Yesterday, being the Second Sunday of Easter, we considered according to our tradition, the gospel story (John 20:19-31) relating to the disciple most often referred to as "Doubting Thomas."
Some modern scholars, with whom I agree, believe that Thomas got a bum rap. We believe it was his profound grief over the lynching of his long-time friend and teacher which made him refuse to believe second-hand information (in court, that's called "hearsay"), waiting until he could see for himself.
The church of my youth insistently taught that "doubt" was something I should avoid like the plague---that no matter how preposterous or unbelievable a doctrine or religious tenet might be, my job was to swallow my doubts and believe it all---just like it was taught.
But now I've come to believe that doubts, rather than being "the enemy" are really some of our best friends. They help us sort truth from fiction, faith from fantasy, and help us work our way toward resolution of the issues before us. So I've fallen in with Progressive Christians and am not only surviving, but thriving. And now I have the opportunity to encourage others to embrace their doubts, examine the skeleton-filled closets of fact and fancy, and dare to bring their questions out into the light of day where we can, together, squarely face the issues and build a stronger, more robust system of faith, belief, and practice.
Garrison Keillor had something to say about doubt recently. If you'd like to read his comments, CLICK HERE.
1 comment:
I had the opportunity read Garrison's piece in our local paper a couple weeks ago and really found it quite thought provoking. Doubt was always taught to me as a weakness and I love that progressive Christianity sees it as a strength. That you can trust your faith enough to question it. Otherwise it feels like it could fall apart at any moment.
I just stumbled across your blog from the church website. I'll be back :-)
Alicia
Tallahassee
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