It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.” Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.” After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!” Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.” Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll. But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name. (John 20:19-31, CEB)
This text for the longest time was known as the doubting Thomas text because what Jesus says to Thomas was translated incorrectly.
In the text above Jesus says, “No more disbelief. Believe!” In the older texts, it said do not doubt but believe. The text in the original Greek is καὶ μὴ γίνου ἄπιστος ἀλλὰ πιστός. The part that gets translated doubt but believe is the same word only the first has a negation added to the front of it. απιστος and πιστος. The word means faith, trust, or believe. So if you say the translation should be do not doubt but believe, then doubt is the opposite of faith. Is doubt the opposite of faith?
Doubt makes us look for answers or dive into darkness. Faith brings us out of the darkness and could be the answers we are looking for. So in this sense doubt could be the opposite of faith, but I think doubt is more of a helper along the way to faith and not the opposite. Like is the opposite of love hate? I think the opposite of love is indifference. Hate still means there is a connection, indifference is nothing.
Do not be unbelieving but believe. Let your questions point you more to faith.
Loving People. Loving God.
aSacredRebel 