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Dr. Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, responds with compassion and respect to the faithfulness shown by the disciple Thomas in John 20:19-31.
Rodriguez reminds us that 20th century theologian Paul Tillich affirms that "doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith." Dr. Rodriguez further proposes that faith may be "conceived as a relationship based on trust, established over a long period of time, and grounded in an interpersonal encounter in what the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber has described as an I-Thou relationship." (Connections, p. 223)
Similarly, Rodriguez celebrates Soren Kierkegaard's suggestion that "the most apt analogy for those desiring to know God is to read Scripture as 'a lover who has received a letter from (their) beloved.'" (p. 223)
On a lighter note, the Presbyterian minister and author Frederick Buechner (1926-2022) shares a similar view: "Whether your faith is that there is a God, or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts, you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving." (Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, 1973)
Further, as Professor Rodriguez notes, "many have come to consider Thomas the first Christian theologian, insofar as the vocation of theologian involves a lifetime of dancing with doubt." (p.224)
In 1976, Fred Kaan wove the beauty of our dance with doubt into a hymn verse, set to an American folk melody:
"In all the tensions of my life,
Between my faith and doubt,
let Your great Spirit give me hope,
Sustain me, lead me out."
Dr. Rodriguez's full reflections on John 20:19-31 may be found in Connections: A Lectionary Commentary, Year A, Volume 2, 2019, pages 222-224.