Jim West: Doubting Thomas and the Ecclesial Context of Faith

Jim West has written an outstanding post on the story of the resurrection appearance to Thomas. I found it so insightful, I just had to reproduce it here:

The day of Jesus resurrection the disciples (except for Thomas, and Judas of course) were gathered in the same location in which they had eaten the ‘Last Supper’ just a few days before. Suddenly the risen Jesus appeared and conversed with them. 

When Thomas next appears he is told what happened and he doesn’t believe it. ‘Unless I see the prints in his hands and push my finger in his side, I won’t believe’. 

The next week the disciples are again gathered in assembly and this time Thomas is present. Jesus chides him for disbelieving the testimony of his compatriots and then challenges him to shove his finger in Jesus’ side. He refuses, and then confesses ‘My Lord and my God’. 

Two simple observations may be worth making: 

Historical Questions About the Resurrection (Special TSP Easter Post and Podcast)

Click below (scroll to the bottom of this post) to listen to the special TSP Easter podcast. Of course, you can also listen on iTunes. (Have you subscribed to the podcast yet?)

St. Paul makes it clear that Resurrection is an essential aspect of Christian faith. He states,

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:16–19).

Yet many dispute the historicity of the Resurrection. For example,

“The tiny fraction of New Testament Easter traditions that comprises our bona fide historical evidence—the core empty tomb tradition (Mark 1:1–6, 8) and the appearance list given by Paul (1 Cor 15:3–8)—is woefully inadequate to establish a proposition as bold as the resurrection hypothesis.”—Robert Cavin1

Here I want to look at some of the reasons for such skepticism.