Is There a Place for Doubt in Faith?

Image Credit: Lanre Dahunsi

This morning after a chat with a friend I started thinking about friendships, faith, and the ability to trust.

I got to thinking about the apostle Thomas and his struggle with faith.

So, I looked up Webster's definition of "faith," and found the primary definition to be a strong belief or trust in someone or something. The secondary definition is belief in the existence of God.

Somehow, I don't think God is offended by this. God knows how we think.

We humans can't believe or have faith in someone or something that we don't trust. It's impossible. 

Thomas offers a great example of how this works out in real-time.

By the time of the Last Supper, Thomas, as well as the other apostles, have spent three years with Jesus, almost on a daily basis. Yet they still had doubts.

Thomas was listening intensely as Jesus spoke with them during that fateful seder. John's gospel records that Jesus tells them he is shortly about to leave them, but he'll be coming back "to take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place to where I am going."

At this point, Thomas, speaking on behalf of the other apostles, says to Jesus: "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Thomas doesn't exactly offer up a strong declaration of faith. But he is being incredibly honest.

Later on, when Jesus is resurrected from the dead and visits the apostles for the first time, Thomas isn't there. So Thomas doesn't believe what the other apostles tell him.

Thomas remarks, pretty bluntly, "that unless I see the nails marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side I will not believe it." (John 20:24-29)

One week after this, Jesus comes again. This time Thomas is with them. 

Jesus doesn't give Thomas a good old-fashioned tongue-lashing. In fact, Jesus encourages Thomas to "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side..."

Thomas cries out: "My Lord and my God."

Most of the sermons I remember about Thomas seemed to dwell on the second visitation of Jesus. The part about Thomas believing.

But I'm guessing that the first part of the story is actually the most important.

That is, Thomas' relationship with Jesus was evidently deep enough that it held room for him to speak up and question - even during a very pivotal point in the life of Jesus. 

It was the doubt that served as the bridge to deeper faith.

Just like we need oxygen to live, sometimes relationships need room for doubt in order to get to trust and deeper intimacy. 

I wonder if faith, without doubt, is really faith. 

To be clear, I'm not saying that if you don't have doubts, then your faith is shallow. I'm not saying that we need to continually be in a state of doubt. But I am saying that God uses doubt to draw us closer, and if God isn't worried about doubt, maybe we shouldn't be either.

Afterthought: From Brian B. McLaren, in a recent posting from the Center for Action and Contemplation.

 Jesus showed us his scars, and we’re starting to realize we don’t have to hide ours.

So fellowship is for scarred people, and for scared people, and for people who want to believe but aren’t sure what or how to believe. When we come together just as we are, we begin to rise again, to believe again, to hope again, to live again.