently when we were studying Thomas. Many responded that they felt much the same way. In our discussion, I recalled a young adult years ago exclaiming, when I spoke of doubts and questions being a part of our faith journeys, “are you giving us permission to ask questions?”  My answer was a resounding “Yes!” My mistake, since the group of young adults kept me up most of the night asking questions, so many questions!

The adult class affirmed the need for me to share some of my journey on a blog for doubting Thomases, young and old. I’ve taken up their encouragement, and invite you to join me and other Friends of Doubting Thomas.