THE GOD-SIZED HOLE - The Gospel for today presents us with the story of ‘Doubting Thomas’. For so long, the popular culture of the church has been to reject anything that faintly smells of uncertainty, doubt, or unhappiness. People have been discouraged from asking questions about faith. We have striven to stake our claim through any means possible and we have quieted anyone who has expressed ideas contrary to our own. This has happened with Thomas. Biblical teachers and ministers have judged Thomas for his questions, but no one in the story does this. I think it is time for us to honour the biblical tradition of questioning God and finding ways to do this in our churches. It is important for our churches to begin to
see that doubt is not the antithesis to faith. Rather doubt is a part of faith. Also, having doubts can be a very lonely experience and it will make the church a more powerful expression of God’s grace if they can empower people to be open about the doubt and embrace them in the process.
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