Jesus and Thomas and Proof

Two thoughts...

1.  God does not seem concerned to prove his own existence on our terms. 

We demand that Jesus provide a sign.  He calls out our hard and wicked hearts.  Our unbelieving hearts.  The ancient Israelites had sign after sign and still hardened their hearts.  The crowd saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, and some still did not believe. 

We still demand signs.  We think that, if we are going to be expected to believe in God, he better make it plain and obvious that he exists.

My roommate my freshman year told me one time that if he woke up and God had burned a cross into his chest then he would believe.  That would be evidence for him.  But that wouldn't have worked.  If he didn't believe that God was even a possibility, he would have woken up and seen the cross on his chest, and he would have thought someone had drugged him and put a cross on his chest. 

You can only see what you can see...

God, if he does exist, does not have to behave the way we want him to or expect him to.  Because he is God, he can do whatever he wants to do.  And when he comes on the scene, I would hardly expect him to sit down and reason about why you should believe he exists.

2.  Yet Jesus has subjected himself to human opinion and to investigation.  He did not think it beneath himself to take on human flesh.  He did not think it beneath himself to shoulder the cross.  Likewise, it was not beneath him to invite Thomas, in his doubt, to touch his hands and feet.  To see for himself and know. 

As I wrote before, the truth of Christianity hangs itself on history. If it could be shown that Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity would be seen to be a fraud and not worthy of belief and devotion. 

Assuming at the start of the investigation that Jesus could not possibly have risen, and discounting any bit of evidence that he did is hardly proof that he did not rise from the dead.  If that is your tack, you have begged the question of his resurrection from the very start.  I think perfect neutrality on these issues is impossible, but that should not keep us from aiming at something like neutrality. 

If you assume that miracles are impossible, instead of merely improbable, that will assure that you do not take a fair look at the evidence for those miracles. 

Jesus invites you to take a look.  He invites you to touch his hands and feet.  To believe in the witness of men who shed their blood for the truth of their words. 

If Jesus is God, then it is absurd to put him in the dock.  It is absurd for us to sit in judgment of him.  It is grace that he has stepped into the dock himself.  More than that - he was crucified for us.  We should not assume too quickly that we will never find ourselves in the dock, too.