The Saint Thomas Files: An Introduction to a Critical Viewpoint of Christianity

The Role of the Christian Critic and The St. Thomas Files

The words of St. Thomas have echoed down through the ages when he was confronted by the other apostles with the so called evidence of Jesus' Resurrection.  He challenged the apostles to prove that their eyewitness testimony was plausible, and yet when they could produce none he admonished them by telling them that he would believe Jesus was alive if he could see the holes in Jesus hands and the spear wound in his side.  Of course then Jesus shows up and offers to let Thomas touch his wounds thereby removing all doubt from Thomas' mind.

What do we know about Thomas? Basically St. Thomas became a meme.  "Doubting Thomas" he was forever known as the only disciple to openly question Jesus' Resurrection.  A" Doubting Thomas" is a phrase for someone who refuses to believe hearsay and conjecture but instead requests proof.  The Doubting Thomases of the world are often maligned and chastised for their critiques.  After all, if you were a true believer you would just have blind faith and believe whatever your fellow Christians tell you, right?  So to be called a "Doubting Thomas" is to be called a weak believer who is flirting on the edge of unbelief.  Furthermore, a Doubting Thomas can also be a Christian who lacks faith and for some groups of Christians that is even worse than an unbeliever.

 

 

So what is the role of a Christian Critic or Doubting Thomas as I like to refer to them?  Is there room at all in Christianity for a critic at all?  The answer is most certainly yes.  While belief in Christ as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins as the grace of God is surely a faith requirement for all Christians, the role of a healthy skeptic of Christian behavior is extremely necessary. Faith in Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross is necessary and is the way God has determined our relationship with him to be restored.  Blind faith in the edicts and precepts or theologies put out by our fellow Christians is to be critiqued and rightly so.  Too many heresies and wacked out theologies have erupted into various cults being started and inevitably when theology goes bad, people suffer.

Enter the Doubting Thomas. The Doubting Thomas will scrutinize the evidence (if any) and then draw a short but accurate conclusion to whatever is being thrown out there against the wall to see if it sticks.  With all the crazy theologies and cults being started in Christ's name that are out there right now, it is time for some critiques.  In this blog, the Doubting Thomas will cover every aspect of Christianity from the super conservative Christian to the charismatics on the edge (or over it). No one will be spared from the unflinching eye of the Doubting Thomas.  I wish you and your wacky theologies good luck.  Let's begin.